05/08/2026
DONATE NOW AND SUPPORT - James Lee Williams chose Liverpool at sixteen. He packed up, left North Wales, and came to a city he believed would see him.
Liverpool did.
The Vivienne was born here, in the venues and the community of the Pride Quarter. Working in iconic Liverpool spaces including Garlands, GBar, and Superstar Bo***ir, she made everyone feel like they belonged, long before the cameras arrived. James went on to win the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, compete on Dancing on Ice, and become one of the most recognisable LGBTQ+ figures in the world.
But Liverpool knew her first.
In January 2025, we lost James far too soon, following a silent battle with addiction to Ketamine. The stigma surrounding that struggle meant he did not feel able to ask for help. House of The Vivienne CIC was founded by his family in his memory, to make sure no one else ever has to face that silence alone.
James was also a friend. Someone who walked into a room and made everyone in it feel like they belonged. That is who The Vivienne was to Liverpool’s Pride Quarter, and that is who she still is to everyone who loved her.
Now we have the chance to make sure Liverpool never forgets.
We are raising funds to commission a permanent lifesize statue of The Vivienne, to be sited at the at the entrance to Liverpool’s officially recognised Pride Quarter, looking out over the street she made her own - The Vivienne will watch over the community she loved as its permanent guardian angel.
GIVE Here .. https://gofund.me/4be19876e
