Mariah Paris Balenciaga

Last updated
Mariah Paris Balenciaga
Mariah Balenciaga (cropped).jpg
Balenciaga at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018
Born
Elijah A. Kelly [1]

(1981-02-13) February 13, 1981 (age 42)
Occupation Drag queen
Years active1999–present
Known for

Mariah Paris Balenciaga, or simply known as Mariah, is the stage name of Elijah A. Kelly (born February 13, 1981), [2] an American drag queen and television personality, best known for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2011) and the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020). [3] Since appearing on the show, she has been featured in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, such as Wait, What?, Transformations, and Fashion Photo RuView. Balenciaga released her first single, "Mug 4 Dayz", on November 19, 2013.

Contents

Early life

Kelly was born on February 13, 1982, in Gainesville, Georgia. She later moved to Atlanta when she was 19, and started doing drag in the ballroom scene, becoming a founding member of the House of Balenciaga. [4] She is biracial. [5] [6]

Career

Balenciaga was announced as one of thirteen contestants for the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2011. [7] She was eliminated in the sixth episode after losing a lip sync to "Looking for a New Love" by Jody Watley against Delta Work. [8] In 2018, she appeared with other Drag Race alumni for the first mini challenge of season ten. [9] She asked a viewer question to Eureka O'Hara during the season ten finale episode. [10] She appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere of season eleven of Drag Race. [11] Balenciaga was also a drag professor for the second and third season of RuPaul's Drag U in 2011 and 2012. [12]

Outside of Drag Race, she makes guest appearances for the WOWPresents Internet series "Fashion Photo Ruview" filling in for either Raja or Raven, reviewing looks from Drag Race alumni. Her first appearance was on June 9, 2016. [13] She also makes recurring appearances on another WOW series, "Wait, What?" as the co-host to Kimora Blac, where they answer trivia questions. Her first appearance was in the debut episode. [14]

Balenciaga was with other Drag Race alumni for an episode of Skin Wars in 2015. [15] She was one of the performers for Phi Phi O'Hara's benefit show for the hurricane in Puerto Rico. [16] [17]

She was one of the background dancers for Miley Cyrus's 2015 VMA performance. [18] She was a background dancer again, playing as one of the Spice Girls for Rita Ora on an episode of Lip Sync Battle in March 2018. [19] She was a backup dancer for Lip Sync Battle again in 2019 for Nico Tortorella. [20]

In August 2019, she was featured in Women's Wear Daily magazine, alongside Kimora Blac, Mayhem Miller, and Kameron Michaels. [21]

In 2020, Balenciaga returned for the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, placing 8th overall. Her performance in the first episode was praised for raising awareness of systemic racism and prejudice, made particularly timely in wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Balenciaga was even given a shoutout by current guest judge Ricky Martin for her performance. [22] [23]

In September 2020, Balenciaga was featured alongside many other black RuPaul's Drag Race alum in a "Stop The Racism" PSA, speaking out against toxic, racist fans within the Drag Race community. [24]

She was a featured performer during Jennifer Lopez's performance at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards. [25]

Music

Balenciaga released her first single, "Mug 4 Dayz", on November 19, 2013. [26] A remix EP of the song was released on April 11, 2014. [27] Balenciaga appeared in the music video for Pandora Boxx's "Oops I Think I Pooped" on September 24, 2018. [28] She appeared in a music video for Lizzo's song "Juice" on April 17, 2019. [29] She appeared in a music video for pop duo Aly & AJ's song "Star Maps" on June 12, 2019. [30]

Discography

EPs

TitleDetails
Mug 4 Dayz Stone Cold Remixes

Singles

YearSong
2013"Mug 4 Dayz"
2020"Stains on the Wall"

As Featured Artist

TitleYearAlbum
"I'm in Love" [31]
(with the Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Season 5)
2020Non-album single

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef(s)
2011 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 3) HerselfContestant (9th place)
2011 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
2011-12 RuPaul's Drag U [32]
2015 Skin Wars Season 2 - episode 4 [33]
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) Guest - Episode 1 [34]
2018 Lip Sync Battle Backup dancer [19]
2018 The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Drag QueenCameo role - episode 2
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11) HerselfGuest - Episode 1 [35]
2019 Lip Sync Battle HerselfBackground dancer [20]
2020 AJ and the Queen HerselfGuest appearance [36]
2020 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 5) HerselfContestant (8th place) [3]
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked (season 2) [37]
2021The BrownsHerselfGuest appearance [38]

