# Octavia St. Laurent

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 ballroom community and Harlem's luxurious balls. They came to public attention after being featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.

## Career

St. Laurent began walking in the New York ballroom scene in 1982 and acknowledged that their favourite category to walk in was Face. One of the most common songs they would walk to was "Swept Away" by Diana Ross.
They were a central figure of the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning and had a small role in 1993's The Saint of Fort Washington.
In 2006, they 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.

## Personal life

St. Laurent was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 16, 1964. In their youth, St. Laurent identified as a trans woman, but had a very different view on their gender, and when asked if they were a man, they would proudly claim "ABSOLUTELY", which often stunned many in the trans community. They were born producing more estrogen than most people assigned male at birth.
St. Laurent said that growing up, their 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!'"
St. Laurent experienced police harassment and was arrested on several occasions for wearing gender-nonconforming clothing in public.
St. Laurent was diagnosed as HIV positive, and would later serve as an educator to spread awareness about the disease. During their appearance in Wolfgang Busch's LGBT documentary How Do I Look, St. Laurent further discussed their drug use, sex work, and fight with AIDS.
St. Laurent was good friends with Willi Ninja and Paris Dupree.
In 2008, St. Laurent was diagnosed with cancer. They moved in with their sister while receiving treatment and started a one-person show at Spirits gay bar in Syracuse, New York, which they described as a quiet place for respite. St. Laurent gave a final interview by phone in March 2009 and died after a long battle with cancer on May 17, 2009, in Syracuse, New York, aged 45. St. Laurent is buried in a cemetery in Queens, New York.

## Acknowledgements

St. Laurent's appearance in Paris Is Burning was cited in Judith Butler's book Bodies That Matter in "Gender is Burning".
St. Laurent was posthumously quoted in the television series credits of Pose, 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?"
St. Laurent was referenced by the transgender DJ Honey Dijon during the Saint Laurent 2023 Winter Men's Paris show.

## Quotes

* This is me, you understand? No, I am not a woman. No, I am not a man. I am Octavia.
* Life is like a boomerang. When you throw it, it eventually comes back to you.
* 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.
* 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.'
* 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 | |
| 1993 | Octavia Saint Laurent: Queen of the Underground | Herself | Documentary |
| 2005 | Pill Awards | Hostess | TV Award show |
| 2006 | How Do I Look | Herself | Documentary |