Octavia St. Laurent
Biography
Octavia St. Laurent Mizrahi was an American model and AIDS educator who rose to prominence in the 1990s through her involvement in New York City's Black and Latino ballroom community. She was featured in the documentary Paris Is Burning and later starred in the short film Queen of the Underground, which criticized the treatment of transvestites by big-time celebrities. Born in Brooklyn in 1964, St. Laurent's life was marked by advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility.