Christopher D. Caldwell, better known as Bob the Drag Queen and Caldwell Tidicue, is an American
drag queen
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...
, comedian, actor, activist, musician, and
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
personality. He is best known for winning the
eighth season of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...
''.
As of 2020, he has more than one million followers on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
and was the first Black ''Drag Race'' queen to reach the milestone. After ''Drag Race'', he pursued acting, appearing in television shows such as ''
High Maintenance
''High Maintenance'' is an American Anthology series, anthology comedy-drama television show, television and web series, web series created by ex-husband and wife team Ben Sinclair (actor), Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. The show follows The ...
'' (2016), ''
Tales of the City
''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally serial ...
'' (2019), and ''
A Black Lady Sketch Show'' (2019). In 2020, he began co-hosting ''
We're Here
''We're Here'' is an American reality television series on HBO featuring former ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' contestants Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O'Hara and Shangela. In the series, the trio of drag queens travel across the United States to recruit ...
'' on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
alongside fellow ''Drag Race'' contestants
Eureka O'Hara
Eureka, also known as Eureka O'Hara and Eureka!, is the stage name of Eureka D. Huggard (born August 26, 1990), an American drag queen and reality television personality. Eureka rose to prominence competing on the ninth and tenth seasons of ''Ru ...
and
Shangela
Chantize Darius Jeremy Pierce, better known as Shangela Laquifa Wadley or mononymously as Shangela (born November 22, 1980), is an American drag queen, reality television personality and actor best known for competing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. S ...
.
The series has received acclaim from critics.
Early life
Bob the Drag Queen was born to Martha Caldwell in 1986 with the last name "Caldwell", which he later incorporated into the professional name "Caldwell Tidicue".
He was born in 1986 in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
,
and he was raised in
Clayton County, Georgia
Clayton County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2021, the population was estimated to be 297,100 by the Census Bureau. The county seat is Jonesboro.
Clayton County is included in the Atlanta metr ...
.
Caldwell explained, "You can call it the hood. You can say it. That's where I'm from."
His mother owned a drag bar in Columbus, Georgia. On the nights that she could not afford a babysitter, she brought Caldwell to the drag bar, where he would work and collect money from the patrons.
Caldwell has described his mother as a supportive early influence on his life. He explained, "I also grew up with a mom who told me I could do anything, so I was like, 'Y'all don't even know how I am.' My mom was one of the moms who was like, 'You are so handsome why aren't you modeling? I am handsome, but model... let's not get crazy."
Bob has also been influenced by several other drag queens, such as
Peppermint
Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...
,
Bianca Del Rio
Roy R. Haylock (born June 27, 1975), better known by the stage name Bianca Del Rio, is an American drag queen, comedian, actor, and costume designer. She is known for winning the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Since her time on ''Drag R ...
,
BeBe Zahara Benet
Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa (born March 20, 1980) better known by his stage name BeBe Zahara Benet, is a Cameroonian-American drag performer, television personality, and musician best known for winning the first season of the reality-television drag c ...
, and her ''Sibling Rivalry'' co-host
Monét X Change
Monét X Change (born February 19, 1990), stage name of Kevin A. Bertin, is an American drag queen, singer, podcaster, and reality television personality. She is known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10), tenth season of ''RuPaul' ...
.
As a teenager, Caldwell attended
Morrow High School
Morrow High School is the easternmost secondary school in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. Part of Clayton County Public Schools; it is located in Ellenwood at 4930 Steele Road. The school's teams are known as the Mustangs. Middle schools ...
. He then went on to study
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
at
Columbus State University.
He first appeared in drag when he attended a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
party during
Pride Month
LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...
2008.
When Caldwell was 22 years old, he moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with $500 and two suitcases. He originally intended to become an actor and standup comedian.
Before becoming a drag queen, Caldwell worked in children's theater for years and "always found children to be a source of joy for
im"
Career
2009–2015: Drag career beginnings
In the summer of 2009, Caldwell started doing drag, after watching the first season of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...
'' on
TiVo
TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fea ...
. He explained that he "became obsessed" with the show, and it immediately inspired him to order a TK-7 makeup kit off of the
Ben Nye
Benjamin Emmet Nye, Sr. (January 12, 1907 – February 9, 1986) was an American makeup artist for the Hollywood film industry for over four decades, from the 1930s to the early 1980s. He worked on over five hundred 20th Century Fox films both in a ...
website. Since his first presentations, his character was focused on stand-up comedy routines, and he started lip-syncing after a couple of months into his drag.
His initial stage name was Kittin Withawhip, which was a reference to
Kitten with a Whip (1964), a film that starred
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret.
She is known for her roles in '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' ...
. He was featured in
Leland Bobbé's Half Drag Series with his name.
In his early drag career, Caldwell would perform with a nine-foot
bullwhip
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather or nylon, designed as a tool for working with livestock or competition.
Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country. A bullwhip's leng ...
.
In the beginning of his career, Caldwell faced challenges as a drag queen. As he described, "It did not make me money or get me gigs. It cost me a lot. I did this competition every Thursday. Then another one on Wednesday. And another on Tuesday. I never won any of them. Ever. After a few years, I finally won one. It was really addictive and fun doing competitions."
In 2013, Caldwell officially changed his stage name to Bob the Drag Queen. As he explained, at a karaoke hosting gig, "The guy goes, 'Give it up for your host... Kate. But she made light of the moment, reintroducing herself as 'Kate the Drag Queen,' then 'Kim the Drag Queen' throughout the evening. Then at the end of the night, I was like, 'Give it up for... ''Bob'' the Drag Queen.' And I was like, 'That sounds really funny.'"
2016–2019: ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' Season 8
![DSC05669 (37187846346) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/DSC05669_%2837187846346%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On February 1, 2016, Bob the Drag Queen was revealed as a cast member on the
eighth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. On the show, he was noted for his focus on comedy. During the show, he won three challenges, including the recurring "
Snatch Game
Snatch Game is a challenge on the ''Drag Race'' reality competition television franchise. Beginning with the second season of the original American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the challenge has taken place on every season since. It has also o ...
" (where he portrayed
Crazy Eyes
''Crazy Eyes'' is the fifth studio album (and sixth album overall) released by the American country rock band Poco. Released in 1973, ''Crazy Eyes'' was the album with which founding member Richie Furay ended his original tenure with the group.
...
, as played by
Uzo Aduba
Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba (; born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. She gained wide recognition for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she won an ...
, and
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...
). On the season's eighth episode, Bob
"lipsynced for her life" against
Derrick Barry
Derrick Prentice Barry (born July 18, 1983) is an American drag performer, Britney Spears impersonator and reality television personality. He is best known for competing on the third season of '' America's Got Talent'' (2008), and later the ...
and won. On May 16, 2016, Bob was crowned the winner of the season and received a cash prize of $100,000.
In June 2019, a panel of judges from ''
New York'' magazine placed Bob eighth on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former ''Drag Race'' contestants.
2020–Present: ''We're Here''
In 2020, he began co-hosting ''
We're Here
''We're Here'' is an American reality television series on HBO featuring former ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' contestants Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O'Hara and Shangela. In the series, the trio of drag queens travel across the United States to recruit ...
'' on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
alongside fellow ''Drag Race'' contestants
Eureka O'Hara
Eureka, also known as Eureka O'Hara and Eureka!, is the stage name of Eureka D. Huggard (born August 26, 1990), an American drag queen and reality television personality. Eureka rose to prominence competing on the ninth and tenth seasons of ''Ru ...
and
Shangela
Chantize Darius Jeremy Pierce, better known as Shangela Laquifa Wadley or mononymously as Shangela (born November 22, 1980), is an American drag queen, reality television personality and actor best known for competing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. S ...
. In the series, the trio of
drag queen
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...
s travel across the United States to recruit small-town residents to participate in one-night-only
drag show
A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag artists impersonating men or women.
Typically, a drag show involves performers singing or lip-synching to songs while performing a pre-planned pantomime or dancing. There might also be so ...
s.
After premiering on April 23, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 11, 2021.
In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season.
The series has received acclaim from critics.
Other ventures
In 2016, shortly after winning ''Drag Race'', Bob released the single "Purse First" featuring DJ Mitch Ferrino. Also in 2016, he appeared in the music video for MC Frontalot's "Mornings Come and Go". He also collaborated with
Alaska Thunderfuck
Justin Andrew Honard (born March 6, 1985) is an American drag queen and recording artist known by the stage name Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, primarily known mononymously as Alaska, from Erie, Pennsylvania. She is best known as the runner-up on th ...
on the single "Yet Another Dig" in 2017, and contributed to the compilation album ''
Christmas Queens 3
''Christmas Queens 3'' is a holiday compilation album, released in 2017. The album is the third installation in a similarly-named series, following ''Christmas Queens'' and ''Christmas Queens 2'', and features Alaska Thunderfuck, Bob the Drag Queen ...
'' (2017). He collaborated with
Shangela
Chantize Darius Jeremy Pierce, better known as Shangela Laquifa Wadley or mononymously as Shangela (born November 22, 1980), is an American drag queen, reality television personality and actor best known for competing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. S ...
for a Christmas theme song, "Deck A Ho" in December 2017.
