Quentin Crisp

Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt; (1908-12-25)25 December 1908 – (1999-11-21)21 November 1999) was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of her life and various media appearances. Before becoming well known, she was an artist's model, hence the title of Crisp's most famous work, The Naked Civil Servant. She afterwards became a gay icon due to her flamboyant personality, fashion sense, and wit. Her iconic status was occasionally controversial due to her remarks about subjects like the AIDS crisis, inviting censure from gay activists including human-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. During her teen years, Crisp worked briefly as a rent boy. She then spent thirty years as a professional model for life classes in art colleges. The interviews she gave about her unusual life attracted great curiosity, and she was soon sought after for her personal views on social manners and the cultivation of style. Her solo stage show was a long-running hit both in Britain and America, and she also appeared in films and on television. Crisp defied convention by criticising both gay liberation and Diana, Princess of Wales.