Mark Suknanan (born May 28, 1991) is a Canadian television personality and

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 ...

. Competing under his drag name, Priyanka, Suknanan won the first season of the reality competition series ''

Canada's Drag Race ''Canada's Drag Race'' is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and is the Canadian edition of the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to th ...

'' in 2020. He was previously a host of the YTV children's series '' The Zone'' and the YTV reality competition series ''

The Next Star ''The Next Star'' was a Canadian reality competition television series that was broadcast on YTV. It was hosted by Adamo Ruggiero (seasons 1–5) and Carlos Bustamante (season 6–7). The series involved a competition to find the most talented ...

'', where he went by Mark Suki. His first EP, '' Taste Test'', was released in 2021.

Early life

Suknanan was born on May 28, 1991, in Whitby, Ontario. He is of

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are people of Indian origin who are Guyanese nationals tracing their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginnin ...

descent. Suknanan is an alumnus of

Niagara College The Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology (frequently shortened to Niagara College and branded as Niagara College Canada) is a public List of Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, College of Applied Arts and Technology with ...

's broadcasting program.

Career

Suknanan began his career as a host in children's television, most notably on YTV's '' The Zone'' and as the web host of the YTV reality competition series ''

''. Suknanan began performing as a drag queen in 2017, initially under the name Priyanka Love, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

clubs. Her first competition in drag was for a local contest at the suggestion of fellow drag queen Xtacy Love, where she placed fourth. She quickly found success in the local drag scene, winning numerous titles, including Miss Crews and Tangos (2018–2019) and Woody's Queen of Halloween (2018). Priyanka was voted Toronto's best queen in ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

's'' annual reader poll in 2019. Speaking about her rise to fame, Suknanan said: “I went from zero to 100... I came into drag so hard and built up a name so quickly that it just kind of became routine.” Priyanka has also performed as

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

in a

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

drag tribute act, alongside her ''Canada's Drag Race'' castmate

Juice Boxx Joseph “Jo” Primeau, better known by the stage name Juice Boxx (born September 20, 1988), is a Canadian drag performer best known for being the first contestant to be eliminated on ''Canada's Drag Race'', the Canadian version of ''RuPaul's D ...

Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and media personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice. With over 100 million recor ...

. In 2020, Priyanka earned wider recognition as a contestant on the inaugural season of the reality competition series ''

'', ultimately winning the competition over finalists

Scarlett BoBo Scarlett BoBo is the stage name of Matthew Cameron (born December 1, 1989), a Canadian television personality and drag queen most noted as a finalist in the first season of the reality competition series ''Canada's Drag Race'' in 2020. Career Or ...

and

Rita Baga Rita Baga is the stage name of Jean-François Guevremont (born May 27, 1987), a Canadian drag queen from Montreal, Quebec,Hugo Dumas"La future reine québécoise du Nord?" '' La Presse'', August 19, 2020. who is most noted as a top three finalist ...

. She became the first person of Indo-Caribbean descent to win in the franchise's global history. Throughout the season, her narrative included a running gag that the contrast between personas, as both established television personality Mark Suki by day and drag queen Priyanka by night, made her Canada's

Hannah Montana ''Hannah Montana'' is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March2006 and January2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), a ...

;Russ Martin
"Priyanka Is Canada’s Drag Race's First Winner!"
. ''

Flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...

'', September 4, 2020. for

Fierté Montréal Fierté Montréal, also called Montreal Pride, is an annual LGBT pride festival in Montreal, Quebec. The event was founded in 2007 at the initiative of Montreal’s LGBTQ+ communities after the city's prior Pride festival, Divers/Cité, reposit ...

's special online edition of its annual Drag Superstars show, which featured all of the ''Canada's Drag Race'' queens in prerecorded video performances, Priyanka performed to the Hannah Montana theme song " The Best of Both Worlds". She was also featured in

Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, fea ...

's online Drag Ball on June 27, 2020, performing to

Marina and the Diamonds Marina Lambrini Diamandis (; el, Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps), and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and ...

' single " Power & Control". At the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held in the week of May 17 to 20, 2021, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020.Barry Hertz, "How one Canadian arts institution is rebuilding amid the p ...

in 2021, she received a nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Web Program or Series for her Drag Ball appearance, and was one of the ten nominees for the fan-voted Audience Choice Award, as well as serving as the narrator of the livestream presentation for lifestyle and reality categories on May 17. Following the conclusion of the season, she headlined a cross-Canada tour with the other ''Canada's Drag Race'' contestants, which was performed at

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...

venues due to the ongoing

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...

restrictions remaining in place during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

. In October, she participated alongside Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga and

Jimbo Jimbo is a diminutive form of the given name James. It is also a Japanese surname, and it means state or province in Swahili. It may refer to: Given name or nickname * Jimbo (drag queen), Canadian drag queen * Jimbo Aquino (born 1985), Filipin ...

in an online panel discussion as part of the Just for Laughs festival. Priyanka was on the cover of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'' digital issue, her first magazine cover. In November and December 2020, Priyanka appeared as the celebrity spokesperson in a Canadian advertising campaign for SodaStream. She has also starred in online advertising campaigns for

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 1962 ...

and the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

. In April 2021, she was announced as the host of the 2021 virtual edition of

. In May 2021, she partnered with Vizzy Hard Seltzer, serving as community impact director. In August 2021, they will be a featured performer in ''Drag Fest'', a live music festival. She currently co-hosts the Forever Dog podcast ''Famous This Week'' alongside

Brooke Lynn Hytes Brooke Lynn Hytes is the stage name of Brock Edward Hayhoe (born March 10, 1986), a Canadian drag queen, ballet dancer, performer, and television personality. After working as a dancer with Cape Town City Ballet and Les Ballets Trockadero de Mo ...

. In July 2021, Priyanka released the EP '' Taste Test''.Corey Atad
"‘Canada’s Drag Race’ Winner Priyanka Releasing Debut EP ‘Taste Test’
''

ET Canada ''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine ''Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadcas ...

'', July 14, 2021. In November 2021, Priyanka was named as cohost with

Lindsay Ell Lindsay Elizabeth Ell (born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian-American country pop singer, songwriter, guitarist and television personality from Calgary, Alberta. Her music incorporates elements of rock and blues. She was signed to the US record labe ...

of the

2021 Canadian Country Music Awards The 2021 Canadian Country Music Awards, honouring achievements in Canadian country music in 2021, were presented November 29, 2021, at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. Hosted by Lindsay Ell and Priyanka, the ceremony was presented in-person, ...

. At the same time, she released the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

single "Country Queen".

Personal life

Suknanan is openly gay. In November 2020, during the

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 identif ...

, Suknanan revealed that he had tested positive for and since recovered from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Filmography

Television

Music videos

Web series

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Priyanka 1991 births Living people Canada's Drag Race winners Canadian children's television presenters Canadian drag queens Canadian LGBT broadcasters Canadian LGBT singers Canadian people of Indo-Guyanese descent Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian pop singers Gay entertainers Musicians from the Regional Municipality of Durham People from Whitby, Ontario