After graduating from high school, James attended George Washington University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in zoology.
represented the United States Virgin Islands in the Miss Universe 1981, where she gained the attention of director of the Division of Tourism and Department of Commerce Leona Bryan, who hired her in the Tourism division.
[3] She worked as Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr.'s senior policy advisor from 2019 to 2020.
She ran for reelection in the 2024 United States Virgin Islands general election.
[5] In 2018, James ran as Angel Dawson Jr.'s running mate in the 2018 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election, but lost in the Democratic primaries that year.