Web series

YearTitleRoleRef.
2014TransformationsHerself [39]
2015Rooftop Lipsync [40]
2015-2019Drag Queens React [41]
2016-19Fashion Photo RuView
2016-19Wait, What?
2017M.U.G. [42]
2017Spilling the Tea [43]
2018Cosmo Queens [44]
2019Wigs in a Blanket [45]
2019Bootleg Opinions [46]
2019-23The Pit Stop [47] [48]
2019Follow Me [5]
2019Iconic [49]
2019Reading Queens [50]
2020Whatcha Packin' [51]
2021 Hey Qween! [52]
2023Binge Queens: Drag Race Mexico [53]

Music videos

YearTitleArtist
2016Expensive [54] Todrick Hall
2017Expensive (Deluxe Version) Todrick Hall
2017Stun [55] Alaska ft. Gia Gunn
2018Oops I Think I Pooped [56] Pandora Boxx
2018Excuse The Beauty Latrice Royale
2018Girly [57] John Duff
2019 Juice Lizzo
2019Star Maps Aly & AJ

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrick Barry</span> American drag performer and Britney Spears impersonator

Derrick Prentice Barry is an American drag performer, Britney Spears impersonator and reality television personality. He is best known for competing on the third season of America's Got Talent (2008), and later the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2016) and fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan McMichaels</span> Scottish-American drag queen

Morgan McMichaels is the stage name of Scottish-American drag performer Thomas White, best known as a contestant on the second season of the reality television competition RuPaul's Drag Race, as well as the third season of the show's All-Stars spinoff. She has also been involved in various Drag Race spin-offs, including RuPaul's Drag U and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pandora Boxx</span> American drag queen

Michael R. Steck, better known by the stage name Pandora Boxx, is an American drag queen, comedian, and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. Boxx competed in the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing fifth and winning Miss Congeniality, and subsequently returned for the first and sixth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Boxx also appeared in all three seasons of the Drag Race spin-off series RuPaul's Drag U.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Luzon</span> Filipino-American drag performer (born 1981)

Karl Philip Michael Westerberg, known professionally as Manila Luzon, is a Filipino-American drag queen, reality television personality, recording artist, and comedian. Luzon came to international attention as a contestant on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race and on the first and fourth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yara Sofia</span> Puerto Rican drag queen

Yara Sofia is the stage name of Gabriel Burgos Ortiz, a Puerto Rican drag queen, professional make-up artist, and reality television personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyssa Edwards</span> American drag performer and choreographer

Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, best known by the stage name Alyssa Edwards, is an American drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson. Edwards was known for competing in drag pageantry before rising to international attention as a contestant on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming a fan favorite during and after her time on the show. Edwards subsequently appeared on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and starred in her own web series, Alyssa's Secret.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darienne Lake</span> American drag queen

Greg Meyer, better known by the stage name Darienne Lake, is a drag queen and television personality. Lake began performing in drag in 1990 in Rochester, New York before rising to prominence after competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing fourth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatianna</span> American drag queen, musician, and reality television personality

Joey Santolini, better known by his stage name Tatianna, is an American drag queen, musician, and reality television personality from Washington, D.C. He is best known for competing on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race and later the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. She released her debut album, T1, in 2018.

Martell Robinson, known by the stage name Jasmine Diane Masters, best known simply as Jasmine Masters, is an American drag queen, internet celebrity, YouTuber, and stand-up comedian. He is best known for competing on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Robinson is responsible for several viral videos, many of which have become memes, most notably And I Oop! which was the most used gif of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gia Gunn</span> American drag performer

Gia Gunn is the stage name of American drag performer Gia Keitaro Ichikawa. She is known for competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, the second season of The Switch Drag Race, and RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars season four.

