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Asia O'Hara

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Asia O'Hara
Asia O’Hara at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2018
Born
Antwan Mason Lee

(1982-07-07) July 7, 1982 (age 42)
Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.
Occupations
Years active2003–present
Known forRuPaul's Drag Race (season 10)
Websiteasiaoharaland.com

Antwan Mason Lee[1][2] (born July 7, 1982), better known by the stage name Asia O'Hara, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and costume designer. She is most well known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, in which she placed fourth. Since her season aired in 2018, O'Hara has been a staple of several domestic and international tours that feature Drag Race contestants, including Werq the World, Christmas Queens and Drive 'N Drag. She has also appeared on a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, including Can Do Queens, which she co-hosts with Kameron Michaels. In June 2018, she released "Queen for Tonight", her debut single. Her second single, "Crown Up", was released on May 20, 2019, along with an accompanying music video. Since January 2020, she has been a staple cast member of RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, a residency show in Las Vegas, and also stars in the accompanying VH1 miniseries RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue.

As a professional entertainer, she has won several national titles in drag pageantry systems, including Miss Gay America in 2016.[3]

Life and career

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O'Hara was born to Lois Helen Williams[4] and grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas and has five sisters, who Asia helped to raise, and all of whom also became performers. Her parents are deceased. She moved to Dallas when she was 14, and in high school performed in band, color guard, and theater.[5]

Her drag career began in the early 2000s, when she entered and won an amateur contest at the Rose Room in Dallas. The name Asia was taken from a close family member of hers, and the name O'Hara was given to her by her drag mother, Josephine O'Hara. Her drag grandmother is Texas pageant legend Sweet Savage and her drag father is Bob Taylor.[6] O'Hara continued to perform and in the following years won many titles in the drag pageantry system, including three National titles. She has worked as a makeup artist and behind the scenes during pageants, helping to plan and promote preliminary competitions. O'Hara owns her own costume design company, Helen of Seven, in which she creates custom design pieces for clients including dance teams, color guards, ice skaters, and other drag performers.[7]

As a dance and color guard instructor, O'Hara has taught at the high school level in Texas, leading her teams to statewide competition.[8] She has performed often at the Rose Room Theatre & Lounge in Dallas, Texas since 2005, and has been a full-time showgirl there since 2009. She has also toured across the country performing, judging, and competing in pageants.[9]

O'Hara was crowned Miss Gay America in October 2016, at the 2016 competition in Memphis, Tennessee.[9] Winners of this title are known as the "Symbol of Excellence" of female impersonation and are expected to reign for one year, while performing official MGA responsibilities including touring, community service, and projecting an overall positive image for the LGBT community.[10]

She is also close friends with Texas-native Drag Race alum Alyssa Edwards and the Davenport drag family.[11]

She currently owns the Miss Gay Texas pageant.[12]

RuPaul's Drag Race

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Asia O'Hara at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018

On February 22, 2018, O'Hara was presented as one of the 14 drag queens competing on Season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race.[13] She won two main challenges on the show and came in fourth place.[14][15] In her finale performance, she is most notable for a failed attempt to release live butterflies from inside her costume, which received negative attention from animal welfare organizations such as PETA who condemned her actions as a 'Sad Spectacle'.[16] Asia also received backlash from RuPaul and VH1 for her use of animals in the finale.[17] In response to the backlash "O'Hara promised to donate over 100 volunteer hours to the ASPCA."[18]

O'Hara was featured in RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race, a RuPaul's Drag Race spin-off, where she helped celebrities undergo a drag transformation.[19]

Tours and hosting

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Asia O'Hara performing in Werq the World, 2019

In June 2018, O'Hara and other RuPaul's Drag Race alum Shea Coulee and Monét X Change performed in The Vixen's widely popular Black Girl Magic, a drag show created to showcase the talent of black drag queens.[20] O'Hara was part of the Drag Race "Werq the World" tour in 2019.[21][22] O'Hara hosted the red carpet for the RuPaul's Drag Race season eleven live finale.[23] Later, from March 26 to September 6, she hosted the RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 11 Tour, presented by Voss Events and World of Wonder.[24]

In September 2019, at RuPaul's DragCon NYC, O'Hara was named as one of a rotating cast of a dozen Drag Race queens in RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, a Las Vegas show residency from January to August 2020 at the Flamingo Las Vegas.,[25] and later co-starred in RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue, a miniseries about the live show.[26] After closing down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Asia O'Hara will return to the show in August, 2021.[27][28]

On November 1, 2019, O'Hara announced her first self-produced one woman show, "Asia O'Hara's Electrique Christmas", set to show on December 21, 2019.[29] In June 2020, O'Hara was announced as a cast member for Voss Events' Drive 'N Drag, a traveling summer drive-in tour created to accommodate the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.[30]

