Barbara Herr is a transgender woman, actress, cabaret artist, showgirl and activist whose remarkable life spans more than five decades of LGBTQ+ performance history. Born Robert Hernández in the Bronx, New York, in 1955 to Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrant parents, she grew up between New York and Puerto Rico, an experience that would shape both her identity and her extraordinary artistic career. Barbara moved to Puerto Rico as a teenager and began performing in 1973 under the name Bobby Herr. During the 1970s and 1980s, she became part of the island's vibrant world of drag, cabaret and nightclub entertainment, performing in venues such as Bachelor in Santurce and Stars in Condado. She also worked in theatre and television and toured with a revue connected with the legendary Héctor Del San Juand and Ed Vachan. Later, she toured the Caribbean as a solo artist, headlining her own show during hotel residencies in the Dominican Republic. Two important figures helped shape her artistic life. Antonio Pantojas, one of Puerto Rico's most celebrated entertainers, became her mentor, teacher and close friend, while the legendary Lady Catiria became an important artistic influence. Through them and many other performers of her generation, Barbara became part of a rich Puerto Rican and Nuyorican tradition of transgender and drag performance that has only recently begun to receive the historical recognition it deserves.
