[1][2] Fayrene Johnson was born on 5 September 1926 in Okolona, Arkansas to a schoolteacher and a Baptist minister.
[3] She graduated from Arkansas Baptist College and went to work in education, for the Los Angeles School Board.
[3] In 1957, she married George Treadwell, a manager whose clients included Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington.
[2] George died suddenly in 1967, at which point Faye Treadwell bought out his partners and took control of The Drifters.
[4] In November 2021, The Drifters Girl opened at the Garrick Theatre, telling the story of Faye Treadwell's life via a musical.