BeBe Sweetbriar is the stage name of Kevin-Lee Junious, an American drag singer, actor, community activist, and host based in San Francisco, California. She has released two dance records, Save Me and Free to Be Me. BeBe is also host of multiple parties, such as Porno, a quarterly dance party and Play Trivia with BeBe[1] at Harveys, San Francisco. She hosts a weekly webTV talk show, It's Everything, on the Talk Stream Network.

BeBe Sweetbriar
Bebe Sweetbriar in 2020
Born
Kevin-Lee Junious

(1962-04-08) April 8, 1962 (age 62)
Occupation(s)Singer, Actor, Activist
WebsiteBeBeSweetbriar.com

Life and career

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BeBe Sweetbriar was born and raised in Sacramento, California by Joan and Ace Junious. His given name is Kevin-Lee Junious. He is the youngest of four siblings, two sisters and one brother.[2] He has two daughters, Alessandra and Cydney.[2] BeBe started performing at age 5. He learned how to play the trumpet, trombone, and baritone horn.[2]

She stepped away from music and performing until 2006. This is the year Kevin-Lee created BeBe Sweetbriar, his drag persona.[3]

On May 18, 2013, San Francisco Pride selected Bebe as the parade's Community Grand Marshal over Bradley Manning.[4][5][6]

BeBe's collaboration with Knife & Fork and Leo Frappier, "UNITY," spent 9 weeks on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart peaking at position 25 on October 21, 2017.[7]

Activism

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BeBe has performed for various fundraisers to benefit many LGBT organizations including AIDS Housing Alliance, Under One Roof, Larkin Street Youth, Lyric, GLAAD, Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation.[1]

Discography

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  • "UNITY" (2017)[7][8]
  • Come Play With Me (Ode to Grace Jones) (2013)
  • Here We Go (2012)
  • Show It Off (2012)
  • Stand Up (2012)[9]
  • Save Me (2006)
  • Free to Be Me (2006)

Filmography

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List of theatre, television and film credits
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2009 Under One Sun Regina
2009 Devious, Inc. Lateck's Twin/Lola
2014 Eternal Post-production
Television
2020 Hiraeth[10] Jazz

Awards and honors

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  • 2008, Miss Gay San Francisco[3][11]
  • 2008, Miss Desperate Diva[3][12][13]
  • 2013, Community Grand Marshal, San Francisco Pride Parade[14][15][16]
  • 2017, Most Notable Drag Queen, The San Francisco Nightlife Awards (a.k.a. The Nitey Awards)[17][18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Play with BeBe - Trivia at Harveys SF". Harvey's. Archived from the original on 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  2. ^ a b c Marks, Kippy (8 August 2013). "Nothing Sweeter Than Sweetbriar". San Francisco Bay Times. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Moskowitz, Ilan (25 June 2013). "LGBT 'superhero' uses drag persona to help others". The Bay Area Reporter. BAR, Inc. Retrieved 2019-09-24. He also went on to win Miss Gay San Francisco in 2008 and was Miss Desperate Diva 2008.
  4. ^ "Statement from the SF Pride Board of Directors". Facebook. 7 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  5. ^ Nathan, Melanie (18 May 2013). "SF Pride Announces Bebe Sweetbriar as 2013 Parade Community Grand Marsha". O-blog-dee-o-blog-da. Private Courts Inc. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  6. ^ Fischer, Mia (2019). Terrorizing Gender: Transgender Visibility and the Surveillance Practices of the U.S. Security State. University of Nebraska Press. p. 58. ISBN 9781496218506. Not surprisingly, Manning was replaced with safer and less contentious political choices reflecting the allegedly successful inclusion of LGBT people into the nation-state represented by various celebrities such as BeBe Sweetbriar, a popular San Franciscan drag performer.
  7. ^ a b "BeBe Sweetbriar | Billboard". Billboard. Billboard Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  8. ^ UNITY - Knife & Fork + Leo Frappier ft BeBe Sweetbriar (Dirty Disco Mainroom Remix) - LYRIC VIDEO on YouTube
  9. ^ Stand Up - Bebe Sweetbriar on YouTube
  10. ^ "Hiraeth (TV Series 2020– ) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  11. ^ "Imperial Family". Imperial Council of San Francisco. Retrieved 11 January 2021. Miss Gay San Francisco 2008, BeBe Sweetbriar
  12. ^ "Here come the divas". The Bay Area Reporter. BAR, Inc. 3 October 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2021. Miss July BeBe Sweetbriar...was crowned Desperate Diva 2008 at the Grand Drag Pageant Saturday, September 29 at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.
  13. ^ Solimeo, Luiz (10 April 2008). "Sacrilege, Scandal and Homosexual Ideology in San Francisco". The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. Retrieved 11 January 2021. On September 29, 007 [sic], the parish hosted a show of transvestites titled 'Desperate Divas 2008 Grand Drag Pageant,' which the organizers described as follows: 'Twelve of the Bay Area's most delicious drag divas will compete for the Crown and Title of Miss Desperate Diva 2008, culminating in the big reveal of who will grace the cover of the 2008 Desperate Divas Drag calendar...'
  14. ^ Laird, Cynthia (5 June 2013). "News Briefs: LGBT, allied businesses set for Pride expo". The Bay Area Reporter. BAR, Inc. Retrieved 23 September 2019. The San Francisco Pride Committee and dot429...will host Be Scene, a fundraising reception...Grand marshals BeBe Sweetbriar and Betty Sullivan will co-host the event...
  15. ^ "SF Pride Board to announce decision on Bradley Manning today". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco Media Company LLC. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2021. The SF Pride Board of Directors is planning to announce a decision Friday about whether Bradley Manning will be appointed Grand Marshal of this year's Pride Parade...The Wikileaks whistleblower was selected for the honor last month by a group of former grand marshals, but parade organizers declared him ineligible soon after because he isn't local, choosing drag queen BeBe Sweetbriar instead.
  16. ^ "Historical Grand Marshal and Honoree List" (PDF). San Francisco Pride. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-01. Retrieved 11 January 2021. BeBe Sweetbriar 2013 Community Grand Marshal
  17. ^ "The Nitey Awards - Celebrating creative excellence and patron experience in the nightlife industry". Nitey Awards. 27 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  18. ^ Sachet, Donna (8 March 2017). "Oscars, Royals, and Niteys". The Bay Area Reporter. BAR, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.