By: Skyler Johnson
Rupaul’s Drag Race, the hit competition series on VH1 revolving around drag queens, recently entered its fourteenth season. Fourteen new queens have set foot in the workroom over the span of two episodes, each from very different backgrounds and upbringings. Some are pageant queens (participants in drag pageants, similar to beauty pageants) and some are club queens (queens known for performing in clubs). Either way, they want to snatch the crown. Here is everything you need to know about this season’s competitors.
Alyssa Hunter
Alyssa is this season’s only Puerto Rican queen, though many queens from the island have been successful in the show, including Yara Sofia, Alexis Mateo, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine. Hunter competed in, and won, all four of Puerto Rico’s biggest pageants, and became known for her sense of fashion.
Angeria Paris VanMichaels
VanMichaels hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a pageant queen. Described as a “Southern Belle serving fierce fashion and face with a country charm,” Angeria already appears to be a frontrunner in the competition with a mini- and maxi-challenge win under her belt (and all in one episode).
Bosco
Bosco, from Seattle, has a lot to live up to given she’s from the same city as Drag Race royalty Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme. Bosco identifies as the “demon queen” and “skanky alternative girl” from Seattle. Her drag character is seductive and elusive, and she takes a lot of inspiration from movie villains. She considers herself a “millennial Elvira.”
Daya Betty
Daya Betty, the drag daughter of season 12 runner-up Crystal Methyd, is notable for her punk rock aesthetics. Betty has already produced several intriguing looks, including a stone bust look for her Entertainment Weekly interview.
Deja Skye
DeJa Skye is a camp queen from Fresno, California. She has a passion for, “food, makeup, and everything fabulous.” She works as a dance and cheer instructor during the day, so you’ll know she’ll produce some sickening dance moves on the main stage.
Jasmine Kennedie
Kennedie is this season’s only New York representation. In interviews with her competitors, the other queens noted her to be the season’s most dramatic queen, so it’ll be interesting to see how she’ll do.
Jorgeous
Jorgeous, from season 14, is both the youngest competitor (21) and the shortest. She’s a fashion queen from Tennessee, popular as a club queen as well as being a noted dancer.
June Jambalaya
One of the many Los Angeles-based queens to come out of this season, June Jambalaya is originally from Jacksonville, Florida, and is influenced by the South and The Real Housewives franchise, the latter being where she crafted her drag persona.
Kerri Colby
Colby, self-described as an “otherworldly ‘alien’ goddess from the ‘7th dimension,’” is notable as a pageant queen and the drag daughter of Sasha Colby, a famous drag queen and winner of Miss Continental 2012. She’s also a member of the Haus of Colby, a popular drag family. Known for her beautiful visage, she is a clear contender for the crown.
Kornbread “The Snack” Jete
Kornbread is a camp queen popular in the LA club circuit. She first gained internet notoriety acting in the videos of popular sketch comedian Brandon Rodgers playing various characters. Beloved amongst other LA queens for her energy and fun personality, it’ll be intriguing to see where this season takes her.
Lady Camden
San Francisco’s Lady Camden, originally from Camden town in England, is a British queen known for being ladylike in her fashion and choreography, but bawdy in her humor. A ballet dancer, she once performed in Smuin ballet. She is also the third ever queen from San Francisco (the other two being Rock M. Sakura and Honey Mahofany) and is the show’s oldest contestant at 31.
Maddy Morphosis
Morphosis, from Arkansas, is by far the most controversial queen of the season, and one of the most controversial contestants of all time in the series, for being the first cisgender straight man to enter the competition. Many fans of the show have spoken against her for this reason, given Drag Race is known as a safe haven for members of the LGBT community. She currently has a partner, who is also a drag queen, and worked at Target before entering the competition.
Orion Story
Michigan camp queen Orion Story describes her drag style as “chaotic,” and “what you get when you put Barbarella on a runway on Sesame Street.” She also won Miss Michigan Drag Queen of the Year, and is the first Michigan queen to grace the runway.
Willow Pill
Willow Pill is a comedy and camp queen from Denver, known for her offbeat sense of humor and surreal performances, such as in “Digital Drag Show,” a trippy, weird video on her Youtube channel. She is also the drag daughter of season 11 winner Yvie Oddly.
