County was born in 1947 to working class parents. She was gender-nonconforming from a young age, wearing makeup at school. County left her hometown of Dallas, Georgia in 1968 at 19 years old to move to New York City, where she became a regular at the Stonewall Inn and took part in the historic riots. In 1969, County was asked by Warhol superstar and playwright Jackie Curtis to appear in her play "Femme Fatale". The play had a successful run at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and starred Patti Smith. In her autobiography, County says of Curtis, "She was my biggest influence, the person who really got me started."