Benni Miller (born Bennie Roy Miller; December 31, 1984), better known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Ra'Jah O'Hara, is an American

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

best known for winning the first season of '' Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.'' She previously competed on the eleventh season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'' in 2019 and the sixth 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, ...

'' in 2021.

Career

Ra'Jah O'Hara was announced to be one of fifteen contestants competing on the eleventh season of ''

'' on January 24, 2019. In the third episode, she was involved in the show's first ever six-way

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the Hard and soft C, spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a Speech, speaking or singin ...

with Honey Davenport, A'keria C. Davenport, Plastique Tiara,

Scarlet Envy Scarlet Envy (born February 26, 1992), is the stage name of Jacob James Grady, an American drag queen, reality television personality, singer, and performer who is best known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race season 11, eleventh season of '' ...

, and Shuga Cain, which she survived. She later lip-synced again against Mercedes Iman Diamond and Scarlet Envy, sending them both home respectively to

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

's " Living in America" and

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

's " Last Dance". The following episode, she lip synced again with A'keria C. Davenport to

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

's "

Strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

", where she was sent home. Ra'Jah O'Hara competed in pageants prior to ''Drag Race''. She originally was billed as Ra'jah O'Hara Narcisse. Her drag mothers are pageant titleholders Sha'Niah Ellis Narcisse, Silkie O'Hara Munro, and Kelexis Davenport. In June 2021, Ra'Jah O'Hara was announced as one of the thirteen contestants competing on the sixth season of ''

''. In the second episode of the series, she was declared the winner of the main challenge. She lip-synced to

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

's " Miss You Much" against Season 11 runner-up and co-host of '' Canada's Drag Race'',

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

. They were both declared winners. Ra'Jah O'Hara sent home fellow contestant Jiggly Caliente in addition to winning $20,000. She also won the main challenge in the ninth episode, but lost the lip sync to

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

's "

Boom Clap "Boom Clap" is a song by English singer Charli XCX, released as the first single from the The Fault in Our Stars (soundtrack), soundtrack album of ''The Fault in Our Stars (film), The Fault in Our Stars'' (2014) and is also featured on her seco ...

" against Kameron Michaels. She finished the season as a runner-up with two wins and two bottoms in the sixth and the eleventh episode. In October 2022, Ra'Jah O'Hara was announced to compete in the premiere season of the international ''All Stars'' series based in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, '' Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World''. In the second episode, the

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a comedy challenge recurring across the ''Drag Race'' television franchise and a fixture of the reality competition series. Since the second season of the original American ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' series in 2010, the challenge ha ...

, she placed in the Top 2 with the winner of the second season of ''Canada's Drag Race'', Icesis Couture, in which she lost the Lip sync to "

Sk8er Boi "Sk8er Boi" (pronounced "skater boy") is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the second single from her debut album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002). It was written by Lavigne and The Matrix (productio ...

" by

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

against her. On December 23, 2022, Ra'Jah O'Hara was declared the winner of the season, beating fellow Season 11 contestant Silky Nutmeg Ganache in a Lip Sync for the Crown to " River Deep – Mountain High" by

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

. She won $100,000 and was crowned the first ever "Queen of the Mother-Pucking World.”

Education

Miller attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Personal life

Miller was born to Telesia Ann Miller and lives in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. Miller is a member of the Drag Haus of Davenport, with ''Drag Race'' alum Kennedy Davenport,

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 the ...

, Monet X Change, Honey Davenport and A'keria C. Davenport.

Filmography

Television

Theatre

Web series

Music videos

Discography

As featured artist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OHara, RaJah 1985 births Living people African-American drag queens American drag queens Drag performers from Dallas Ra'Jah O'Hara Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World winners