Leslie Jordan, ‘Will & Grace’ actor and ‘queer icon,’ dies at 67 after crash in Hollywood
Celebrity gay icon Leslie Jordan says she is “humbled and grateful” after a car crash while performing a drag show on the Westside Highway in Los Angeles, according to a statement from her manager.
The 46-year-old actor, who was a star of the Will & Grace hit TV show, was traveling with three women in a black Lincoln Town Car at the time of the crash, according to a Facebook post from her manager.
“Please pray for my friends and family that were in the car who lost their lives,” the actor’s manager, Stephen Marche, wrote at the time. “Everyone is safe. Thank you to the LAPD for their efforts in finding the vehicle.”
Jordan, who played the role of Mary Sue, the mother of Will’s character, was airlifted to a local hospital and listed May 18 in critical condition after the accident, her publicist said at the time.
She had been set to appear in her film, “Toxic,” after filming a pivotal scene the day before on the set of “Grace & Frankie,” starring Kelsey Grammer.
Jordan’s publicist confirmed she had been working on the film in the days leading up to the accident as producers considered a script they believed would be produced after she was set to reprise the role in “Grace & Frankie.”
The post from Marche called that possibility “highly unlikely.” “We thank everyone who has reached out,” he said. “We are heartbroken to learn that Leslie has passed away in a tragic and unfortunate accident this morning. All of us are grieving with Leslie’s family and we appreciate every effort to hold their loved ones together.”
Jordan starred for nine seasons on the hit NBC series and was best known for her role as the titular “Mary Sue” on a long-running sitcom about a Manhattan gay woman who returns to her hometown to care for her sick mother.
Born to Lebanese immigrants in the Midwest, she was raised partly in a Catholic family and attended Antioch College in Ohio, according to her publicist.
She began her professional acting career at 10 years old, appearing in a short film in Kansas City, her