Music

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Asia O'Hara at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2019

As part of her season's final challenge, O'Hara and the other top four contestants wrote and recorded their own verses for RuPaul's song "American". The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[31] That same day, O'Hara released her first single, "Queen for Tonight" on June 15, 2018.[32] Later that year, she recorded the track "Cause I'm Rich" on Christmas Queens 4, a compilation album featuring Christmas songs sung by former Drag Race contestants.[33] Following the album's release, she embarked on the Christmas Queens tour of Europe in November and December 2018.[34]

Her second single, "Crown Up", was released on May 20, 2019, along with an accompanying music video.[35][36]

Titles

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Personal life

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Since appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, Asia O'Hara became the subject of racist attacks over the internet.[45][46]

Discography

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Singles

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Year Song
2018 "Queen for Tonight"
2019 "Crown Up"
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Title Year Peak chart positions
US
Dance
Digital
"Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical"[47]

(RuPaul featuring the Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 10)

2018 —
"American"

(RuPaul featuring Aquaria, Asia O'Hara, Eureka O'Hara & Kameron Michaels)

12

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Contestant (4th place) [13]
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
2020 RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race Guest mentor [19]
RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue Main cast [48]
2023 RuPaul's Drag Race Special guest; Episode: "Reunited!"

Music Videos

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Year Title Artist Ref.
2019 Juice Lizzo [49]
2019 Crown Up Herself [50]
2020 Always Waze & Odyssey [51]

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes Ref
2018 Can Do Queens Herself Co-host (with Kameron Michaels) [52]
Watcha Packin Guest [53]
Queen to Queen Guest, with Kameron Michaels [54]
Countdown to the Crown Season 10 [55]
Fashion Photo RuView Guest Co-host [56]
2019 How To Makeup Guest [57]
Toddy's World Guest; S3 Ep3 [58]
2020 Werq The World Featured queen [59]
10s Across The Board Host [60]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Ceremony Category Work Results Ref.
2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards Most Meme-able Moment Asia O'Hara's Butterfly Finale Fail Nominated [61]
2020 The Queerties Future All-Star Herself Nominated [62]

