Born Patricia Ann Vaughn on July 9, 1926, in Holbrook, Arizona to Amy (née Jimulla) and Albert Vaughn, her heritage was half Yavapai and half Hualapai. After her mother's death in 1940, Vaughan and her brother went to live with their grandparents, Sam and Viola Jimulla, of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe. Vaughn attended the Indian school at Valentine, Arizona, and then graduated from Prescott High School. She continued her studies and was an honor student at the Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence, Kansas, and took extension courses at the University of Kansas in psychology and public speaking.

She went on to become a tribal leader, serving as president of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe. An effective advocate for her tribe, she garnered millions of dollars in federal and state funds to improve the infrastructure on the Yavapai reservation. She negotiated a water settlement agreement between the federal government and the tribe and established the first gaming license for any Indian tribe in Arizona. She helped develop a community center which earned a federal design award and served as an educational center to preserve both the culture and language of the Yavapai. In 2006, McGee was nominated by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.