Viral Humans of New York subject Stephanie “Tanqueray” Johnson has died. She was 81.

According to Men’s Journal, the storytelling platform confirmed her death in a social media tribute.

Humans of New York remembered the ‘legend’ Johnson was

“We’ve lost a legend,” the storytelling platform wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “Stephanie ‘Tanqueray’ Johnson passed away last night after suffering a severe stroke. She will be most remembered for holding the world in thrall with her no-holds-barred storytelling about life as a burlesque dancer in the 1970s.”

The statement continued, “Stephanie was a complicated person. Her public persona was irresistibly charismatic. Yet behind the scenes I’ve rarely met somebody who had such difficulty with close relationships. She was internationally adored, yet intensely lonely. She was desirous of companionship, yet quick to cut people out of her life over the smallest slights.”

The Humans of New York account concluded its tribute by thanking Johnson “for taking me, and all of us, on the greatest ride of our lives.”

New York will pay tribute to Johnson on Friday

Humans of New York shared Johnson’s story in 2019 to viral attention.

“My stripper name was Tanqueray,” the 81-year-old began her feature. “Back in the seventies I was the only black girl making white girl money. I danced in so many mob clubs that I learned Italian.”

From there, she detailed her life as a burlesque dancer in the 1960s and 1970s. Her stories were captivating, so much so that her Humans of New York feature remains one of the most viral on the platform.

With the help of Humans of New York founder Brandon Stanton, Johnson released a memoir in 2022.

“Stephanie told me endless stories about how badly her mother treated her as a child, yet remained capable of exhibiting that same behavior toward others. People are complicated,” the Humans of New York tribute mentioned. “And the longer you live, the more you realize the most inexcusable behavior often stems from the saddest traumas. There was always a little girl inside of Stephanie who never had a chance to feel safe.”

It added, “In her own words: ‘When I get to heaven I hope God shows me a movie of my life. But just the funny parts. Not the in-between parts, cause then we’d both start crying. Underneath all the laughs and the gags, it was always about one thing: survival. Tanqueray was a lot of fun. But Tanqueray was Stephanie. And Stephanie was a teenage runaway from Albany: doing what she needed to do, and being who she needed to be, to get what she needed to get.”

Men’s Journal reported that the City of New York will celebrate Johnson’s life on Friday at the main Grand Central concourse at 8 p.m.