Kimora Blac is the stage name of Von Nguyen, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

and television personality, best known for competing on the ninth 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 ...

''.

Early life

Von Nguyen was born on December 15, 1988, in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. She is of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

ese heritage. Von Nguyen grew up in

Elk Grove, California Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 Census, the population o ...

, then moved to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, where she resided when she was cast to appear on ''

''. Her drag name comes from

Kimora Lee Simmons Kimora Lee Simmons (née Perkins) is an American model, business woman, fashion designer, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, TV personality, philanthropist and author. Early life Kimora Lee Perkins was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Stephen M. ...

and her favorite color black, with the "k" removed because "it added a twist".

Career

''RuPaul's Drag Race''

Kimora Blac at RuPaul's Dragcon 2017 by dvsross

She first did amateur drag when she was fifteen with ''

Dragula DRAG-U-LA, along with the Munster Koach, was one of two cars on the television show ''The Munsters'' designed by prolific show car designer Tom Daniel while working for George Barris and Barris Kustom Industries. The car The fiberglass body ...

'' contestant Melissa Befierce. She started doing professional drag when she was eighteen. She auditioned for ''Drag Race'' three different times. Kimora Blac was announced as one of fourteen contestants for the ninth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' on February 2, 2017. After being declared safe in episode one, she was placed in the bottom two in the second episode with

Jaymes Mansfield James Jeffrey Wirth (born February 19, 1990), better known as Jaymes Mansfield, is an American drag queen and TV personality, best known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9), ninth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and playing the par ...

and won a

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

against her to "

Love Shack "Love Shack" is a song by American new wave band the B-52's from their fifth studio album, ''Cosmic Thing'' (1989). It was released on June 20, 1989, and was produced by Don Was. The song was a comeback for the band following their decline in p ...

" by

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

. She was eliminated in the third episode after lip syncing to "

Holding Out for a Hero "Holding Out for a Hero" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for the soundtrack to the 1984 film ''Footloose''. It later featured on her sixth studio album, ''Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire'' (1986). The track was produced by Jim S ...

" by

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

, against Aja. She appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere of season eleven of ''Drag Race''.

Other work

In September 2017, Blac recreated the September 2014 cover of ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

'' magazine with

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...

, which was given positive reception by Kardashian on Twitter. Blac became the host for the WOWPresents internet series, "Wait, What?" where she's asked trivia questions with alternating categories. Her co-hosts for the show included Mariah,

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 America's Got Talent (season 3), third season of ''America's Got Tal ...

Gia Gunn Gia Gunn is the stage name of American drag performer Gia Keitaro Ichikawa (born May 10, 1990). She is known for competing on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the second season of ''The Switch Drag Race'', and '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

Laganja Estranja Jay Evan Jackson, known professionally as Laganja Estranja (born December 28, 1988) is an American choreographer and drag queen based in Los Angeles. Laganja competed on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', finishing in eighth place. She ...

Ongina Ongina is the stage name of Ryan Ong Palao (born January 6, 1982), a Filipino-American drag performer and HIV activist who came to international attention on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Rac ...

, Jaidynn Diore-Fierce and

Jasmine Masters Martell Robinson (born October 16, 1976), known by the stage name Jasmine Masters, is an American drag queen, internet celebrity, YouTuber, and stand-up comedian. He is best known for competing on the seventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' an ...

. The first episode was available on

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 ...

on October 8, 2018. She appeared as a guest for two episodes of ''

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 ...

'' in March 2018. She appeared in an episode of the television series '' Botched'' with

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' ...

in December 2018. Blac joined

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

in her lip sync performance of ''Supermodel'' by RuPaul during her appearance on '' The Talk''. She was a featured performer during

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

's performance at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards. She has a beauty and makeup channel on

Personal life

Nguyen cites

Erika Jayne Erika Girardi (née Chahoy; born July 10, 1971), known professionally as Erika Jayne, is an American singer, television personality and former actress. Early life Erika Girardi was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 10, 1971, to single mother Re ...

and

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...

along with Simmons and Kardashian as inspirations to her drag aesthetic. Kimora's drag daughter is Amaya Blac.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blac, Kimora 1988 births Living people Asian-American drag queens American people of Vietnamese descent American YouTubers Beauty and makeup YouTubers American LGBT people of Asian descent LGBT people from Kansas LGBT YouTubers People from Elk Grove, California People from Las Vegas People from Wichita, Kansas

Kimora Blac Kimora Blac is the stage name of Von Nguyen, an American drag queen and television personality, best known for competing on the ninth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life Von Nguyen was born on December 15, 1988, in Wichita, Kansas. S ...

20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people