Īfter identifying as a gay man for most of his life, just before his death Crisp wrote in his autobiography that it had been 'explained' to him that he was 'not really homosexual', but instead transgender. Crisp defied convention by criticising both gay liberation and Diana, Princess of Wales.

His one-man stage show was a long-running hit both in Britain and America, and he also appeared in films and on television. The interviews he gave about his unusual life attracted great curiosity, and he was soon sought after for his personal views on social manners and the cultivation of style.

He then spent thirty years as a professional model for life-classes in art colleges. During his teen years he worked briefly as a rent boy. Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt ( )25 December 1908 – ( )21 November 1999) was an English writer, humorist and actor. Writer, illustrator, actor, artist's model