NINA WEST.
“Right now in America, being a drag queen is a really important time to use this platform and use your voice to encourage people to feel empowered, valued, feel their worth in their individuality, in their diversity.”
After nine years of unsuccessful auditions, Nina West finally sashayed into the Drag Race werkoom earlier this year and provided a much-needed dose of old school comedy and camp to a platform that’s recently been inundated with Instagram queens and fashion powerhouses.
Although the performer was - in her words - a “slow-burn” to begin with, she ultimately lived up to expectations; Nina won two challenges, was crowned Miss Congeniality, and became one of the most beloved queens in the show’s HERstory.
“I want to be everything that people want me to be and I want to be the expectation that people have of me,” Nina tells us over fish and chips in a Wimbledon studio (she insisted on the cod because she wanted to have an authentic British experience). “I’m learning that people want to be around me as my imperfect, goofy self. I went to Drag Race and thought, ‘They want a beautiful, statue-esque queen who can walk the runway.’ On my journey, I realised, ‘No, they just want the best you.’ And so I put all these pressures on myself, and post-Drag Race I’m doing the same thing. I want to be the best I can be.”
Nina has always been a beloved figure in the community. Before she appeared on the Emmy Award winning series, she was a prominent fixture in the drag scene, winning Entertainer of the Year after donning a sickening moving dress (which Sia later copied), and raising over millions of dollars for LGBTQ organisations with the Nina West Foundation. Now that she’s competed on Drag Race and shown the world what she has to offer, she’s using her platform to continue the on-going fight for diversity and equality.
We spoke to the fan-favourite about how she’s navigating her newfound fame, her critically-acclaimed children’s album, Drag Is Magic, and the potential resurgence of old school drag queens.
So, how has life been since you have appeared on Drag Race?
My life has changed completely. It’s been non-stop
