Dorian Corey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dorian Corey
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Dorian Corey in Paris Is Burning
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| Born |
Frederick Legg
June 6, 1937 Buffalo, New York, U.S.
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| Died | August 29, 1993 (aged 56) Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Parsons School of Design |
| Occupation | Drag queen, fashion designer |
Dorian Corey (June 6, 1937 – August 29, 1993) was an American drag performer and fashion designer. She appeared in Wigstock and was featured in Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.
Early life and education
Corey was born in Buffalo, New York to Franklin Legg and Mary Fox Clark out of wedlock, though they later married on October 18, 1947. Dorian was assigned male at birth, but later realized that she was a trans woman. Raised on a farm in Buffalo, Dorian began performing in drag when leaving the city of Buffalo.
In the 1950s, Corey worked as a window dresser at Hengerer's, then moved to New York City to study art at Parsons.
Career
In the 1960s, Corey toured as a snake dancer in the Pearl Box Revue, a cabaret drag act. She was one of four performers who appeared on the 1972 Pearl Box Revue LP Call Me MISSter.
Corey was also the founder of the voguing House of Corey, holding over 50 grand prizes from the voguing balls. She was also "house mother" to Angie Xtravaganza, who later became a mother of her own house and was also featured in Paris Is Burning.
Corey also ran and designed a clothing label called Corey Design. At one point, Corey's act involved her wearing a 30 ft × 40 ft (9.1 m × 12.2 m) feather cape. Once she shed her costume down to a sequined body stocking, two attendants raised the cape up on poles to produce a feathered tent that covered half the audience.
Death and legacy
On August 29, 1993, Corey died of AIDS-related complications at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan at the age of 56. Corey's cremated remains were scattered in the waters off City Island, New York.
Corey's legacy remains one of importance to the drag and ballroom communities, and her particular importance in the development of voguing as a cornerstone of New York ballroom culture is venerated and memorialized in the modern day. Corey is remembered by fans, friends and family for her simple philosophy that "[e]verybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world. [...] You don't have to bend the whole world. I think it's better just to enjoy it. Pay your dues, and just enjoy it. If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you."
