Valentina (drag queen)

James Andrew Leyva[1] (born May 14, 1991),[1] better known by the stage name Valentina, is an American drag performer, actor, television personality and singer who came to international attention as a contestant on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. In 2023, she was announced as the host of Drag Race México alongside Lolita Banana.

Valentina
Valentina at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2017
Born
James Andrew Leyva

(1991-05-14) May 14, 1991
Bell, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Drag queen, Actor
Years active2015–present
Known for

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 4)

Drag Race México

TitleMiss Congeniality
PredecessorCynthia Lee Fontaine
SuccessorMonét X Change
WebsiteOfficial Instagram

Early life

Valentina was born in Bell, California to Mexican parents,[1] and began working as a professional drag queen around ten months before filming RuPaul's Drag Race, although they already had a background in fashion and the performing arts.[2] Leyva chose to go by "Valentina" in drag after the hot sauce of the same name.[3] Valentina is known for using her drag as a way to represent Latin American culture on stage and make drag more accepted in Latin American culture.[1]

Career

In 2015, Valentina won an early club version of the Boulet Brothers' Dragula" contest, a precursor of the television show.[4]

On February 2, 2017, Valentina was announced as one of fourteen contestants competing for the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[5] She was eliminated in episode nine to Nina Bo'Nina Brown after infamously losing a lipsync battle to "Greedy" by Ariana Grande; she was reluctant to take off a mask covering her mouth as she did not know the lyrics to the song, a moment which went viral across social media.[6] She placed seventh overall, and their elimination sparked some controversy online as she was popular with fans.[7] She was later voted as "Miss Congeniality" by the viewers of the show, but was mockingly dubbed "Fan Favorite" by her castmates, due to their view that she was unsuitable for a congenial title.[8] During the season 10 finale, Valentina appeared via a pre-recorded video message to crown her successor for the Miss Congeniality title, Monét X Change.

Outside of Drag Race, Valentina appeared in the sixth episode of the twenty-fourth season of America's Next Top Model, in a photo shoot challenge with fellow Drag Race alumni Manila Luzon and Katya.[9] She played Judy Reyes's character Quiet Ann in a season-one recap of Claws.[10] In 2017, she was the host of her own WoWPresents internet show, "La Vida De Valentina" which ran for seven episodes.[11][12]

Valentina in 2018

Valentina was in the October 2017 issue of Vogue Mexico, and filmed a makeup tutorial for Vogue's YouTube channel.[13][14] She was in the July 2017 issue of Elle Mexico modeling designs by Benito Santos for his Red Carpet 2018 campaign.[15] She appeared in the January 2018 issue of Filipino magazine Preview.[16] In April 2019, Valentina appeared in Vogue Mexico for a second time.

On November 9, 2018, Valentina was announced as a contestant on the upcoming fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, a spin-off of the regular Drag Race series which features returning contestants from past seasons.[17] After being in the bottom three times and only scoring one win, Valentina was eliminated in the seventh episode by Latrice Royale, when she failed to impress the judges in a design challenge, causing her and Naomi Smalls to be up for elimination.[18]

In January 2019, Valentina portrayed Angel Dumott Schunard in Fox's televised production of the musical Rent, Rent: Live.[19] In June 2019, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed Valentina 20th on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race contestants.[20] In 2021, she made a cameo appearance in In the Heights, during "No Me Diga".[21]

In 2023, she was announced as the host of Drag Race México.[22]

Music

Valentina released her debut single, "A Prueba de Todo", in December 2018.[23]

Legacy

Drag Race: All Stars winner Alaska Thunderfuck did a parody song of "Despacito" called "Valentina" in October 2017, with lyrics about Valentina and her infamous elimination from the show.[24] The cosmetics company Lush also referenced Valentina's elimination for advertising on one of their face masks.[25]

In 2019, Valentina came out as non-binary, stating that she will continue to use "she/her" pronouns. Valentina is now one of several Drag Race alumni who identify as either nonbinary or gender-nonconforming.[26]

