Donna Sachet

Donna Sachet
Donna Sachet at the lighting ceremony for the Rainbow World Fund's World Tree of Hope in San Francisco City Hall on 10 December 2013
Born Kirk Reeves
South Carolina, United States
Residence San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation Performer, emcee, spokesmodel, fundraiser, writer and activist
Website DonnaSachet.com

Donna Sachet is a U.S.-based drag actor, singer, community activist, fundraiser, spokesmodel, and writer based in San Francisco.

Early life

Born as Kirk Reeves in South Carolina, Sachet attended Vanderbilt University, then she went to New York.[1] A job opportunity brought Reeves to San Francisco.[1] At a Gay Men's Chorus event, he lip-synced to a Donna Summer song with a significant swagger which inspired the name Donna Sachet.[1]

Career

Sachet has been awarded many community honors, including serving 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 by the Imperial Court System as the 30th Absolute Empress of San Francisco with 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, the Imperial Council and the state board of Equality California. She co-chaired the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards for four years. She currently serves on the International Court Council of the Imperial Court System. Sachet serves as an unofficial liaison for the LGBT and leather communities.

She currently writes a biweekly column for the Bay Area Reporter, writes a quarterly newsletter geared to the LGBT community for the SF Convention & Visitors Bureau, and is the host of "Sunday is a Drag" a female impersonation, brunch show at Harry Denton's Starlight Room in the St Francis Hotel.[2] With Tim Gaskin, she co-hosted a Comcast weekly LGBT television series called OUT Spoken for five years. 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.[3][4][5]

Sachet presided at the lighting ceremony for the Rainbow World Fund's World Tree of Hope in San Francisco City Hall on 10 December 2013.[6]

Donna Sachet recently has had a featured role in a full feature comedy film, My Brother's Shoes.

Awards and honors

  • 1993 Miss Gay San Francisco by the Imperial Council of San Francisco
  • 1995 30th Absolute Empress of San Francisco by the Imperial Council of San Francisco
  • 1995 Darrell Yee Award from AIDS Emergency Fund shared with Brian Benamati[7]
  • 1996 Cable Car Entertainer of the Year, City of San Francisco[8]
  • 1997 International Jose Honors Imperial Award[8]
  • 1998 Interclub Fund's Most Supportive Non-Leather Title Holder[7]
  • 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[1]
  • 2004 Sainthood from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence[9]
  • 2005 Bob Cramer Humanitarian Award[10]
  • 2005 San Francisco Police Officers Pride Alliance Award[11]
  • 2005 Community Grand Marshal of the SF LGBT Pride Parade[12]
  • 2007 Heritage of Pride Award from the SF LGBT Pride Committee[13]
  • 2009 Academy of Friends Kile Ozier Founder's Award[14]
  • 2009 Stonewall 40 TransHeroes[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Harmanci, Reyhan (June 22, 2008). "Donna Sachet, super volunteer in drag". SFGate. Hearst Communications, Inc. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ Sir Francis Drake's Starlight room official webpage
  3. ↑ The Advocate: Donna Sachet will perform the National Anthem at the San Francisco Giants home game against the Arizona
  4. ↑ The Bay Area Reporter: A Star-Spangled performance
  5. ↑ YouTube: Donna Sachet performers at the opening of a Major League Baseball game on 29 September 2009
  6. ↑ The Bay Area Reporter: Donna Sachet at the ceremony in San Francisco City Hall on 10 December 2013
  7. 1 2 3 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  8. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  9. ↑ http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=4872
  10. ↑ https://www.curiosityofchance.com/html/pdf/on_0207.pdf%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  11. ↑ http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=3766
  12. ↑ http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?article_id=5994&sec=article
  13. ↑ 2007 Landmark San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade Webcasts Archived November 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Over The Edges: Donna Sachet joins "Over The Edge" Archived December 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
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