The Lady Chablis

Brenda Dale Knox (born Benjamin Edward Knox; March 11, 1957 – September 8, 2016), known professionally as The Lady Chablis, was an American actress, author and drag performer.

Career

Chablis was a transgender woman but was also a drag performer. Chablis frequently performed at her "home" nightclub ofClub One in Savannah. Chablis also traveled the US performing at various venues and special events, such as gay pridegatherings. She also appeared on radio shows.

She was a prominent character in John Berendt's best-selling novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994), and she played herself in the 1997 film adaptation.

The Lady Chablis was featured in the closing segment of the Savannah episode of Bizarre Foods America on The Travel Channel. She joined host Andrew Zimmern at several Savannah restaurants including Elizabeth on 37th. In 2012, she was interviewed by "MAMA" Savannah Georgia  on the local television and internet talk show "MAMA Knows Best Talk Show" season 2 episode 1 and on April 19, 2013 Chablis performed for the grand opening of Mama's Cabaret in Lewiston, Mainewith "MAMA" Savannah Georgia. She died at the age of 59 on September 8, 2016.

Transition

According to Berendt's book, Chablis was a transgender woman; Berendt wrote that he met Chablis as she was returning home from having a hormone injection. In her book Hiding My Candy, Chablis said she had not undergone gender reassignment surgery.

Awards and titles

In her early career as an entertainer, under the names Brenda Dale Knox, she won multiple titles in drag pageantry including:

• Miss Dixieland 1976
• Miss Gay World 1976
• The Grand Empress of Savannah 1977
• Miss Sweetheart International 1989

Autobiography

Lady Chablis (1996). Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-52095-4. OCLC 37901705.

Filmography

• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – Chablis Deveau (as Lady Chablis) 1997
• Midnight in Savannah (TV documentary) – Herself 1997
• Partners (TV Movie) – Beverly 1999
• Damn Good Dog (video documentary) – Herself 2004
• Bizarre Foods America: Savannah – Herself 2012
• Real Housewives of Atlanta – Herself 2013