Badley was born in Half Way Tree, St. Andrew, Jamaica, on 18 December 1896, as one of 12 children born to parents Edward and Anita Hunt. Her mother died at a young age, and her father had to raise the children on his own. He owned most of the establishments in the present-day Lilford Avenue in Kingston, but he had to work as a builder, a drayman, and a cultivator to support the family. He lived in Cuba for some time. During the 1907 Kingston earthquake, the family’s home was damaged, and her father was buried under the rubble. Her sister Linda said he rode a mule, but the mule returned without him and then they knew he was missing. People then saw his hand sticking out of the rubble and he was rescued.

As a young woman, she moved to New York City where she worked in the garment industry. She married twice, and had a son, Leslie. At some point, she returned to Jamaica.

At the age of 105, she was still hearing well and had no health problems. At the time, the US Embassy in Kingston, from which she was receiving social security, visited her to ensure that she was still alive.

Her father, Edward Hunt (19 January 1868 – 18 November 1976), died at the age of 108. Her younger sister, Linda Oliveth Mead, was still alive as of April 2014, aged 102. Some of her siblings died in their late 90s.

Badley passed away in Kingston, Jamaica, on 30 January 2008, at the age of 111 years, 43 days.