Aids activist and disco pioneer Jewel Thais-Williams dies aged 86
Jewel Thais-Williams in 2017 (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Jewel Thais-Williams in 2017 (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Jewel Thais-Williams, the pioneering owner of the Los Angeles Black queer disco Jewel’s Catch One, and HIV/Aids activist, has died. She was 86.
The lesbian entrepreneur died on Monday night (7 July), according to the Catch One Instagram profile. The announcement was made on Wednesday (9 July). No cause of death was given.
“With heavy hearts, we honour the life of Jewel Thais-Williams,” the post read. “A visionary, activist, healer and mother to many, her legacy transcends nightlife, reverberating through community health, advocacy and the fight for acceptance and safety.
“She welcomed everyone under her roof and transformed our city. Today, we honour her spirit and aim to carry forward her message of love, resilience and unity.”
Born in Indiana in 1939, Thais-Williams’ family moved to San Diego, the Los Angeles Times reported. She went on to graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, and owned a dress shop before opening to the nightclub that would make her legendary.
Her father was reportedly not supportive of her sexuality although her mother and sister were.
Thais-Williams opened Catch One in 1973 after being shunned by other queer venues. It became a safe haven for Queer People of Colour (QPOC) in LA, who faced similar discrimination at predominantly white gay clubs.
A plaque erected in 2024 celebrated Catch One as one of the first gay nightclubs to welcome QPOC and declared it the first African-American-owned disco in LA.
The club became a cultural phenomenon, attracting up to 1,300 patrons a night and playing host to celebrities such as Madonna, Sharon Stone and Janet Jackson before its closure in 2015. It still operates as Catch One, under after new management.
Thais-Williams was also a passionate advocate for HIV/Aids treatment and services.
She co-founded the Minority Aids Project in 1987, offering education, medical treatment and support services, and two years later established Rue’s House with her wife to provide housing and services for women and children living with HIV/Aids.
Her activism extended to founding the Village Health Foundation in 2001, which offered alternative HIV treatments. Her trailblazing legacy was cemented in 2019 when the intersection where her club stood was renamed Jewel Thais-Williams Square by the Los Angeles City Council.
People responding on Catch One’s Instagram post people hailed her as an “icon”, who deserved to be more-widely known.
One person wrote: “She did incredible work for the entire community. We will miss her physical presence greatly.” Someone else simply said, “Rest in power, icon.”
Jewel Thais-Williams was an extraordinary human being. She was the most dedicated advocate for the LGBTQ community, and she created the fabulous nightclub, Jewel’s Catch One Disco. Catch One became a welcoming spot for the LGBTQ community and for many Hollywood stars and…
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) July 9, 2025
Tributes poured in on other social media platforms. US representative Maxine Waters wrote on X/Twitter that Thais-Williams “was an extraordinary human being”, adding: “She was a dear friend and I enjoyed all the times we worked together. She will definitely be remembered and missed.”
And Los Angeles county supervisor Holly Mitchell praised Thais-Williams’ “courage and love” that touched “countless lives”.
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