Leslie Jordan, ‘Will & Grace’ actor and ‘queer icon,’ dies at 67 after crash in Hollywood
Hollywood’s gay rights icon had been in remission since a stroke in February
She was an Academy Award nominee for ‘The American President’ in 1990
Jordan, who played the role of Christine in Will and Grace and was an Oscar nominee for ‘The American President’ in 1990, died on Thursday, her agent said.
The cause was an apparent traffic accident, a representative of Jordan’s talent agency confirmed to Fox News.
Jordan had been in remission since February after a stroke, but was unable to perform for the first time since late February due to the health complications.
The Emmy-winning star, best known for her role in Will and Grace, was born in Chicago on June 14, 1958.
Leslie Jordan (left) born on June 14, 1958, was an Academy Award-nominated actor who won an Emmy and was nominated for ‘The American President.’ She was also nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe
The Chicago native took a semester off from her acting studies and enrolled at a community college before attending New York University, where she received an MFA.
She was a longtime Chicago LGBT activist before being cast for Will and Grace in the season eight episode ‘The Other Sister,’ which centered on a lesbian couple.
Jordan then played an activist in the second season episode ‘The Dilemma,’ in which she was seen meeting with a prominent lesbian friend, and appeared in the third season episode ‘The Choice,’ which showcased a gay couple’s choice to go to adoption instead of marriage.
She later made a guest appearance in the season four episode ‘The One That Got Away,’ in which she shared an apartment with her character’s son, played by Will Friedle, in a gay couple.
‘The One That Got Away’ aired in the fall of 1994 (pictured at right in 1995) and was the second part of a four-part Will And Grace.
Jordan appeared in six series including the series finale of Will and Grace in 1995, where Will (played by Andy Grammar
