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Chris Owens recently passed away on April 5, 2022. The Bourbon Street performer’s death comes weeks before her annual Easter Parade that rolls through the French Quarter. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a statement and said:
“Today, we mourn the passing of Chris Owens, one of the brightest lights of the French Quarter. The consummate entertainer and the star of her own Bourbon Street nightclub, Ms. Owens was charismatic, beautiful, and iconic. The news is even sadder, as we are just weeks away from the Easter Parade that became her most glorious stage. May she rest in God’s perfect peace.”
Chris Owens’ age and career
Owens was 89 years old at the time of death. She died of a heart attack on Tuesday morning in her St. Louis Street Apartment. The news was confirmed by her longtime manager, Kitsy Adams.
It is unknown if she has faced any other health issues in the past, and further details on her funeral are yet to be revealed.
Owens was a French Quarter fixture and celebrity from the beginning of the 1960s through the early 21st century. She was famous in Louisiana and across the South. Tourists who visited Bourbon Street loved her huge posters wearing costumes as they walked by her nightclub. The entrepreneur was popularly known as Queen of the Vieux Carre.
Born on October 5, 1932, she was the daughter of Fred Moore Shaw Sr. and Thelma Leona Martin. She was raised on a farm and enrolled at Texas Wesleyan College to become a nurse.
Owens tied the knot with car dealer Sol R. Owens in 1956 and opened a nightclub on St. Louis Street in the French Quarter. It was intended to be a low-key sideline establishment, but the business exploded.
Chris and Sol R. Owens realized that the former’s performance numbers were a big draw as they sold their house in 1977 and bought the building on the corner of St. Louis and Bourbon. Chris Owens Review eventually became a famous act in the town.
Sol died of a heart attack in 1979 when Owens took over the management of the club alongside 30 apartments and four shops located within the building. She hosted a yearly Easter Parade that continues to roll throughout the French Quarter.
Owens appeared in the 1962 film The Wacky World of Doctor Morgus. She then started the production of her first feature film, Let’s Ballroom, in 2003, where she played the role of a wealthy widow falling in love with her dance instructor.
Twitter gets flooded with tributes
Chris Owens became famous all these years as a performer and entertainer. The public and famous personalities paid tribute to her on Twitter when they heard about her demise:
So far, there are no known survivors of Owens. Although she was married to Sol R. Owens, the couple did not have any children.
