A website for a 2013 documentary film, “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne,” estimates that she has stolen $2 million in jewels during her 70 or so years of crime. She has been tied to thefts in many states, including California, Colorado, New York and Ohio, and in cities including Paris, Milan, Tokyo and Monaco.

Ms. Payne, who is being held at the DeKalb County jail, is to appear in court on Friday at 1:30 p.m., where she will be read her latest criminal charges, according to a clerk at the DeKalb County Courthouse.

Born in West Virginia in October 1930, the child of a father who regularly abused her mother, Ms. Payne began her criminal career at an early age, according to the documentary.

She said in the film that as a little girl, she went to shop for a watch but was interrupted when another customer entered the store. The store’s owner, who she said did not want to be seen talking with a black person, asked her to leave. He did not notice that she still had the watch on. Though it is unclear in the film whether she stole that watch, Ms. Payne suggests that she first realized in that moment how easy theft could be.

In the film, Ms. Payne said she began to steal only out of necessity, as her father’s abuse of her mother worsened.