Multiple versions of Pastrana's early life exist. Literature produced by those who managed the
freak shows she appeared in described her as belonging to a Native American tribe, the "Root Diggers", whose members were similar to apes and lived in caves. In this version, it is said that a woman identified only as Mrs. Espinosa was kidnapped by the tribe and held in a cave and took Pastrana with her when she was able to escape. In another version, which is based on the words of Indigenous villagers in Ocoroni,
Mexico, Pastrana was a local girl, whom they called "wolf woman". In this version, Pastrana lived with her mother until her mother died, after which her uncle sold her to the circus. Both accounts claim that, at some point, she lived in the home of Pedro Sanchez, a governor of
Sinaloa, and left the home in 1854. According to Ireneo Paz, Francisco Sepúlveda, a customs official in
Mazatlán, purchased Pastrana and brought her to the United States. At first, Pastrana performed under the management of J. W. Beach; in 1854, she eloped with Theodore Lent, marrying him in Baltimore, Maryland. Lent took over her management, and they toured throughout the United States and Europe. Pastrana was advertised as a
hybrid between an animal and a human and worked in sideshows and freak shows under the
stage names the "Baboon Lady", the "Dog-faced Woman", the "Hairy Woman", the "Ape-faced Woman", the "Ape Woman", the "Bear Woman", and "The Nondescript". During her performances, she demonstrated her intelligence and talent, singing, dancing, and interacting with the audience. During a tour in
Moscow, Pastrana gave birth to a son, with features similar to her own. The child lived three days, and Pastrana died of postpartum complications five days later. ==Medical examinations==