Jackie Cox is the stage name of Darius Rose, (born April 10, 1985) a Canadian
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 ...
based in
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 ...
, known for being a competitor on the
twelfth 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 ...
'' and ultimately placing fourth in the competition.
Early life
Rose was born in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, to a Canadian father and an
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
mother. He attended
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...
to study
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually 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 perform ...
and upon graduating with his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree, he moved to New York with the goal of doing theatre professionally.
Career
In 2002, Rose transferred to University High School in Irvine where he starred in productions of Dark of the Moon, Les Miserables and Bat Boy the musical. In 2003 he was crowned Prom King as an openly gay student. In 2009, Rose discovered drag. He played the title role in a production of
Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Theatre Out at the Empire Theater, in
Santa Ana, CA
Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the 13th-m ...
which was his first foray into drag.
[ His first performance as Jackie Cox was at a competition called ''So You Think You Can Drag'' at ]New World Stages
New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue.
...
in New York.[ His drag name originated from a nickname that he and a friend, in high school, assigned to a girl that they disliked but wanted to be able to talk about her in public. As her initials were “J.C.”, they came up with “Jackie Cox” as a codename.
Jackie was announced as a cast member on season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race on January 23, 2020. She is the second ]Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
contestant on the US version of the show, and the oldest performer on Season 12. Jackie became the first contestant in ''Drag Race'' history to dress in a Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
-inspired outfit on episode 9 of the show, which had a "stars and stripes" patriotic theme. She wore a red-striped kaftan with a blue hijab
In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
outlined with 50 silver stars.Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and '' Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels.
...
subsequently came under fire for his comments over Jackies’s hijab outfit, when asking, "Is there something in this religion that is anti-homosexuality and anti-woman? Does that complicate the issue?" for which he has been widely criticized.Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
’s "Firework
Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...
". Jackie was successful and Von’Du was eliminated.
Filmography
Television
Web series
Music videos
Discography
Singles
Featured singles
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 ...
References
External links
*
Jackie Cox Facebook Account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Jackie
1985 births
Living people
Canadian drag queens
Canadian people of Iranian descent
People from Halifax, Nova Scotia
People from New York City
Jackie Cox
UCLA Film School alumni