She is one of the most followed queens from Drag Race, and has accumulated over 1.5 million Instagram followers as of October, 2021.[27]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2017, 2018, 2021 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Season 9 – Contestant, 7th Place (Miss Congeniality), Season 10 & Season 13 – Guest
2017 La Vida de Valentina Herself Web series
2018 America's Next Top Model Herself Cameo
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Herself Season 4 – Contestant, 7th Place
2018 Drag Tots Arugula Voice only
2019 Rent: Live Angel Dumott Schunard Special
2019 Werq the World[28] Herself Documentary series
2020 AJ and the Queen[29] Cameo Episode: "New York City"
2020 Hey Qween! Herself Guest[30]
2020 La Casa de las Flores[31] Herself Recurring role
2021, 2023 Drag Race España Herself Season 1, Episode 9 — Cameo,[32] Season 3, Episode 9 — Guest Judge
2023 Premio Lo Nuestro 2023[33] Herself Performer (songs from La Usurpadora, The Musical)
2023 Drag Race México[22] Herself Host

Films
Year Title Role Notes
2020 Invasión Drag[34] Herself Documentary about drag and gay culture in Peru
2021 In the Heights[35][21] Valentina Cameo
2023 La Usurpadora: The Musical[36] Lydia[37] Remake of the 1998 telenovela La Usurpadora

Music videos
Year Title Artist(s) Role
2019 "Yo Soy Su Vida"[38] Gloria Trevi The lover
2019 "Ábranse Perras" Gloria Trevi Cameo
2020 "I'm Ready"[39] Demi Lovato, Sam Smith Cameo
2020 "Always"[40] Waze & Odyssey Herself
2020 "La Mexicana"[41] Paty Cantú Cameo
2021 "Don't Go Yet"[42] Camila Cabello Herself
2021 "Como la Primera Vez"[43] Zemmoa ft. Valentina, America Fendi Featured artist
2022 "Kung Kita'y Kapiling"[44] Troy Laurenta feat. Jake Zyrus Herself

Discography

Singles
Year Song Album
2018 "A Prueba De Todo"[45] Non-album single
2020 "All Eyes on Me"[46] Non-album single
Year Title Album
2018 "Don't Funk It Up"[47]
(Lizzo featuring Trinity the Tuck, Valentina, Manila Luzon, Latrice Royale, & Gia Gunn)		 non-album single
2021 "Como La Primera Vez"[48]
(Zemmoa featuring Valentina & America Fendi)		 Lo Que Me Haces Sentir
2022 "Te Estoy Amando Locamente"
(Roi Porto and Valentina)		 non-album single