References

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  1. ^ Parry, Wayne (2016-09-06). "There she is: Out of the closet, and ready for Miss America". Chicago Tribune. R. Bruce Dold. Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  2. ^ King, Harriet. "The Most Successful Drag Queens Of All Time". CultureHook. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "Asia O'Hara, MGA 2016". Miss Gay America. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  4. ^ "Antwan Mason Lee". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "The Miss Gay Texas Pageant Starts This Week at The Rose Room". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  6. ^ https://www.dallasvoice.com/start-your-engines-2-10250457.html Archived 2018-03-18 at the Wayback Machine Asia O'Hara interview, Dallas Voice
  7. ^ "MGAZINE: LIFE AFTER THE REIGN: A Chat with the Dazzling Miss Gay America 2016 ASIA O'HARA". missgayamericapageant.blogspot.com. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  8. ^ "ALL AMERICAN GODDESS 2012 ASIA T. O'HARA | Hottest Gay Entertainment News Now - Palm Springs Personality Steven Michael Spills The Tea On Today's Queer Culture". iamstevenmichael.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  9. ^ a b "Congratulations Asia T. O'Hara, Miss Gay America 2016". Dallas Voice. Archived from the original on 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  10. ^ "MGA Job Summary". Miss Gay America. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
  11. ^ "Asia O'Hara". The Rose Room. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  12. ^ Shea, Ryan (February 2, 2021). "Asia O'Hara Dishes on Upcoming Drive 'N Drag Event & More". Instinct. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Meet the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 10 queens". Entertainment Weekly.
  14. ^ ""Drag Race" Season 10 Episode 9 Review: Breastworld". PopBuzz. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  15. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' star Asia O'Hara apologizes for shocking finale stunt: 'It wasn't a careless act'". EW.com. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  16. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race Finale: PETA Condemns Asia O'Hara's Butterfly Massacre as 'Sad Spectacle'". 29 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Drag Race's Asia O'Hara on Season 10 and Arguing with RuPaul". 29 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Asia O'Hara issues apology after 'animal cruelty' in lip-sync finale". 29 June 2018.
  19. ^ a b Desta, Yohana (22 October 2019). "RuPaul Announces Drag Race Spin-Off Featuring All-Celebrity Competitors". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  20. ^ Daw, Stephen. "The Vixen & Shea Coulee Perform at Chicago Black Girl Magic Show: Watch". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  21. ^ "Asia O'Hara on Werq the World: 'It's a spectacle. It's colourful. It's fabulous. It's art'". The List. 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  22. ^ Stanley, Rebecca (4 May 2019). "Werq The World, Symphony Hall, Birmingham - review". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  23. ^ Barmann, Jay. "JH1 and Levi's Host First 'Rupaul's Drag Race' Finale Crowning In SF". sfist.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  24. ^ Nolfi, Joey. "RuPaul's Drag Race sets season 11 tour dates with all 15 queens". Ew. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  25. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 7, 2019). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Sets Live Show In Las Vegas". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  26. ^ Boone, John (July 22, 2020). "Check Out the Trailer for the New 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Docuseries 'Vegas Revue'". wkyc.com. WKYC. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  27. ^ Kulzick, Kate (September 25, 2020). "Romance fizzles, but friendship finds a way as COVID-19 closes RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  28. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race Live! returning to Flamingo hotel-casino". KTNV. June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  29. ^ "Asia O'Hara is electrifying Christmas". Dallas Voice. November 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  30. ^ Nolfi, Joey. "RuPaul's Drag Race queens rev up for 'Drive N Drag' summer drive-in tour". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  31. ^ Youtt, Henry (July 11, 2018). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Queens Who Landed Entries on the Billboard Charts". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  32. ^ Queen for Tonight - Single by Asia O'Hara, 2018-06-15, retrieved 2018-06-24
  33. ^ Various Artists (November 16, 2018). Christmas Queens 4 (Album). Apple Music. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  34. ^ Dalton, Paisley (November 2, 2018). "RuPaul's Drag Race "Christmas Queens" Show feat. Bob The Drag Queen, Kameron Michaels, Asia O'Hara, Sharon Needles & More!!!". The WOW Report. World of Wonder Productions. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  35. ^ Nash, Tammye (24 May 2019). "Asia O'Hara gets her crown on with new single, video 'Crown Up'". Dallas Voice. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  36. ^ Crown Up by Asia O'Hara, retrieved 2019-05-24
  37. ^ "Asia O'Hara". Our Community Roots. 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  38. ^ a b c "Miss Gay Texas USofA". Our Community Roots. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  39. ^ "Miss Gay USofA History". USofA Pageantry. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  40. ^ "Scenes from the Miss Texas FFI pageant". Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  41. ^ a b "Asia O'Hara | Rose Room". theroseroomdallas.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  42. ^ "All American Goddess". All American Goddess. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  43. ^ "Miss Gay Briar Park America". Our Community Roots. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  44. ^ "Asia O'Hara, Miss Gay America 2016". Miss Gay America. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  45. ^ Bambino, Samantha (March 1, 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race: Asia O'Hara Calls Out Racist Fans On Twitter". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  46. ^ Sim, Bernando (June 11, 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race: Asia O'Hara Opens Up About Discrimination Among Fans". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  47. ^ "Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical (feat. The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 10) - Single". iTunes.
  48. ^ Vary, Adam B. (July 22, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' to Launch New Docuseries on Las Vegas Live Show". Vulture. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  49. ^ Emily Zemler (April 18, 2019). "Watch 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Stars Join Lizzo in New 'Juice' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  50. ^ Asia O'Hara (2019-05-23), CROWN UP ( OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ), retrieved 2019-05-24
  51. ^ George Michael (May 21, 2020), Always (Drag Stars Official Video)), retrieved May 21, 2020
  52. ^ "Can Do Queens Christmas with Asia and Kameron!". Can Do Queens. Season 1. Episode 1. December 24, 2018. WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  53. ^ Whatcha Packin': Asia O'Hara | Season 10 Episode 14 | RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10. YouTube. July 2, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  54. ^ Ongina on Ring My Bell. YouTube. July 1, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  55. ^ "Do You Believe in Aliens?" COUNTDOWN TO THE CROWN: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10. YouTube. June 27, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  56. ^ FASHION PHOTO RUVIEW: All Stars Season 4 Ep 1 with Raja and Asia O'Hara!. YouTube. December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  57. ^ Asia O'Hara's Wig Siccurrrity: HOW TO MAKEUP. YouTube. March 5, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  58. ^ NEW YEARS EVE EXTRAVAGANZA w/ Asia O'Hara, Kameron Michaels, and Aquaria | Toddy's World S3 Ep3. YouTube. January 9, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  59. ^ Dino-Ray Ramos (May 19, 2020). "World Of Wonder Sets U.S. Premiere Dates For 'How's Your Head, Hun?', 'Canada's Drag Race' And Return Of 'Werq The World'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  60. ^ Asia O'Hara Counts Down Runway Looks | 10's Across the Board | RuPaul's Drag Race. YouTube. July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  61. ^ Schulman, Alissa (13 June 2018). "THE STORIES BEHIND THE YEAR'S MOST MEME-ABLE MOMENTS". MTV. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  62. ^ "'The 2020 Queerties". Cheat Sheet. February 28, 2020.
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