Kandy Ho | |
---|---|
![]() Kandy Ho at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022 | |
Born | Frank Diaz Jr.[1] September 24, 1987 Connecticut, U.S. |
Television |
Frank Diaz Jr. (born September 24, 1987),[citation needed] better known by the stage name Kandy Ho, is a Puerto Rican drag queen and television personality.[2]
Early life
[edit]Diaz was born and raised in Connecticut, United States, and moved to Puerto Rico when she was 10 years old.[3][4] She was raised as a Pentecostal and Baptist.[3]
Before competing on RuPaul's Drag Race, she worked in sales for 8 years.[5] She first performed in drag as a fill-in for a talent show, where she impersonated Madonna, but was hesitant to return to drag until she was asked by friends to fill in as Kimberly Wyatt in a Pussycat Dolls impersonation act for Pride. She was convinced to fill in by her then-boyfriend, and decided to continue pursuing drag afterwards.[3][5] Her drag name is composed of "Kandy", because she describes herself as sweet and was suggested to her by a friend, as well as "Ho", because she needed something "raunchy" to "spice up" the name and was suggested the name by her then-boyfriend.[5][6]
Career
[edit]Originally from Cayey, Puerto Rico, she rose to prominence on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2015,[7][8][9] and later competed on the second season Chilean version of Drag Race, The Switch Drag Race, in 2018, where she represented Puerto Rico.[10] She was accepted onto Drag Race after only auditioning once.[5] During her run on season 7 she was notably critiqued by Michelle Visage for her makeup contouring looking like she had painted on a beard, with Visage's reaction of wagging her finger and saying "no" being turned into a popular GIF.[11]
In 2019 she was ranked by Vulture as one of the most powerful drag queens in America.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "KANDY HO' - Trademark Details". trademarks.justia.com. Justia. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ Altomonte, Alex (2015-04-28). "Exclusive Interview: Kandy Ho' Right On Her Alley!". Queerty. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- ^ a b c Riviera, Samara (14 May 2015). "Kandy Ho – Hey, Hey, Ho'!". adelantemagazine.com. Adelante Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Boulet, Ruth (1 June 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 Finale recap". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Holland, Scott (9 April 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 – Hotspots Interviews Kandy Ho". hotspotsmagazine.com. Hotspots Media Group. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Altomonte, Alex (28 April 2015). "Exclusive Interview: Kandy Ho' Right On Her Alley!". queerty.com. Queerty, Inc. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Portwood, Jerry (8 December 2014). "Meet the Queens of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7". Out. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ Guerra, Joey (2015-04-09). "Kandy Ho talks 'RuPaul's Drag Race' elimination". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- ^ Cook, Michael (2015-05-19). "Kandy Ho says "Being a bigger and better Drag Queen is really what it's about"". Out In Jersey. Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
- ^ Chávez, Daniela (16 September 2016). "Estas son las 13 participantes que darán vida a "The Switch 2"". Fotech. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ Carpentier, Megan; Rushe, Dominic (2015-03-03). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode one – the devil wears nada". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
- ^ "The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America, Ranked". Vulture. 2019-06-10. Archived from the original on 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
External links
[edit]Media related to Kandy Ho at Wikimedia Commons