References
  1. Cooper, Michael (2017-03-31). "L.A.'s Own Drag Race Contestant, Valentina, Wants More Than to Win". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  2. "Meet Valentina, The Drag Queen Representing L.A. On 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". LAist. Archived from the original on 2017-11-05. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  3. Aquino, Marco (May 2, 2017). "Sultry California Girl Valentina Wants to Be America's Next Drag Superstar". San Antonio Current. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  4. "Congratulations to @allaboutvalentina". Boulet Brothers Instagram page. Retrieved 2018-06-12. Valentina won the club version of Dragula in Los Angeles two years ago…
  5. "RuPaul's Drag Race Cast". Logo. Archived from the original on 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  6. Cooper, Michael (May 19, 2017). "Drag Race Fan Favorite and L.A. Native Valentina Explains Her Elimination". LA Weekly. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  7. "The truth about Valentina and Maskgate during 'RuPaul's Drag Race' episode 9". Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  8. "Who won Miss Congeniality during the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' reunion?". Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  9. Katya, Manila & Valentina Teach the Models How to Be Queens (YouTube). VH1. 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  10. "This Claws Recap Starring Drag Race Queens Is Everything". E! News. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
  11. Lecaro, Lina (2017-11-21). "Drag Race Faves Get Their Own Shows on a New Streaming Network". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  12. "La Vida De Valentina". World of Wonder. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  13. "El arte Drag Queen tiene nombre: Valentina". Vogue México (in Spanish). 2017-10-03. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  14. How Valentina From RuPaul’s Drag Race Becomes Fabulous. Vogue (YouTube). 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  15. "Valentina de RuPaul's Drag Race protagoniza campaña de Benito Santos" (in Mexican Spanish). Elle (Spanish edition). 2017-07-18. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  16. "We Shot an Old Hollywood-Themed Editorial with Valentina". Preview. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  17. Nolfi, Joey (November 9, 2018). "Meet the RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 4 cast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  18. "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 4)", Wikipedia, 2019-01-29, retrieved 2019-01-29
  19. "'Rent': Vanessa Hudgens, Tinashe and Valentina Among Cast of Fox's Live Musical". The Hollywood Reporter. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  20. The Editors (June 10, 2019). "The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America: Ranking the new establishment". New York. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  21. Bergado, Gabe. "Drag Race Alum Valentina Steals In the Heights With Just One Line". Vulture. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  22. Mier, Tomás (2023-05-12). "'Drag Race' Alums Valentina and Lolita Banana Will Host New Mexican Franchise". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  23. "Valentina On Leaving the Haters Behind and the Secret to a Perfect Tuck". Interview. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  24. "Alaska Thunderf--k Parodies 'Despacito' With a 'Drag Race' Spin". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  25. "Lush Cosmetics Winks at Valentina's Infamous Drag Race Elimination". Paper. 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  26. "Valentina Identifies as Nonbinary: "I'm My Own Gender"". www.out.com. January 14, 2019.
  27. Juengling, Konrad (October 15, 2021). "Here are the 25 Most-Followed "RuPaul's Drag Race" Queens on Instagram". IntoMore. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  28. "Drag Race's Shangela, Alyssa Edwards, more Werq the World in new series trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  29. "RuPaul brings 22 Drag Race queens to costar on AJ and the Queen". Ew.com. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  30. Hey Qween (2020-01-12), First Look: Valentina on Hey Qween, archived from the original on 2021-12-26, retrieved 2020-01-12
  31. Rudolph, Christopher (2020-04-01). "Valentina Brings Her Beauty to Season 3 of Netflix's "La Casa De Las Flores". NewNowNext.com. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  32. "Valentina ('RPDR 9') se cuela, irreconocible, en la Gran Final de 'Drag Race España'". Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  33. "Junto al tambien elenco de 'La Usurpadora: The Musical'..." Retrieved 19 Feb 2023.
  34. "Disfruta el tráiler de esta espectacular película, ahora sí 💕". Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  35. "Valentina of Drag Race and All Stars – One Night Only". YouTube. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  36. "Pantelion Films, The Lift Start Production on Ambitious Movie 'La Usurpadora, the Musical'". 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  37. "Estoy muy emocionada de compartir con todos ustedes otro sueño realidad". Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  38. Munzenrieder, Kyle (2019-05-03). "How RuPaul's Drag Race Queens Became the Hottest Music Video Accessory". WMagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  39. Spanos, Brittany (April 16, 2020). "Sam Smith, Demi Lovato Announce 'I'm Ready' for Love With New Song". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  40. George Michael (May 21, 2020), Always (Drag Stars Official Video), retrieved May 21, 2020
  41. "Por ti yo me mato y contigo me muero 🇲🇽.Soy #LaMexicana". Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  42. "#Dontgoyet is the first song from my next album, Familia". Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  43. Zemmoa (November 5, 2021), Como la Primera Vez, retrieved November 5, 2021
  44. "Kung Kita'y Kapiling MV featuring my kapatid @jakezyrusmusic and our beautiful guest queen @allaboutvalentina !!". 28 Jan 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  45. "A Prueba De Todo – Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  46. Flores, Griselda (April 14, 2020). "Valentina Talks 'All Eyes on Me' & 'La Casa de las Flores' Netflix Debut". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  47. The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, Season 4 (Ft. Gia Gunn, Latrice Royale, Lizzo, Manila Luzon, Trinity the Tuck & Valentina (Drag Queen)) – Don't Funk It Up, retrieved 2019-11-21
  48. "Como La Primera Vez "Out Now! Disponible Ya! It makes me so happy to finally share with you guys this amazing project that's been in the works for about a year now., archived from the original on 2021-12-26, retrieved 2021-10-15
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