Kandy Ho

Last updated
Kandy Ho
RuPaul DragCon 2022 (52073258633) (cropped) (cropped).jpg
Kandy Ho at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022
Born
Frank Diaz Jr. [1]

(1987-09-24) September 24, 1987 (age 36)
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]

Contents

Early life

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

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]

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References

  1. "KANDY HO' - Trademark Details". trademarks.justia.com. Justia. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  2. Altomonte, Alex (2015-04-28). "Exclusive Interview: Kandy Ho' Right On Her Alley!". Queerty . Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  3. 1 2 3 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.
  4. Boulet, Ruth (1 June 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 Finale recap". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Guerra, Joey (2015-04-09). "Kandy Ho talks 'RuPaul's Drag Race' elimination". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. "The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America, Ranked". Vulture. 2019-06-10. Archived from the original on 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2023-05-29.