Here are Canada’s Drag Race contestants as the show comes to BBC Three.
The 12 fierce queens who will be competing for the title of Canada’s First Drag Superstar have been introduced.
The Canadian queens are as follows: Priyanka, Juice Boxx, Rita Baga, Kiara, JIMBO, AnaSTARzia Anaquway, Lemon, Tynomi Banks, BOA, Ilona Verley, Scarlett Bobo and Kyne.
With these twelve queens representing their districts, find out who will claim the crown and become Canada’s First Drag Superstar from Friday 3 July, on BBC Three.
Canada’s Drag Race contestants
Priyanka
28-year-old from Toronto
Instagram: @thequeenpriyanka
Priyanka is no stranger to the camera, having worked as a kids TV host for years before she switched to a full-time career in drag. She graced the cover of Toronto’s NOW Magazine in 2019 when she was voted Favourite Toronto Drag Queen by their readers
Priyanka says: “I love drag so much. I had a drag queen perform at my 26th birthday party and they suggested I do drag. Now three titles, two music videos, and one big opportunity to be on Canada’s Drag Race. I could be ‘Canada’s First Ever Drag Superstar’… what’s my name?!”
Juice Boxx
31-year-old from Toronto
Instagram: @juiceboxxofficial
Twitter: @JuiceBoxxQueen
Juice Boxx is bright, bubbly and sinful and always adds a little bit of spice. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts – Visual Arts from the University of Windsor and a Diploma of Makeup Artistry and Special FX from CMU
Juice Boxx says: “I’m so excited to be on the first season of Canada’s Drag Race and I can’t wait to show the world how incredible Canadian drag really is.”
Rita Baga
32-year-old from Montréal
Instagram: @ritabagaz
Twitter: @ritabagaz
Rita Baga is a versatile queen and one of most recognizable in Montréal. She is the most awarded queen in the city having won ‘Best Drag Queen in Montréal’ four times. She is very involved in the LGBTQ+ community in Montréal and has been a driving force as part of the bid committee that submitted the city for World Pride 2023.
Rita Baga says: “I’m beyond excited to be part of this journey! I want to make my province proud and to be the very first francophone to own a Drag Superstar title. Dreams DO come true!”
Kiara
21-year-old from Montréal
Instagram: @kiara.qc.ca
Kiara recently quit her job and put school on pause to focus full-time on drag. She has taken the local scene by storm, quickly getting booked all over Montréal. Kiara has struggled with body issues and self-esteem, but drag has helped empower her. She is one of very few queens of colour in the Québec drag scene. She is proud to represent her community
Kiara says: “Being on Canada’s Drag Race is a dream come true. I’m beyond excited to be on my favourite TV show and I can’t wait to make queer Canadian her-story!”
JIMBO
36-year-old from Victoria, B.C.
Instagram: @jimbothedragclown
JIMBO’s day job is working in film as a costume designer. She has a background in clown and loves to incorporate elements of that into her drag, aiming to create iconic moments that are funny, glamorous, twisted, and weird.
JIMBO says: “Drag is the perfect gateway for self-discovery and self-expression. It’s the beautiful culmination of courage, joy, performance, and artistry that inspires and entertains. Drag is a personal and political statement that challenges the social constructs to help inspire change in the world.”
AnaSTARzia Anaquway
37-year-old from Toronto
Instagram: @anaquway
AnaSTARzia is a pageant queen who mainly tours the US and rarely works in the Toronto drag scene. She’s won more than 15 pageants across Canada and the US. Her drag is inspired by her Caribbean roots and is heavily influenced by the American drag pageant scene.
AnaSTARzia says: “Being on Drag Race is the culmination of an amazing 17-year career. It allows me to represent all the little black boys and girls in third world countries like the Bahamas that have huge dreams but no resources to make them a reality.”
Lemon
24-year-old from New York City
Instagram: @lemongivesyoulife
Twitter: @thatbitchlemon
Lemon is a professionally trained dancer. She was chosen by RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Sasha Velour to be one of the models in a New York Fashion Week runway! Lemon wants to bring the NYC Drag Scene influence to Canada
Lemon says: “I am so excited to be on Canada’s Drag Race so I can show the world I’m not only that girl, I’m that *Canadian* girl.”
Tynomi Banks
38-year-old from Toronto
Instagram: @tynomibanks
Twitter: @tynomibanks
Tynomi is known as the Dancing Queen of Toronto; she is one of the most celebrated drag queens in the city. Tyra Banks inspires her looks, but on the inside she feels like Naomi Campbell, hence her name, Tynomi. The first time her mother saw her in drag was when she performed at World Pride 2014 in Toronto
Tynomi says: “Tynomi Banks is fun, flirty, and fashionable. She will entertain you, all the while stealing your man in plain sight and you won’t even realize it’s happening.”
BOA
24-year-old from Toronto
Twitter: @bitchonarrival
Instagram: @boathedragqueen
Her drag name “BOA” is actually her real last name and nickname growing up. BOA is also an acronym for “Bitch on Arrival”. BOA was a victim of a violent hate crime when she first moved to Toronto. The community rallied behind her and their support helped her recover and heal. She also used this opportunity to speak out and advocate against violence in the community.
BOA is a sober queen. Last year, she hit her lowest of lows and made the vow to quit drinking! She is actively working on her addiction by focusing all of her energy on drag with the help of her partner and the support of her friends, family, and fellow drag sisters
BOA says: “I love drag because it gives me the opportunity to be my authentic, goofy self and bring my audience happiness. When an audience is happy, so am I! I like my drag to allow people to let loose, have fun, laugh and forget about all the negativity in the world.”
Ilona Verley
24-year-old from Vancouver
Instagram: @ilonaverley
Twitter: @IlonaVerley
YouTube: ILONA VERLEY
Ilona Verley is a two-spirit indigenous artist who grew up Nlaka’pamux and strives to be the representation she wished she had seen growing up watching mainstream media. She is always serving monochromatic head to toe pastel looks and has a strong social media presence. She is a self-sufficient queen who is able to put her own looks together in all departments from hair to custom shoes
Ilona Verley says: “Drag is important to me as it is how I visually express how I see myself on the inside, and how I manifest my female energy as a two-spirit person!”
Scarlett Bobo
29-year-old from Toronto
Instagram: @itsscarlettbobo
Scarlett Bobo is a community builder and is dedicated to empowering people to be their most genuine selves. She created and produces a local drag competition which she uses as a platform to talk about community needs and to inspire the younger generation of queer youth. Scarlett went to circus school because she was bored! She learned to eat fire, light herself on fire, and perform aerial skills.
Scarlett says: “I love, love, LOVE doing drag because it allows me to live my truth every day and there are no rules to what I am allowed to do, say, or accomplish. Canada’s Drag Race lets me express every side of myself and show others how to be fearless and authentic. I want to prove that you can stay true to who you are, no matter what.”
Kyne
21-year-old from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
Instagram: @onlinekyne
Twitter: @onlinekyne
YouTube: @onlinekyne
TikTok: @onlinekyne
Kyne is a YouTube star with more than 100,000 subscribers to her channel, which focuses on her love for makeup, costumes, hair, and art. Kyne, who describes herself as “a larger than life Drag Diva Visionary”, is a math major and tutors high school math on the side
Kyne says: “Drag is my vehicle for all my joy, ambition and creative energy. It makes me feel alive.”
Canada’s Drag Race for BBC Three airing on Fridays from July 3