On March 15, 2018, Bob debuted the podcast ''Sibling Rivalry'' with his drag sister Monét X Change as co-host and produced by DJ Mitch Ferrino. On April 2, 2018, a video version of the podcast was uploaded to
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
Bob appeared as a guest co-host alongside
Trixie Mattel
Brian Michael Firkus (born August 23, 1989), better known by the stage name Trixie Mattel, is an American drag queen, television personality, and singer-songwriter originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is known for her exaggerated, high-camp ...
on ''
The Trixie & Katya Show
''The Trixie & Katya Show'' is an American comedy television series featuring drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova, who both rose to prominence competing on the seventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race.'' The show is a spin-off of th ...
,'' filling in for regular co-host
Katya
Katya is a feminine given name. It is a very popular name in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, and North Macedonia. It is a Russian diminutive form of Yekaterina, which is a Russian form of Katherine.This name is also can be spelled Katia.MFnames ...
during her hiatus.
Her TV comedy special, ''Bob the Drag Queen: Suspiciously Large Woman'', aired on
Logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
in July 2017.
Bob played the role of Belize in
Berkeley Rep
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley.
History
The company was founded in 1968, as the East Bay's first resident ...
’s production of ''
Angels in America
''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for O ...
'' from April to July 2018.
In November 2019, Bob was interviewed by
KMVT
KMVT (channel 11) is a television station in Twin Falls, Idaho, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate KSVT-LD (channel 14). The two stations share studio ...
about a one-time drag event hosted in
Twin Falls, a show highlighting local drag queens and introducing international drag talent to Magic Valley. This event was filmed as part of Tidicue's HBO show ''We're Here'' (2020).
Bob's second comedy special, ''Bob The Drag Queen: Crazy Black Lady'', aired on
OutTV
OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community.
The network is owned b ...
in Canada in 2020.
Bob also writes jokes for other drag queens including
Trinity the Tuck
Ryan A. Taylor, known professionally as Trinity "The Tuck" Taylor or just Trinity the Tuck (born December 10, 1985),Taylor in is an American drag queen and recording artist best known for competing on the ninth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race' ...
,
Ginger Minj
Joshua Allen Eads, stage name Ginger Minj (born September 11, 1984), an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, and reality television personality. After achieving recognition for placing as the runner-up on the seventh season of the real ...
, and Monét X Change.
In March 2020, Bob performed alongside fellow drag race alumni BeBe Zahara Benet,
The Vixen,
Monique Heart
Mo Heart, previously Monique Heart, is the stage name of Kevin Richardson (born May 22, 1986), an American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist best known for competing on the tenth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race'' ( ...
, Peppermint, and
Shea Couleé
Jaren Kyei Merrell (born February 8, 1989), known professionally as Shea Couleé, is an American drag queen, musician, actor, podcaster, and fixture of the Chicago nightlife scene. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, they began their drag career in 2012. I ...
in the ''Nubia'' tour, a live drag show featuring and produced by Black drag queens.
Bob is a co-founder of ''Black Queer Town Hall'' along with Peppermint.
The inaugural event featured speakers such as
Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBT advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'', becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a Pr ...
and
Angela Davis
Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...
and raised over $150,000.
In May 2021, Bob was featured in
Coach New York
Coach New York, commonly known as Coach, is an American fashion house specializing in leather handbags, luggage, and accessories, as well as ready-to-wear. Coach licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear and Paris-based Interparfu ...
's "Pride is Where You Find It" campaign.
Bob is an
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
activist and spoke on ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' of a moment when he was protesting for
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 33 ...
and was arrested in drag.
Bob is the drag mother of
Miz Cracker
Miz Cracker (born April 19, 1984) is the stage name of Maxwell Elias Heller, an American drag queen and television personality. He is best known for placing fifth on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and for being a runner-up on the fi ...
and drag sister to Monét X Change, who placed fifth and sixth, respectively, on
season 10 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', with X Change going on to win
''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' season 4 and Cracker placing as runner-up on
''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' season 5.
Personal life
Bob identifies as
pansexual
, meaning "all"
, definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender
, classification = Sexual identity
, parent = Bisexuality
, synonyms =
, associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofl ...
and
non-binary
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
and goes by either he/him or she/her pronouns.
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other appearances
Filmography
Television
Film
Audio series
Web series
Music videos
As lead artist or director
Featured and cameo roles
Theatre
Awards and nominations
See also
*
LGBT culture in New York City
New York City is home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most power ...
*
List of LGBT people from New York City
New York City is home to one of the largest LGBT populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' writes that the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
Bob the Drag Queen on TikTokBob the Drag Queen on Stereo App*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bob The Drag Queen
1986 births
Living people
African-American drag queens
American drag queens
American non-binary actors
American podcasters
LGBT African Americans
LGBT people from Georgia (U.S. state)
American LGBT rights activists
LGBT YouTubers
Non-binary drag performers
People from Columbus, Georgia
RuPaul's Drag Race winners
Pansexual musicians
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
Non-binary activists
Polyamorous people
Pansexual non-binary people