Meet Paula The Swedish Housewife, one of our two 2026 Sassy Lassy award recipients! The Sassy Lassy is awarded annually to performers, producers, and others in the burlesque community who have made an outsized contribution to the perpetuation of burlesque in the modern era, and few have made as big a contribution as Paula has.
Paula The Swedish Housewife was part of the Seattle burlesque, cabaret, and performance art scene as producer and personality for nearly 30 years between 1986 to 2015. Called “the Queen Bee of Seattle Burlesque” The Village Voice, named as one of the “Best Reasons to Live in Seattle” by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine and “ my gateway drug to Burlesque” by El Vez.
In the early 80’s while living in NYC she was introduced to Burlesque by John Sex, whom she performed with, and toyed with burlesque on and off until she fully stepped into the spotlight as a performer in 2004. Since then, she has collaborated with award winning graphic designers, performers, musicians, DJ’s, costume and set designers. In beautiful and tawdry venues with exceptional to laughable lighting and dressing rooms.
As a producer in Seattle she created stages for queer, trans and alternative/underground/avant- guard talent, with regular nights such as “Madame Peabody’s Dance Academy” featuring burlesque and drag. These stages were like a Petri dish, offering many performers the opportunity to express themselves artistically, and grow wings that eventually elevated them onto national and international stages.
In 2005, she put together the first Legends Night during the Miss Exotic World pageant in Helendale, CA, creating the template for spotlighting the lives and careers of burlesque Legends that would become today’s Titans and Icons and Tease Showcase, featured annually at the BHoF Weekender. Until 2012, Paula produced the showcase as part of the BHoF Weekender, receiving a Jennie Lee Service Award in 2013 for her contribution to BHoF. In this role, she introduced the Legends Walk of Fame and was instrumental in the creation of the BHoF Finishing School, giving burlesque Legends an opportunity to share the skills and wisdom they had gained as working performers in the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s.
Paula the Swedish Housewife has been an innovative neo-burlesque performer and producer and a crucial conduit between the Legends of burlesque’s classic era and the performers of today. We were thrilled to honor her with the Sassy Lassy at this year’s BHoF Weekender to recognize her vital role in ensuring burlesque’s continued development over the last 40 years.
Watch the video shown during her award presentation below.