Today, we were saddened to hear that Sahara Davenport, TV personality and celebrity, passed away at the tender age of 27. Born Antoine Ashley in Dallas, TX, Sahara studied classical dance at Southern Methodist University while also serving as a choreographer for many drag performers around SMU. Sahara earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree from SMU, and shortly thereafter moved to New York City to pursue his own dreams of becoming a drag performer. Sahara became a staple performer at NYC bars and nightclubs such as Barracuda, Vlada, Escuelita, Therapy, XL, The Monster, and Splash, before landing a permanent show at Suite. Sahara’s breakout came when he was a contestant during the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2010, immediately becoming an audience favorite.

Sahara served as emcee for Housing Works’ 20th Anniversary Awards Dinner and Fashion for Action event on November 15, 2010, which honored Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, pioneering AIDS activist Eric Sawyer, and ecommerce visionary Alexis Maybank, co-founder of Gilt Groupe.

Sahara passed away on October 1, 2012. Sahara’s boyfriend, Karl Westerberg (who performs under the name “Manila Luzon,” and was also a contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) tweeted simply today to fans, “I love him so much.”

Rest in peace, Sahara.

For more on Sahara, please visit his Facebook page and official website.

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