Peppermint, or Miss Peppermint
(born 1979), is an American actress, singer, songwriter, television personality,
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 ...
, and activist. She is best known from the
nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
scene and, in 2017, as the runner-up 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 ...
''. In 2018, Peppermint made her debut in
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...
-inspired musical ''
Head Over Heels'' as Pythio, becoming
Broadway's first out
trans woman
A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...
to originate a lead role.
As a recording artist, she has released two studio albums, ''Hardcore Glamour'', released in 2009, and ''Black Pepper'', released in 2017, as well as five EPs, including ''
A Girl Like Me: Letters to My Lovers'', which was released in 2020.
Early life
Peppermint was raised in
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey.
The community is lo ...
, and
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
.
She felt her
gender non-conformity
Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-bina ...
was policed, so she tried to fit in with others' expectations. She
transitioned after moving to New York City and
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
in 2012,
before she appeared on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. While a contestant on ''Drag Race'', Peppermint revealed that when she had been a high-school cheerleader, she had been beaten up by a male member of her high school's basketball team.
Career
Early work
Peppermint started performing as a child in youth theatre, playing roles at
Opera Delaware Opera Delaware is a professional opera company located in Wilmington, Delaware. The company was founded in 1944 and is one of the oldest professional opera companies in the United States. To date the company has staged 198 productions of 104 operas ...
, Delaware Children's Theatre, and The Brandywiners Community Theatre. She continued performing at Wilmington High School where she was also on the cheerleading team. For a time, she also worked as a makeup artist for
MAC Cosmetics.
[
Peppermint moved to New York City to study musical theatre at AMDA. While in college she got a job at the nightclub ]Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
's Kurfew parties, ultimately becoming a fixture in New York City nightlife. She started recording music in 2005 for Jonny McGovern
Jonny McGovern (born July 12, 1976), also known by his character name The Gay Pimp, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician and podcaster. He has recorded three albums as comedic singer The Gay Pimp, appeared as a cast member of Log ...
's mixtape ''Jonny McGovern Presents: This is NYC, Bitch! The East Village Mixtape''. She contributed the song "Servin' It Up", which was produced by Adam Joseph
Adam Joseph (born Adam Joseph Hodges; January 10, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, and music producer. Joseph has released two albums and 16 singles during his career. He is also the president of his own recording label, Jah Records. Jos ...
. The song was later released as Peppermint's debut single in 2006.
Peppermint was featured in the web series ''Queens of Drag: NYC'' by gay.com
Gay.com was a chat, personals, and social networking website catering to the LGBT community. The site was a digital brand of Here Media Inc. In addition to community features, the site featured LGBT-related news and features. As of September ...
in 2010. The series featured fellow New York drag queens 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 ...
, Dallas DuBois
Daniel Logan, better known by his stage name Dallas DuBois, is an American actor and drag queen.
Early life
Daniel Logan was born in Long Island, New York, on June 9, 1986.
Career
Logan first started doing drag in 2008. He had previously used t ...
, Hedda Lettuce
Hedda Lettuce is an American drag queen, comedian and singer who lives and works in New York City. The New York actor Steven Polito debuted his character Hedda Lettuce in 1991 on the Manhattan Cable TV show ''The Brenda and Glennda Show''. Lett ...
, Lady Bunny
Lady Bunny, originally known as "Bunny Hickory Dickory Dock" (born Jon Ingle, August 13, 1962), is an American drag queen, nightclub DJ, actor, comedian, and event organizer. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event, as well as an occasion ...
, Mimi Imfurst, and Sherry Vine
Keith Levy, known professionally as Sherry Vine, is an American actor, drag queen, and musician. Vine is the creator and host of '' She's Living for This'', a variety series on here TV.
Vine works primarily in New York City and on Fire Island, L ...
. She also appeared as a drag-version of Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...
on ''America's Next Top Model'' Cycle 14, Episode 5: "Smile and Pose" introducing a drag-theme runway challenge at Lucky Chengs in New York City.
''RuPaul's Drag Race''
Peppermint talked about being trans publicly for the first time on an episode of ''The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' called "The Trans Panic Epidemic" in April 2016.
On February 2, 2017, Peppermint was announced as one of the fourteen contestants 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 ...
''. Though other transgender women have competed on ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', she was the first to have come out prior to the show airing, having come out in 2012.
She won the Roast Challenge in episode 8. She placed in the bottom two in two challenges, lip-synching to Madonna's "Music" and the Village People
Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...
's "Macho Man", winning both. Her performances earned her the favorable nickname "Lip Sync Assassin". Ultimately, she finished in second place after winner Sasha Velour
Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...
, after they both lip-synced to Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...
's " It's Not Right but It's Okay (Thunderpuss Remix)".
Music
Peppermint's debut studio album ''Hardcore Glamour'' was self-released in 2009 and preceded by the singles "Servin' It Up" and "Thought Ya Knew". In 2011, Sherry Vine and Peppermint released a parody of the Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
and Beyoncé song "Telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
" titled "Make Me Moan". Following the viral success of the music video, Peppermint later released other parody songs, including a parody of Azealia Banks
Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. In ...
' song "212
Year 212 ( CCXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asper and Camilius (or, less frequently, year 965 '' Ab urbe condit ...
", titled "21/12". Her song "If I Steal Your Boyfriend" was used in the 2011 film '' Eating Out 5: The Open Weekend''.
On April 3, 2017, Peppermint released a six-track EP of remixes of various songs she had released up to that point, including the single "Dolla in My Titty". Her second studio album ''Black Pepper'' was released in June of the same year. A three-song EP with producer Cazwell called ''Blend'' was released in 2018. In 2019, Peppermint appeared on fellow Drag Race alum 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' ...
