Anita Wigl'it

Last updated
Anita Wigl'it
DragCon 2023 @ DVSROSS Photgraphy -133.jpg
Anita Wigl'it at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2023
Born
Nick Hall [1]

Yeovil, England, UK
Education University of Auckland (BM)
University of British Columbia (MM)
Occupation Drag queen
Known for
Website anitawiglit.co.nz

Nick Hall (formerly Kennedy-Hall), better known by the stage name Anita Wigl'it, is a British-New Zealand based drag performer best known for hosting House of Drag from 2018 to 2020, and competing on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under in 2021. [2] She competed in Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World in 2022. [3]

Contents

Early life

Kennedy-Hall was born in Yeovil, England and moved to Auckland at age 10. [1] He completed a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music (Honours) in music performance (with first class honours) at University of Auckland and a Masters of Music degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, before returning to New Zealand and joining the Royal New Zealand Navy Band as a trumpet player. [1] His husband Shameel Kennedy, under the name Ivanna Drink, competed on the third season of Drag Race Down Under. In August 2023, the couple announced that they had separated. [4]

Career

In 2018, Anita and Kita Mean were both judges on the New Zealand drag show House of Drag from 2018 to 2020, where they became known as the duo "Kita and Anita". [5] The duo are also partners in Caluzzi, a drag cabaret in downtown Auckland. [6]

In March 2021, both Anita and Kita were announced as contestants to compete on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under . During the show, Anita won the Snatch Game in episode 2 for impersonating Queen Elizabeth II, [7] and was eliminated in episode 4 after losing a lip sync to Karen from Finance. [8]

Unlike a regular season of the original U.S. RuPaul's Drag Race, no Miss Congeniality was crowned by RuPaul in the series; however, a poll of the eliminated queens in post-show interviews with the entertainment website PopBuzz saw Anita Wigl'it named as their choice for Miss Congeniality. [9]

She currently co-hosts the Kita and Anita's Happy Hour podcast alongside Kita Mean. [10]

She was one of nine queens to compete in the first season of "Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World". Despite winning Snatch Game in her original season, she was in the bottom 2 for her Snatch Game impression of Adele in episode 2. [11] She was eliminated in episode 3 by Silky Nutmeg Ganache. [12]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2018–2020 House of Drag Judge2 seasons (17 episodes)
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Contestant8th place (4 episodes)
BreakfastGuest [13]
Have You Been Paying Attention? Guest Quiz MasterSeason 2, Episode 17
2022 Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World Contestant7th Place (4 episodes)

Web series

YearTitleRoleNotesRef
2021Re: NewsHerselfGuest with Kita Mean [14]
PopBuzz MeetsGuest with Art Simone [15]
BuzzFeed Oz!Guest with Art Simone & Elektra Shock [16]
2022Meet the QueensStand-alone special [17]

Discography

TitleYearAlbum
"Queens Down Under" (Outback Fake Hoes Version)
(with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, season 1		2021Non-album singles
"Bonjour, Hi!" (Touché Version)
(The cast of Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs The World)		2022

Awards and nominations

YearAward ceremonyCategoryWorkResultsRef.
2021 New Zealand Television Awards Television Personality of the YearRuPaul's Drag Race Down UnderNominated [18] [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Gates, Charlie (9 August 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Star Brings Her Show to Christchurch". Stuff. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  2. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (6 March 2021). "Say g'day to the Drag Race Down Under queens: Aussies kiki with Kiwis!". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  3. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (October 17, 2022). "See the 'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World' cast of international all-stars". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  4. ↑ "DRAG RACE STARS: ANITA WIGL'IT ANNOUNCES SPLIT FROM IVANA DRINK". gayexpress.co.nz. YOUR EX magazine. 24 August 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  5. ↑ Anna Murray, "The reality show dragging TVNZ into the future" Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine . New Zealand Herald , November 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ Lillie Rohan, "Love Languages: Drag Race Down Under star Anita Wigl'it on pursuing her passions" Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine . New Zealand Herald , July 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ Shaad D'Souza, "RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Recap: A Dingo Ate My Snitch Game" Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine . Vulture , May 8, 2021.
  8. ↑ Sam Damshenas, "Exclusive: Drag Race Down Under’s Karen from Finance is taking ‘accountability’ for her past actions" Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine . Gay Times , June 17, 2021.
  9. ↑ Woodrow White, "Drag Race Down Under's Anita Wigl'it crowned Miss Congeniality" Archived 2021-07-16 at the Wayback Machine . PopBuzz , June 21, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Drag Race UK winner Krystal Versace dishes on taking the crown and behind-the-scenes gossip". NZ Herald. December 21, 2021. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  11. ↑ "'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs the World' Episode 2 recap: Snatched at the Summit | Xtra Magazine". 26 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs the World' Episode 3 recap: Weather or not | Xtra Magazine". 3 December 2022.
  13. ↑ Kiwi stars of RuPaul's Drag Race hope new series will boost support in New Zealand. www.1news.co.nz. March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  14. ↑ Caluzzi how two drag queens saved a business. Youtube.com. July 9, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  15. ↑ Drag Race Down Under's Anita Wigl'it Reacts To Art Simone's Shock Return | PopBuzz Meets. Youtube.com. May 26, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  16. ↑ Anita Wiglit Talks Diversity, Elektra Shock And Art Simone's Return | Drag Race Down Under. Youtube.com. May 24, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  17. ↑ Meet The Queens | Anita Wigl'it - Canada's Drag Race Vs The World. Youtube.com. October 17, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  18. ↑ "NZ TV Awards Names 2021 TV Legend And TV Personality Of The Year Finalists". Scoop Media. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "This year we had over 36,000 votes cast for the coveted New Zealand Television Personality of the Year 2021 award. The public has spoken and our winner is…Terei Tonight's Nix Adams!". Twitter. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
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