Based on a real person?

I came across this Wikipedia article on a famous Hawaiian prostitute and her story sounds very familiar - in line with this film. Her name was Jean O'Hara:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_O'Hara

Her book, "Honolulu Harlot" has just been republished in paperback this year, and you can read the forward to it on Amazon. Very interesting to read all the similarities between Jean and Mamie.