[1][2] She married Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. in the 1930s and worked for some time as a household domestic to help support her young children.

She was born in Hopkins County, Kentucky, one of six children of John Lewis O'Grady and Birdie B.

[4] Her paternal grandfather was an Irishman named Abe O'Grady, who emigrated to the United States from Ennis, County Clare, soon after the Civil War and married Susan "Susie" Walker, the daughter of freed slaves Lewis and Amanda J.

"[8] Through her strong Christian belief, Clay had a great influence on the life and spiritual upbringing of both of her sons.

She's a sweet, fat, wonderful woman, who loves to cook, eat, make clothes, and be with family.

Odessa Clay died of heart failure on August 20, 1994, aged 77, at Hurstbourne Health Center, a nursing home in the Louisville, Kentucky, area.

[12][14] Odessa Clay appeared as herself in the film documentaries Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story (1996) and When We Were Kings (1996).