Reuben Asberry Jr.,
better known by the
stage name Kennedy Davenport (born September 9, 1980), is a
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 of ...
,
television personality
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
, and
dancer from
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, who came to international attention on the
seventh 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 ...
'', placing fourth overall, and on the
third season of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, b ...
'', where she was the runner-up.
Career
Davenport first appeared on television in the
eighth season of ''
America's Got Talent'' in 2013. She was eliminated in the Vegas round.
She was announced as one of the fourteen contestants in
season seven 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 March 2, 2015,
where she placed fourth overall. After this, she made a one-episode appearance on ''
Skin Wars
''Skin Wars'' is a body painting reality competition hosted by Rebecca Romijn that premiered on the American pay-television channel Game Show Network on August 6, 2014. Contestants on the series perform challenges containing body painting each ep ...
'' with fellow ''Drag Race'' contestants. On October 20, 2017, Davenport was announced as one of the returning queens for
''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3''. Davenport ultimately was the runner-up overall, losing to
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 ...
.
Outside of ''Drag Race'', Asberry has won numerous titles in
drag pageants,
including Miss Gay Orlando 2016, Miss D’Elegance International 2013, and Miss Gay Black USofA 2009.
Her dance performances are her signature component.
Davenport also works as a musician; she released her first single, "Moving Up", featuring rapper Dresia Dee on March 16, 2018.
In July 2020, she returned to the
fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' as a Lip-Sync Assassin. She lip-synced against
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 ...
to Fancy by
Reba McEntire but lost.
Personal life
Asberry was born to Checkery Marie Thacker. His father, Reuben Asberry Sr., died on October 25, 2013. Prior to pursuing drag, he spent some time in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
A $33,000 bank payment was needed to prevent his house from being foreclosed upon. A
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
page was created to help pay off the house note, and a drag event was held to support him, featuring fellow ''Drag Race'' alumni.
His drag mother is Kelexis Davenport, who is also drag mother to the late
season 2 Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album)
* '' 2econd Season''
See also
*
{{disambig ...
''Drag Race'' contestant
Sahara Davenport
Antoine Ashley (December 17, 1984 – October 1, 2012), better known by the name Sahara Davenport, was an American drag queen, singer, reality television personality, and classically trained dancer. Davenport was best known as a contestant on th ...
. Another one of Kennedy's drag sisters, Bianca Gisele Davenport Starr, was murdered on December 8, 2017. ''Drag Race''
season 11 contestant
A'keria C. Davenport, and other Drag Race
Contestants throughout the years (
Honey Davenport
James Heath-Clark (born August 13, 1985), known professionally as Honey Davenport, is an American drag queen, drag performer, singer, songwriter, actor and activist. Davenport was a longtime fixture of the New York City nightlife scene and came ...
,
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 tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' (2018), on which ...
and
Ra'Jah O'Hara
Benni Miller (born Bennie Roy Miller; December 31, 1984), better known by the stage name Ra'Jah O'Hara, is an American drag queen best known for competing on the eleventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' in 2019 and the sixth season of '' RuPaul ...
) are among members of the Davenport drag family.
Pageant history
* Miss Gay Black USofA 2009
* Miss Tampa Bay International 2009
* Miss Glamorous 2010
* North Carolina All American Goddess 2010
* Miss Parliament House 2010
* Miss Revolution 2010
* Miss Treasure Coast 2010
* Miss Gay South Central States USofA 2011
* Miss Parliament House 2011
* Miss Gay Georgia USofA 2012
* Miss Texas FFI 2012
* Mid America All American Goddess 2013
* All American Goddess (3rd Alternate)
* Miss D’Elegance International 2013
* Miss Gay Orlando 2016
* Miss West Palm Beach International 2016
* Miss Gay Texas USofA 2017 (1st Alternate)
*
Miss Gay USofA
Drag pageantry is a developed form of pageantry for female impersonators, drag queens, and trans women, styled after traditional beauty pageants or contests for cisgender women. It has also evolved into a pageantry for male impersonators, drag ...
2017 (1st Alternate)
*Miss Gay USofA 2019
* Miss Pride South Florida 2019
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Web series
Theatre
Discography
Singles
As featured artist
Other appearances
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Kennedy
1982 births
Living people
American drag queens
African-American drag queens
People from Dallas
Kennedy Davenport
LGBT people from Texas
LGBT African Americans
Gay entertainers
Kennedy Davenport