A Los Angeles-based television star will be one of the grand marshals at this year’s Pride Parade, says Vancouver Pride Society (VPS) president John Boychuk.
Honey Labrador was the first woman to join the cast of TV’s Queer Eye series. She has also appeared in Red Shoe Diaries.
Boychuk says the Pride Society was looking for someone with a “junior celebrity” profile who could raise awareness of Vancouver Pride on the international stage.
“We put out a call to 45 different individuals from radio, television, big screen and small screen,” he says. “At the end of the day, Honey was one of the people who was interested in coming up to do this.”
The VPS is still awaiting word form several others who have been asked to be grand marshals too. One such person is a local celebrity, but Boychuk won’t reveal who it is just yet.
In seeking the second person, Boychuk says it would be “somebody recognized by the community who has done groundbreaking work or has done something to benefit the community or taken a stand.”
He says partnering a local celebrity with a more widely recognized one will shine a brighter spotlight on the local individual–not to mention create a greater visibility for Pride itself.
Labrador started modelling at age 17 and has appeared on Elle, Mademoiselle, Harper’s Bazaar and both British and Italian Vogues. She eventually settled in Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
According to the Internet Movie Database, she was named Honey because her grandmother’s first words upon seeing her were “what a honey!”