Octavia St. Laurent

Octavia St. Laurent Mizrahi (March 16, 1964 – May 17, 2009)[2] was an American model and AIDS educator who was active in New York City's Black and Latino drag society and Harlem's drag balls.[3][4] She came to public attention after being featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.[5]

Octavia St. Laurent
Born(1964-03-16)March 16, 1964
Brooklyn, New York, US
DiedMay 17, 2009(2009-05-17) (aged 45)[1]
Other namesHeavenly Angel Octavia Saint Laurent Manolo Blahnik
Octavia Saint Laurent Mizrahi
Years active1982–2009

Career

St. Laurent began walking in the New York ballroom scene in 1982 and acknowledged that her favorite category to walk in was Face. One of the most common songs she'd walk to was "Swept Away" by Diana Ross.[4]

She was a central figure of the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning and had a small role in The Saint of Fort Washington (1993).[6]

In 2006, she starred in Wolfgang Busch's How Do I Look?, dubbed as "the sequel to Paris is Burning," and was using the name Heavenly Angel Octavia St Laurent Manolo Blahnik.[4]

Personal life

St. Laurent was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 16, 1964. In her youth, Octavia identified as a trans woman, but had a very different view on her gender and when asked if she was a man, she would proudly claim "ABSOLUTELY" which quickly shut up her hecklers, and often stunned many in the trans community. She was an intersex person and did not identify as a woman. She was born producing more estrogen than most people assigned male at birth. Octavia said that growing up, her parents were accepting:[7] "I had wonderful parents that supported me. My sexuality was not an issue with my parents. They were accustomed to that since I was a child. People thought I looked like a little girl, and my mother said: 'This is a boy!'"[4]

Octavia experienced police harassment and was arrested on several occasions for wearing gender-nonconforming clothing in public.[4]

St. Laurent was diagnosed as HIV+, and would later serve as an educator to spread awareness about the disease. During her appearance in Wolfgang Busch's LGBT documentary How Do I Look, St. Laurent further discussed her drug use, sex work, and fight with AIDS.[8]

St. Laurent was good friends with Willi Ninja until his death in 2006 and Paris Dupree.[4]

In 2008, she was diagnosed with cancer. She moved in with her mother while receiving treatment and started a one-woman show at Spirits gay bar in Syracuse, NY, which she described as a quiet place for respite. Octavia died after a long battle with cancer on May 17, 2009.[9] Her final interview can be found here.

Acknowledgements

St. Laurent's appearance in Paris Is Burning was cited in Judith Butler's book Bodies That Matter in "Gender is Burning."[10]

St. Laurent was posthumously quoted in the television series credits of Pose (2019) season 2, episode 4: "Never Knew Love Like This Before," written by Ryan Murphy and Janet Mock, with the following: "Gays have rights, lesbians have rights, men have rights, women have rights, even animals have rights. How many of us have to die before the community recognizes that we are not expendable?"

Quotes
  • This is me, you understand? No, I am not a woman. No, I am not a man. I am Octavia.[11]
  • Life is like a boomerang. When you throw it, it eventually comes back to you.[11]
  • If money wasn't important in the world to survive, I guess I wouldn't want anything but what I have now. But since money does, I hope that the way I look puts money in my pocket.[3]
  • Live life. Live life and do not take anything for granted. Because what you have today can instantly be gone tomorrow. And don't settle for nothing but... ...'and donʼt settle for nothing but the best.'[4]
  • Gays have rights, lesbians have rights, men have rights, women have rights, even animals have rights. How many of us have to die before the community recognizes that we are not expendable?

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Paris Is Burning Herself Documentary
1993 The Saint of Fort Washington Sex worker in car
Octavia Saint Laurent: Queen of the Underground Herself Documentary
2005 Pill Awards Hostess TV Award show
2006 How Do I Look Herself Documentary

References
  1. "R.I.P. Octavia Saint Laurent". 2009-05-19.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2010-02-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Goldsby, Jackie (2013). "Queens of Language: Paris Is Burning". Queer Looks. Routledge. pp. 108. ISBN 9780415907422.
  4. Wallenberg, Peter (20 November 2014). "Octavia St Laurent's last interview". Dazed. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  5. Green, Jesse (April 18, 1993). Paris Has Burned. She becomes an icon to LGBT Community specially for Transgender Women's New York Times
  6. Green, Jesse (April 18, 1993). Paris Has Burned. She becomes an icon to LGBT Community specially for Transgender Women's New York Times
  7. "Octavia St. Laurent". 2018-03-16.
  8. Cotter, Holland (October 24, 2003). DL: The Down Low in Contemporary Art, New York Times
  9. "Octavia St Laurent (1964 – 2009) performer, singer". 2014-05-14.
  10. Butler, Judith (1993). Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "sex". Psychology Press. p. 135. ISBN 9780415610155.
  11. Soch, Adam (27 May 2009). "Octavia St. Laurent " Queen Of The Underground " WINNER 2010 PILL AWARD". YouTube. Jerico DeAngelo, OsiriStar Entertainment. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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