Happy 50th Birthday Octavia St Laurent!

Today would have been the milestone birthday of one of our ballroom legends in Octavia St. Laurent.had she not gone to be with the ancestors on May 17, 2009.

Many people were introduced to her through the documentary films Paris Is Burning and How Do I Look, and if you peruse YouTube you can still see her lovely visage in some of the uploaded video from ballroom competitions of the 90's and 2k's

I also liked this salon talk one from 2005 in which she discussed the changes in her life as she was getting her hair done for the Legends Ball.

I also love this quote of hers from the June 2000 funeral of the slain Amanda Milan in which she stated during her fiery eulogy for Amanda, "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?"



Happy milestone birthday sis!.  It's hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching five years since you exited this plane of existence.  You are still loved and missed by all the people inside and outside the ballroom community who had the pleasure of knowing you and for whom you graced with your presence. 

Continue to rest in power.