Octavia St. Laurent Mizrahi (March 16, 1964 – May 17, 2009) 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. She came to public attention after being featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.
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: "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!'"
(Early on in her career, she legally changed her name to Heavenly Angel Octavia Saint Laurent Manolo Blahnik before deciding on her stage persona Octavia Saint Laurent Mizrahi.
While the name is long, it fit for the queen she was.) (Contributor of this portion is #46990380)
Octavia experienced police harassment and was arrested on several occasions for wearing gender-nonconforming clothing in public.
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.
St. Laurent was good friends with Willi Ninja until his death in 2006 and Paris Dupree.
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
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: "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!'"
(Early on in her career, she legally changed her name to Heavenly Angel Octavia Saint Laurent Manolo Blahnik before deciding on her stage persona Octavia Saint Laurent Mizrahi.
While the name is long, it fit for the queen she was.) (Contributor of this portion is #46990380)
Octavia experienced police harassment and was arrested on several occasions for wearing gender-nonconforming clothing in public.
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.
St. Laurent was good friends with Willi Ninja until his death in 2006 and Paris Dupree.
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
Octavia St. Laurent Mizrahi (March 16, 1964 – May 17, 2009) 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. She came to public attention after being featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.
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: "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!'"
(Early on in her career, she legally changed her name to Heavenly Angel Octavia Saint Laurent Manolo Blahnik before deciding on her stage persona Octavia Saint Laurent Mizrahi.
While the name is long, it fit for the queen she was.) (Contributor of this portion is #46990380)
Octavia experienced police harassment and was arrested on several occasions for wearing gender-nonconforming clothing in public.
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.
St. Laurent was good friends with Willi Ninja until his death in 2006 and Paris Dupree.
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
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: "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!'"
(Early on in her career, she legally changed her name to Heavenly Angel Octavia Saint Laurent Manolo Blahnik before deciding on her stage persona Octavia Saint Laurent Mizrahi.
While the name is long, it fit for the queen she was.) (Contributor of this portion is #46990380)
Octavia experienced police harassment and was arrested on several occasions for wearing gender-nonconforming clothing in public.
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.
St. Laurent was good friends with Willi Ninja until his death in 2006 and Paris Dupree.
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
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