American actor, comedian, writer and singer who made numerous appearances in both film and television and on stage, and in his later years became a social media star. Recognizable for his diminutive size and Southern drawl, he is best known for his role as Karen’s pretentious, sexually ambiguous rival Beverley Leslie on the TV series Will & Grace (2001-2006, 2017-2020). For that role he received an Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2006.
His other television roles included Lonnie Garr on Hearts Afire (1993–1995), several characters in the American Horror Story franchise (2013–2019), Sid on The Cool Kids (2018–2019), and Phil on Call Me Kat (2021–2022). In theater, he played Earl “Brother Boy” Ingram in Sordid Lives (1995), and also portrayed the character in the popular 2000 cult film of the same name.
Jordan’s first autobiographical stage show was called Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies That Have Plagued My Life Thus Far, with music and lyrics by Joe Patrick Ward. The production, in which Jordan was backed by a gospel choir singing satirical songs about racism and homophobia, was produced off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse and ran for seven months. Next, he distilled his experiences growing up as an effeminate, tiny boy in the South and in show business into an autobiographical one-man show, My Trip Down the Pink Carpet. After touring the nation for several months with the production, the show opened off-Broadway at the Midtown Theater on 19 April 2010. The show was produced by Jordan’s friend, actress Lily Tomlin.
In 2021, he released the gospel music album, Company’s Comin’. In April that year he published his autobiography How Y’all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived.
At the time of his death, Jordan had accumulated 5.8 million Instagram followers. His following grew substantially in response to his comedy posts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jordan was openly gay. Early in the AIDS crisis, Jordan became involved in AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) as a buddy and as a food delivery-person for Project Angel Food.
On 24 October 2022 at approximately 9:30 AM (PDT), Leslie Jordan died after his car hit the side of a building at Cahuenga Boulevard and Romaine Street in Hollywood, California. He was believed to have experienced a medical episode that led to the crash. Jordan was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 67.
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