Loosey LaDuca

Loosey LaDuca is the stage name of Timothy P. Rinaldi, an American drag performer who is best known for competing on the fifteenth season of the television series '' RuPaul's Drag Race''. Rinaldi is from Ansonia, Connecticut, and was a construction worker before appearing on ''Drag Race''.

Loosey LaDuca's original song "Let Loose", which debuted on the show, went viral and received a remix featuring Jan Sport and Lemon. The show was edited to characterize Loosey LaDuca as argumentative toward the judges and difficult with her costars. Although critics described her as one of the show's most-memorable contestants, she was not selected as a finalist for the season, a decision with which she disagreed.

Early life, education, and early career

Timothy Rinaldi is from Ansonia, Connecticut, and was born in 1989 or 1990. He attended Ansonia Middle School and high school, where he participated in musical theater. Rinaldi worked as a construction worker in Ansonia. After portraying of one of Cinderella's sisters in a production of '' Cinderella'' at Downtown Cabaret Theater in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Rinaldi realized he "had what it took to be a drag queen". He has since performed in many drag brunch shows.

''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and "Let Loose"

Rinaldi competed as Loosey LaDuca on the fifteenth season of the American television show '' RuPaul's Drag Race''. She debuted the original song "Let Loose" during the variety show. According to Stephan Daw of ''Billboard'', "Let Loose" went "ultra-viral" following Loosey LaDuca's talent-show performance. Bernardo Sim of ''Out'' said the song became "a huge viral hit". Loosey LaDuca released a remix of the song that features Jan Sport and Lemon.

Loosey LaDuca also impersonated Dolly Parton and Joan Rivers on ''Drag Race''; she was declared a winner in the fourth and eleventh episodes, and placed in the bottom two in the twelfth and thirteenth episodes. Kevin Bacon praised Loosey LaDuca for her performance in '' Wigloose: The Rusical!'', a parody of the 1984 film '' Footloose''. In her first lip-sync, she defeated Salina EsTitties to Kate Bush's song " Running Up That Hill" (1985). She was eliminated from the competition after losing a lip-sync to "For the Girls" by Hayley Kiyoko against Luxx Noir London.

'' Paper'' magazine's Sanda Song said Loosey LaDuca is "one of season 15's most memorable contestants—and for good reason", and Cameron Scheetz of ''Queerty'' said she "gave us nothing ''but'' real: Real emotion, real drama, real star-power, and ''real'' good reality television". Sim included LaDuca in a 2023 list of ten contestants who received a "delusional" edit on ''Drag Race'' and wrote, "Throughout the edit of the show, LaDuca was shown passionately disagreeing with the judges, arguing with other queens over who got second and third top placements, and seemingly not understanding when her costars were just kidding around." Writing for Pride.com, Sim said, "There's absolutely no way that someone can walk away from watching season 15 without remembering how LaDuca was portrayed on the show." Loosey LaDuca has said she felt "robbed" and had earned a spot as a finalist.

Personal life

Loosey LaDuca uses the pronouns ''she''/''her'' while in drag; her persona is based on Lucille Ball and the LaDuca dance shoes worn by members of the precision dance company The Rockettes. In addition to her characterizations on ''Drag Race'', Loosey LaDuca has impersonated Cyndi Lauper and Madonna.

Discography

Singles

As a featured artist

Filmography

Television

Web series

See also

* List of people from Connecticut

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:LaDuca, Loosey
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American drag queens
American gay musicians
American LGBT singers
Gay singers
LGBT people from Connecticut
People from Ansonia, Connecticut
RuPaul's Drag Race contestants