The Lady Chablis (March 11, 1957 – September 8, 2016), also known as The Grand Empress and The Doll, was an American actress, author, and transgender club performer.

Through exposure in the bestselling nonfiction book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and its 1997 film adaptation, she became one of the first trans performers to be introduced to a wide audience.

Her parents divorced when she was five, and she was supported by her aunt, Katie Bell, and grandmother, Anna Mae Ponder,[5][6] after her mother moved to Chicago to be a nurse.

[5] Chablis became close to her neighbor, Connie, who offered her a lot of support and a refuge from homophobic troubles at home.

[5] In the late 1980s, a job offer from The Friends Lounge, a cabaret bar in Savannah, Georgia, resulted in her moving south from Atlanta.

[10][11] She was a prominent character in John Berendt's best-selling 1994 book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, during her days working at The Pickup on Congress Street.

Chablis traveled the U.S. performing her show, The Doll Revue, at various venues and special events, such as gay pride gatherings.

[13] The Lady Chablis was featured in the closing segment of the Savannah episode of Bizarre Foods America on The Travel Channel.

[19] The Lady Chablis died on September 8, 2016, from Pneumocystis pneumonia, aged 59,[20][13] following a month-long stay at Savannah's Candler Hospital.

[9][21] On November 5, a special screening of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was shown at Savannah's Lucas Theatre for the Arts, with a tribute to Chablis beforehand.

Paul Hipp, alongside whom she appeared in the movie adaptation of Midnight in the Garden, said: "So sad to hear of The Lady Chablis' passing.