Stacy McCracken was born to Ruthie and Chester McCracken on July 1, 1980, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The McCrackens were a proud, middle-class family. Ruthie was a children's librarian in Knoxville, and Chester was an accountant.
Ruthie made most of her children's clothing herself. Donations from church bazaars and town swap meets made up the difference between what they needed and what they could afford. As the youngest, Stacy constantly received ragged and forlorn hand-me-downs that she was never satisfied with.
All the McCracken children were obedient except for Stacy. She was a free spirit, restless and always longing for the good life. She was supremely self-confident and wouldn't listen to her parents or anybody else. She wanted to climb the social ladder, have money, and "be somebody."
After high school, she won a Knoxville Artist's Community scholarship to attend a painter's summer class. As far as she was concerned, it was her ticket into a world where she could have the finery she desired. After she graduated from high school, Stacy continued painting and sold some of her artwork, but she also had to work as a waitress to make enough money to pay the bills.
While she was painting outside one morning, Joey Beecher approached her and asked her to dinner, saying nothing she painted could be as beautiful as she was. Although Joey was just a mechanic's helper at an auto body shop, Stacy thought he had great potential, and her free spirit side took over. Three months after they met, Stacy and Joey eloped and spent their honeymoon night on a Mississippi steamboat.
When Joey found work with Philip Fontaine and Stacy saw the Fontaine mansion for the first time, she thought her dreams of joining the upper class were closer than ever to coming true. But the longer Joey worked for Philip Fontaine, the more Stacy resented his long hours and lack of overtime pay.
Despite her growing discontent, Stacy was determined to stick it out with Joey, but she always kept an eye out for some other way to improve her position in society.
Since Philip Fontaine died, Joey has worked only sporadically, and nothing has paid as well as his Fontaine job had. As their finances have gotten tighter, Stacy has become increasingly restless. Acquaintances think she may be reconsidering her commitment to her marriage.
