Who was Stephanie 'Tanqueray' Johnson? All about the viral sensation as she passes away at 81

Stephanie 'Tanqueray' Johnson was a burlesque performer. She was best known for her viral story, which featured on the Humans of New York in November 2019. Johnson died on October 12 at 81 after suffering a severe stroke, as per a post by Humans of New York.

In a recent post, the organization mourned the loss of the burlesque performer and said,

"We've lost a legend. Stephanie 'Tanqueray' Johnson passed away last night after suffering a severe stroke. She will be most remembered for holding the world in thrall with her no-holds-barred storytelling about life as a burlesque dancer in the 1970s."

The post described Stephanie as a "complicated person" and referred to her public persona as "irresistibly charismatic."

More about Stephanie 'Tanqueray' Johnson

Born and raised in Albany, New York, Stephanie 'Tanqueray' Johnson grew up among poverty, a strict religious household, and turbulent family relationships. She became pregnant as a teenager and was expelled from home. After serving a brief prison sentence for a minor offense, Stephanie moved to New York City to start over.

In New York, Stephanie adopted the stage name "Tanqueray" after the gin brand and began her career as a burlesque dancer. She performed in clubs across Manhattan and Harlem. In her Humans of New York post, Johnson said she "was the only black girl making white girl money."

Stephanie worked in the industry for decades, including dancing, phone sex calls on Robin Byrd's infamous cable TV show, and also wrote a column for Gloria Leonard's High Society magazine. In her November 2019 post on HNY's Instagram page, Stephanie opened up about her life and said,

Back in the seventies I was the only black girl making white girl money. I danced in so many mob clubs that I learned Italian. Black girls weren't even allowed in some of these places. Nothing but guidos with their pinky rings and the one long fingernail they used for cocaine."

Tanqueray mentioned that she was called the "Ms. Black Universe" and did "magic tricks" for her audience. However, unlike other people in the industry, Stephanie mentioned that she never "f***d the booking agents" and her clients.

After her post went viral on social media, Johnson, with the help of HONY founder Brandon Staton, had her story turned into a book titled Tanqueray in 2022. As per Men's Journal, New York City is set to honor the former Burlesque dancer's life on October 17 at 8 p.m. at the main concourse of Grand Central.

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