Donna Sachet
Encyclopedia
Donna Sachet is an American
drag
actor, singer, community activist, spokesmodel, and writer based in San Francisco. She has been awarded many community honors including as Grand Marshal
in the San Francisco Pride
parade and being named first lady
of the Castro district
by California
Senator Mark Leno
. She was elected as the 30th Absolute Empress of San Francisco with Emperor 23 After Norton, Brian C. Benamati in 1995. She recently has served on the boards of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center
, the AIDS Emergency Fund, Positive Resource Center and the Imperial Council
. As of June 2008 she serves on the state board of Equality California
and the International Court Council of the Imperial Court System
. Sachet serves as an unofficial liaison for the LGBT
and leather communities
and is a sought-after charity-event emcee and entertainer for her humor and diplomacy
. She currently writes a biweekly column for the Bay Area Reporter, co-hosts with Tim Gaskin a Comcast weekly LGBT television series called OUT Spoken, writes a quarterly newsletter geared to the LGBT Community for the SF Convention & Visitors Bureau, and is the host of Harry Denton's "Sunday is a Drag" at the Sir Francis Drake's Starlight room. On September 29, 2009, Sachet became the first drag performer to sing the United States National Anthem
at the opening of a Major League Baseball
game.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drag
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
actor, singer, community activist, spokesmodel, and writer based in San Francisco. She has been awarded many community honors including as Grand Marshal
Grand Marshal
Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders...
in the San Francisco Pride
San Francisco Pride
The San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration, usually known as San Francisco Pride, is a parade and festival held in June each year in San Francisco to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies...
parade and being named first lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
of the Castro district
The Castro, San Francisco, California
The Castro District, commonly referenced as The Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco, California. The Castro is one of America's first and best-known gay neighborhoods, and it is currently its largest...
by California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Senator Mark Leno
Mark Leno
Mark Leno is an American politician, representing California's 3rd Senate district, which includes parts of San Francisco and Sonoma County, as well as the entirety of Marin County. He was elected in 2008 and is the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate...
. She was elected as the 30th Absolute Empress of San Francisco with Emperor 23 After Norton, Brian C. Benamati in 1995. She recently has served on the boards of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center
San Francisco LGBT Community Center
The San Francisco LGBT Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of San Francisco, California and nearby communities, located at 1800 Market Street in San Francisco....
, the AIDS Emergency Fund, Positive Resource Center and the Imperial Council
Imperial Court System
The International Imperial Court System is one of the oldest and largest predominantly gay organizations in the world. The court raises money for charity through large annual fancy-dress costume balls in communities throughout North America and numerous smaller fundraisers each year...
. As of June 2008 she serves on the state board of Equality California
Equality California
Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California.-Early history:...
and the International Court Council of the Imperial Court System
Imperial Court System
The International Imperial Court System is one of the oldest and largest predominantly gay organizations in the world. The court raises money for charity through large annual fancy-dress costume balls in communities throughout North America and numerous smaller fundraisers each year...
. Sachet serves as an unofficial liaison for the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
and leather communities
Leather subculture
The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities. Wearing leather garments is one way that participants in this culture self-consciously distinguish themselves from mainstream sexual cultures...
and is a sought-after charity-event emcee and entertainer for her humor and diplomacy
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
. She currently writes a biweekly column for the Bay Area Reporter, co-hosts with Tim Gaskin a Comcast weekly LGBT television series called OUT Spoken, writes a quarterly newsletter geared to the LGBT Community for the SF Convention & Visitors Bureau, and is the host of Harry Denton's "Sunday is a Drag" at the Sir Francis Drake's Starlight room. On September 29, 2009, Sachet became the first drag performer to sing the United States National Anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
at the opening of a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
game.
Awards and honors
- 1995 Darrell Yee Award from AIDS Emergency Fund shared with Brian Benamati
- 1996 Cable Car Entertainer of the Year
- 1997 International Jose Honors Imperial Award
- 1998 Interclub Fund's Most Supportive Non-Leather Title Holder
- 2000 Alice B. Toklas Lesbian & Gay Democratic Club Community Service Award
- 2001 Pollie Award from the American Association of Political Consultants
- 2002 Designation as the Leather Empress by the Leather Community
- 2004 Sainthood from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
- 2005 Bob Cramer Humanitarian Award
- 2005 San Francisco Police Officers Pride Alliance Award
- 2005 Community Grand Marshal of the SF LGBT Pride Parade
- 2007 Heritage of Pride Award from the SF LGBT Pride Committee
- 2009 Academy of Friends Kile Ozier Founder's Award
- 2009 Stonewall 40 TransHeroes