Chablis became notable in the early 1990s when she was featured as one of Savannah's colorful characters in John Berendt's book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, based on a true crime story. In the book, Chablis and her larger-than-life adventures provided a counterbalance to the darker narrative of murder that was central to the book.

Chablis played herself in the 1997 movie of the same title, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. Chablis made several appearances on talk shows when the book and the movie were released.

Chablis frequently performs at her "home" nightclub of Club One in Savannah. Chablis also continues to travel the US performing at various venues and special events, such as gay pride gatherings. She has also appeared on radio shows.

According to Berendt's book, Chablis was a preoperative transsexual; Berendt wrote that he met her as she was returning home from having a hormone injection. In her book Hiding my Candy, Chablis said she has not undergone gender reassignment surgery. Chablis is a preoperative transsexual, as well as a full-time transvestite and drag queen. Chablis was interviewed about the making of the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in the documentary Damn Good Dog.

In her early career as an entertainer, under the names Brenda Dale Knox and The Lady Jonel, she won multiple titles in drag pageantry including:

• Miss Dixieland 1976
• Miss Gay World 1976
• The Grand Empress of Savannah 1977
• Miss Sweetheart International 1989
• Empress of Atlanta 1996
• Miss Cosmo U.S. 1997
• Miss Garden City 1997
• Miss Atlanta Universe 1998
• Miss Georgia National 1998
• Miss Southern States USA 1998

Her autobiography is titled Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah and was first published in 1996 by Pocket Books.