Celebrating Drag: Remembering Chloe Jacobs, 1990–2025: NATURAL STATE Mourns Miss Gay Arkansas America 2018
- Ron Standridge
- Aug 2
- 6 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
By Ron Standridge:
Whether twirling out of the wings to storm center stage or merely walking into a room, statuesque beauty Chloe Jacobs always knew how to make an entrance.
Making her professional debut as a female impersonator in 2012, Chloe first made a splash in pageantry by taking first alternate honors at Miss Gay Arkansas America that same year with little more than seven months stage experience. Placing first alternate again at Miss Gay Arkansas America in 2014, Jacobs would triumphantly return following a brief hiatus from competition to finally capture the title and crown of Miss Gay Arkansas America 2018.
Chloe Jacobs died on July 25, 2025, in Little Rock at the age of 35 due to complications relating to a diagnosis of lupus earlier this year.
Evan Neal Jacobs
Evan Neal Jacobs was born on April 30, 1990, in Brinkley, Arkansas and grew up as a small-town boy whose fun-loving spirit and heart of a champion would lead him to success in a variety of diverse arenas. A passionate equestrian with a flair for competitive barrel racing, Jacobs made his professional career as a hairdresser and cosmetologist before finding a celebrated spotlight as one of the state’s leading female impersonators.
A beloved figure within the Arkansas LGBTQ+ community, Chloe Jacobs is now being remembered for a life lived with humor, wit, and empathy.
“I grew up in a small town of 3,000 people,” said Jacobs, speaking to the press shortly after being crowned Miss Gay Arkansas 2018. “I know what it’s like for a little country boy who is 16 or 17 years old and who is dancing in front of his mirror to Britney Spears. I want them to know that someone else was doing the very same thing at one point in their life, and they can push themselves to be who they are . . . and let the whole world see them.”
Lindy Bass, a veteran Little Rock hair dresser and makeup artist known throughout the industry for the many state and national titleholders he helped mentor, remembers recognizing Jacobs’ potential almost from the outset. Taking the then-newbie underwing, he helped put Chloe in face and costume for her first stage appearance at a charity show at Miss Kitty’s Saloon in downtown Little Rock benefiting the Arkansas Diamond State Rodeo Association.
“We were both so nervous as the song started,” recalled Bass. “But when she flew out onto that stage, I remember turning to those who were with me and saying . . . ’She’s going to be a star!’ And, I was right.”
Miss Gay Arkansas 2013 Brooklyn Bisette, of Fayetteville, remembers meeting Chloe in 2011 before either of them captured their crowns.
“One of my favorite memories is the night we met,” said Bisette. “It was in the showroom at Triniti in Little Rock, where I was doing make up for some of the performers. As a barrel-racing country boy, it was all quite a new experience for her. We had a delightful evening, but consisting of her mainly asking really funny questions all evening . . . endless questions, constant inquisition. It was the beginning of a long friendship with several distinct chapters.”
Having previously attained such preliminary titles as Miss Gay Little Rock, Miss Gay Heart of the Ozarks, and Miss Gay Fayetteville, Chloe selected suicide prevention as the fundamental platform for her reign as Miss Gay Arkansas America 2018.
Pageant promoter Jordan Bolton, then serving as director of the Miss Gay Arkansas America Pageant for Norma Kristie, Inc. recalls being impressed by the sincerity Chloe brought to the crown.
“I remember the night Chloe won. As we were going over paperwork afterwards, she turned to me and asked, ‘Do you think I’m actually going to be good at this?’ ” said Bolton. “I had known Chloe since she first started performing, but that was the moment I really knew she had the heart for the job of being Miss Gay Arkansas.”
Taking over last year as the pageant owner, Bolton points to Jacobs as an excellent representative who contributed greatly to the enduring legacy and reputation of the senior preliminary to the national Miss Gay America Pageant.
“Chloe had the ability to make people feel seen, and I don’t think that is something that can be taught,” said Bolton. “You either have that gift or you don’t. Chloe had it.”
Friend and fellow competitor Jeremy Reid Stuthard—who as Taylor Monroe Madison finished as runner up to Jacobs in 2018—agrees.
“I had watched her grow from the beginning, so actually seeing Chloe accomplish that dream of becoming Miss Gay Arkansas, I think I may have cheered the loudest that night,” said Stuthard. “I will always remember how hard she worked, how she pushed herself and others to do better. I will remember that, even in the worst times, she could always put a smile on my face. Standing on stage next to her as her first alternate . . . honestly, I have never been happier to lose a pageant.”
Using the crown as a catalyst for community activism, Chloe unwittingly made statewide and national news during her reign when a highly publicized appearance at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith as part of “Drag Queen Story Time” drew indignant outrage and protests from conservative members of the Arkansas legislature.
“Chloe was an electrifying performer who totally connected with audiences and who was adored by her fans,” said Coppa LeMay, currently reigning as Miss Gay Arkansas 2024. “Her sense of humor was infectious, and she had the sweetest personality. She was a beautiful spirit inside and out, and I loved her. She will be missed.”
Pushing forward became a recurring theme that Jacobs instilled into all of those who gained encouragement or inspiration from her advice as well as her example.
“Chloe was a dynamic and versatile performer, and her outlook on life was to always live in the moment,” said Dex Poindexter, a friend and fellow entertainer based in West Monroe, LA, who as Dextaci was crowned Miss Gay America 2022. “She truly relished in every moment in life. She was always so personal and real. She treated me as a friend and sister, always telling me to keep pushing forward.”
“We once did a show together—outdoors, in the daylight—where the audience was allowed and encouraged to bring their pets,” said Poindexter, with a chuckle. “Even though it was 101 degrees and our makeup had sweated off by the end of program, we literally laughed together throughout the entire show.”
For Bisette, laughter through tears is how she, too, chooses to remember her Miss Gay Arkansas sister.
“She lifted us all up when we needed it,” said Bisette. “Chloe was someone I trusted myself to be completely open and vulnerable with, and I will say there are many secrets that will go to the grave with my sister. I love her, and I can still feel her living on through so many of us.”
An online obituary and guest book for Evan (Chloe) Jacobs can be found here: https://anaturalstatefuneralservice.com/2025/07/evan-jacobs-age-35/
The late Chloe Jacobs is among several entertainers interviewed for The Natural State of Drag, a feature-length documentary currently in production for Flapper Films exploring the history of female impersonation in Arkansas. To learn more about the upcoming film, visit naturalstateofdrag.com
An award-winning writer and publicist, Ron Standridge is an Arkansas native and veteran communications professional. A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, Ron spent 18 years as public relations coordinator at CARTI Inc. and has also served as communications director for the Arkansas Community Foundation and director of alumni and constituent relations at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is now the owner of Write Away, Ron Communications and Public Relations. As a team member at My Ideal Music, Inc., Ron works closely with the estate of singer Margaret Whiting to promote and preserve the legacies of the legendary Whiting Family. A former director of the Miss Gay Arkansas America Pageant, Ron is also a noted drag archivist specializing in the history
of Miss Gay America and is currently co-producing Natural State of Drag—a documentary feature about the history of drag in Arkansas.
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