*Former burlesque dancer Tanqueray, who shared her compelling story as part of the Humans of New York (HONY) series is set to release her a new book.
Tanqueray, whose real name is Stephanie Johnson, is collaborating on the project with HONY creator Brandon Stanton. Tanqueray unpacked her experience as a burlesque dancer in the 60s and 70s for the Instagram blog in 2019. Per MadameNoire, the “series chronicled her impeccable fashion style and shared emotional stories about her difficult relationship with her mother while growing up in Albany, New York,” the outlet writes.
Her new self-titled book will feature more personal stories and photos along with a few “brand new jaw-droppers,” according to Stanton.
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“If you’re relatively sure you’re going to be reading Tanqueray on a beach this summer—and why wouldn’t you—you could help out me and Steph by preordering a copy,” the author told fans on social media. “Steph has been handing out her homemade business cards ‘like crazy,’ but we might need a little extra lift.”
Tanqueray was a stripper in 1970s New York—and according to her, her life was filled with mobsters, crime, and presidential secrets, per Oprah Daily.
“I was a better dancer than all of them,” she recalled of her burlesque days. “But I knew the clubs wouldn’t hire me. Because go-go dancers had to be perfect. They couldn’t have stretch marks. Couldn’t have tattoos. And they couldn’t be Black.”
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Per the report, her first dancing gig was at a volunteer firehouse on Long Island.
“I was so nervous that I had to pee every five minutes. And I kept having to stop the performance while they drove away on calls,” Tanqueray recalled. “But I must have done something right, because they booked me again on the spot… I decided right then to make a career out of it.
In September 2020, Tanqueray suffered injuries when she experienced a bad fall that impacted her ability to walk. Stanton created a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds to cover her medical expenses. More than $2.5 million was raised which Stanton used to get Tanqueray a “24-hour home health aide.”
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