Pure Joy

BOTH FEARLESS AND FUNNY, THE WILL GRACE STAR DELIGHTED TV AUDIENCES FOR DECADES=AND RED UP A COUNTRY IN LOCKDOWN

- TOM GLIATTO

As stars go, Leslie Jordan was always a lovely surprise—the gumdrop you'd find in what you thought was an empty candy dish. The 4'11” Chattanooga native, a gay actor who knew how to play catty without sacrificing sweetness, was the proud owner of an Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy won in 2006 for NBC’s Will Grace); a breakout Instagram personality with 5.9 million followers most of them hunker-downers,” as he called them, who came aboard during the pandemic); and a man of uplifting charm and camp), full of jokes and anecdotes. In August, when People asked Jordan about his new condo in West Hollywood, he said that he’d hired a decorator: He came to my apartment, and he said, This is kind of like French country, and I said, Honey, it’s Old Southern Queen, is what it is.’”