Hansen was educated at Pace University, where he studied business and accounting; thereafter he began working as a financial analyst, a business manager in the textile industry and an actor.
[1] Hansen is openly gay[2] and has been involved in the LGBT community since the early 1970s.
[1] Panzi joined the Imperial Court of New York in 1993 and was elected to serve as its Empress XII "The Empress of Loyalty and Laughter" between 1998–99 and President of the Board of Directors from 2003 to 2006.
[1] Since the early 1970s, Thom (Panzi) has been an LGBT activist with various organizations including the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee (known as Heritage of Pride today); GMHC and the Arts Project of Cherry Grove.
[1] Panzi has appeared in several films, several Off-Broadway Shows and most notably on Cable Television, as the wacky neighbor, Mary Ellen on the Brini Maxwell Show.