's single "I Call Shade", which charted at number 13 on the Billboard Comedy Digital Tracks chart.
On February 11, 2020, it was announced that Peppermint was working on a new album, and the lead single "What You're Looking For" was released on February 14, 2020. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on August 28, 2020, Peppermint stated that the album would in fact be a trilogy of EPs, and that a full studio album was previously planned for a May 2020 release, but was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The first of these EPs, '' A Girl Like Me: Letters to My Lovers'', will be released on October 16, 2020, with the lead single "Best Sex" being released on October 2. Of the project, she said "it really does focus on my life -- who I am as a trans woman -- and everything that's happening right now ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...
, Black Trans Lives Matter and a lot of the issues that we are dealing with socially." She also confirmed that the project would feature collaborations with Laith Ashley
Laith Ashley De La Cruz (born July 6, 1989) is an American model, actor, activist, singer-songwriter and entertainer of Dominican descent.
Early life
Laith grew up in a Dominican American household in Harlem, New York. He practiced individual an ...
, Jerome Bell
Vaughan Mason & Crew was an American funk and post-disco based group led by Vaughan Mason (October 24, 1950 – April 2, 2020). They are best known for their single "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll", which reached number 5 on the US ''Billboard'' Ho ...
, Daniel Shevlin of Well-Strung
Well-Strung is an American string quartet based in New York City that is known for fusing classical music with modern pop music. The band was formed in 2012 by band member Chris Marchant and producer Mark Cortale. The band consists of four members ...
, Matt Katz-Bohen of Blondie, Corey Tut and Adam Joseph
Adam Joseph (born Adam Joseph Hodges; January 10, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, and music producer. Joseph has released two albums and 16 singles during his career. He is also the president of his own recording label, Jah Records. Jos ...
.
The EP garnered Peppermint a nomination for Outstanding Music Artist at the 2021 GLAAD Media Awards.
Acting
Peppermint made her Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
debut in The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...
-inspired musical '' Head Over Heels'' using the songs of The Go-Go's. The plot of the show is somewhat based on ''The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia
''The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia'', also known simply as the ''Arcadia'', is a long prose pastoral romance by Sir Philip Sidney written towards the end of the 16th century. Having finished one version of his text, Sidney later significantly ...
'' written by Sir Philip Sidney
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
in the 16th century. The show began previews in June 2018 and officially opened July 2018, at the Hudson Theatre
The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the Hudson was built ...
; playing the role of Pythio, Peppermint became the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway.
Writing for ''Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wit ...
'', Greg Evans summed up his impression of the musical as "occasionally amusing, occasionally cloying", expressing disappointment that many popular Go-Go's songs appeared to have been flattened over the years the musical spent in development. In ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'', Kelly Connolly viewed the show more favorably, praising "the charismatic cast" and Michael Mayer's "joyful production"; she gave the A− score overall. ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''s critic Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...
's review drew criticism as transphobic
Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...
and misgendering
Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...
of Peppermint's character. The ''Times'' subsequently edited the review and Brantley apologized for it, writing that he had tried to "reflect the light tone of the show". The show closed in January 2019.
Peppermint has had appearances on '' Pose'' and ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
,'' and in October 2019 played the role of Pastor Olivia, "the ransgenderleader of an LGBTQ-friendly congregation", in a two-episode arc of ''God Friended Me
''God Friended Me'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. It stars Brandon Micheal Hall, Violett Beane, Suraj Sharma, Javicia Leslie, Joe Morton and Erica Gimpel. The series was ordered ...
''.
Continued career
From 2019 to 2020, she co-hosted ''It's a Mess'' podcast with Cazwell.
Peppermint is a co-founder of ''Black Queer Town Hall'' along with Bob The Drag Queen. 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 $270,000 for The Okra Project.
On June 2, 2021, Peppermint was announced as a cast member of OUTtv
OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a 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 by OUTtv Media Global I ...
's ''Call Me Mother
''Call Me Mother'' is a Canadian reality television series, which premiered on OutTV in 2021. Hosted by ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' reporter Dallas Dixon, the series is a drag competition which will see up-and-coming drag performers join ...
'', where her and fellow "Drag Mothers" Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...
and Barbada de Barbades adopt and mentor up-and-coming drag talent over an eight-week journey as they compete to win the title of "First Child Of Drag" and a $50,000 prize package. In the show, Peppermint will be representing the House of Dulcet.
Public image
She does not use her birth name, and asks that publications not deadname
Deadnaming is the act of referring to a transgender or non-binary person by a name they used prior to transitioning, such as their birth name. Deadnaming may be unintentional, or a deliberate attempt to deny, mock or invalidate a person's gend ...
her. For several years, she went by the name "Angel", which derived from her portraying Angel in a one-act
A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...
production of ''Rent''.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other appearances
Music videos
Parody music videos
Filmography
Film
Television
Audio series
Web series
Music video appearances
Theatre credits
See also
* LGBT culture in New York City
* List of LGBT people from New York City
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peppermint
1979 births
Living people
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
Actresses from Pennsylvania
Actresses from Wilmington, Delaware
African-American actresses
African-American drag queens
African-American songwriters
African-American women singers
American house musicians
American singer-songwriters
American women singer-songwriters
Contemporary R&B singers
LGBT African Americans
American LGBT actors
LGBT hip hop musicians
LGBT people from Delaware
LGBT people from Pennsylvania
LGBT singers from the United States
Nightlife in New York City
People from Hershey, Pennsylvania
RuPaul's Drag Race contestants
Transgender actresses
Transgender women musicians
Transgender drag performers
Transgender rights activists
Participants in Canadian reality television series