Gladys Bentley (deceased)
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Lesbian
DOB: 12 August 1907
RIP: 18 January 1960
Ethnicity: African American
Occupation: Singer, musician, entertainer, drag artist
Note 1: Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry’s Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer. She headlined in the early 1930s at Harlem’s Ubangi Club, where she was backed up by a chorus line of drag queens. She dressed in men’s clothes, played piano, and sang her own raunchy lyrics to popular tunes of the day in a deep, growling voice while flirting with women in the audience.
Note 2: Due to what happened in the McCarthy Era she had to conform to society so she wouldn’t stand out as much (including dressing more feminine), claimed she wasn’t gay anymore and married twice but it didn’t last.
