Anne Bonny was born in a town near Cork, Ireland. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was the family's maid. The scandal broke up the family. Anne, her father, and her mother moved to the American colonies. Anne's father was very successful and she grew up in luxury. By all accounts, she did have quite a temper.

When she was about 16, she fell in love with a not-very-successful pirate, James Bonny. They eloped and moved to the Bahamas. Her father was furious and disinherited her. James Bonny had married her for her money and was also unhappy with the turn of events. The couple fell on hard times. Anne took to dressing as a man and spending time on the waterfront. There, she met Calico Jack Rackham the pirate and ran away with him.

In 1718, Calico Jack and his crew mates signed up to be privateers, pirates who were enlisted to attack Spanish ships for the King of England (King George I). As soon as the ship was at sea, Calico Jack led a mutiny and the crew reverted to piracy.

Calico Jack promised to give Anne money for her husband. When they asked a man to witness the signing of the document, he refused and reported Anne to the governor as an adulterer. Anne faced prison and a severe whipping. Anne and Calico Jack stole a sloop and took to the sea.

Among the crew on the sloop was a sailor, Sailor Read. Anne took a liking to Sailor Read, who refused her advances. Eventually, Sailor Read revealed that she, too, was a woman. Anne, Calico Jack, Mary "Sailor" Read, and Mary's companion became close friends. Only Calico Jack and Mary's gentleman friend knew Mary Read was a woman.

In 1720, the crew sailed the William along the coast of Jamaica. They were captured. The men were hanged. The women "pleaded their bellies." Pregnant women could not be executed. There is no reliable record of what happened to Anne Bonny. Mary Read died of a fever in jail before she could be hanged. She is buried at St. Catherine's parish in Jamaica.

For an excellent biography of her and other woman pirates, read Booty, Girl Pirates on the High Seas by Sara Lorimer, 2002 Chronicle Press, San Francisco, California.