<i>RuPauls Drag Race All Stars</i> American reality television series

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original RuPaul's Drag Race, which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account that the fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments". On February 24, 2021, Paramount+ announced via Twitter that the streaming service would be the new home to the series for the sixth season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chi Chi DeVayne</span> American drag queen (1985–2020)

Zavion Michael Davenport, better known by the stage name Chi Chi DeVayne, was an American drag queen and reality television personality who came to international attention on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. DeVayne began her drag career in her native Shreveport, Louisiana, where she was known locally prior to her 2016 debut on Drag Race. Following her time on the show, DeVayne embarked on a number of domestic and international tours, and she was featured on several web series about drag. Davenport was diagnosed with scleroderma in 2018 and, two years later, he died following a bout of pneumonia he contracted after a hospital stay for scleroderma-related kidney failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Smalls</span> American drag queen

Davis M. Heppenstall, better known by the stage name Naomi Smalls, is an American drag queen and reality television personality, best known as one of the runners-up on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race as well as RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimora Blac</span> American drag queen

Kimora Blac is the stage name of Von Nguyen, an American drag queen and television personality, best known for competing on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity K. Bonet</span> American drag queen, performer, celebrity impersonator, actor and singer

Joshua Jamal Jones, better known by the stage name Trinity Kardashian Bonét, is an American drag queen, performer, celebrity impersonator, actor and singer who came to international attention on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2014. Bonet released her first single, "I'm a Drag Queen" on September 6, 2017, and the accompanying music video was later released on October, 18. On May 26, 2021, she was announced as part of the cast for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 6 alongside 12 other contestants.

<i>RuPauls Drag Race</i> (season 10) Season of television series

The tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on March 22, 2018, on VH1. The premiere was broadcast one week after the finale of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and episodes are to be followed by RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked. Contestants were officially announced on February 22, 2018, in a teaser trailer during an episode of All Stars 3 later followed by a special "Meet the Queens" live-stream on Facebook, hosted by season nine winner, Sasha Velour. This season saw the return of season 9 contestant Eureka O'Hara who was removed from her original season after tearing her ACL. The prizes for the winner of this season include a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000. This is the first season in which each episode was 90 minutes long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayhem Miller (drag queen)</span> American drag queen and performer

Mayhem Miller is the stage name of Dequan Armand Johnson, an American drag performer and actor, best known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2018), the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020), and the upcoming second series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2024).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ongina</span> Filipino-American drag queen and HIV activist

Ongina is the stage name of Ryan Ong Palao, a Filipino-American drag performer and HIV activist who came to international attention on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Since appearing on the show, Ongina has been featured in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, including Wait, What?, Ring My Bell, and Fashion Photo RuView. Ongina was one of the first reality TV stars to come out as HIV-positive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrs. Kasha Davis</span> American drag performer

Mrs. Kasha Davis is the stage name of Edward Paul Popil Jr., an American drag queen, actor and television personality from Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is best known for competing on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. After appearing on the reality television show, Mrs. Kasha Davis toured internationally, released several musical singles, and performed in film, television and theatre.

<i>RuPauls Drag Race All Stars</i> (season 5) Fifth season of RuPauls Drag Race All Stars

The fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was announced by VH1 on August 19, 2019.

References

  1. "Elijah A Kelly". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. "Mariah Paris Balenciaga "It Gets Better!"". Abby Normal. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  3. 1 2 Adam B. Vary (May 8, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Moves Back to VH1 From Showtime, Reveals Cast". Variety . Archived from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  4. "Mariah Balenciaga". Grizzly Kiki. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  5. 1 2 WOWPresents (2019-05-06), FOLLOW ME: Mariah Balenciaga, archived from the original on February 11, 2021, retrieved 2019-05-10
  6. Cook, Michael (June 24, 2020). "The Queen of The Ballroom – Mariah Balenciaga Talks Returning For "All-Stars" & What We May Not Know About The Ballroom Scene". Instinct . Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  7. "Alexis Mateo: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 Contestant - RuPaul's Drag Race (Video Clip) | LOGOtv". Logo TV. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  8. "'RuPaul's Drag Race': How 'Precious' was Stacy Layne Matthews last night?". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  9. "RuPaul Brings Back Katya, Porkchop, Kim Chi, Jujubee, Detox, and More to Help Judge the First Mini-Challenge of Season 10". VH1 News. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  10. Club, The A.V. "The A.V. Club convenes its own judges' panel for the RuPaul's Drag Race season-10 finale". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  11. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' 11 episode 1 recap: Which queen was sent packing on 'Whatcha Unpackin'? [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]". Goldderby. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  12. Gascot, John (2011-07-27). "RuPaul's Drag U: Professor Mariah". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  13. WOWPresents (2016-06-09), RuPaul's Drag Race Fashion Photo RuView with Raja and Mariah Balenciaga: Social Media Ep 39 , retrieved 2018-09-09
  14. "Wait, What?". WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  15. "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  16. "The "Drag Race" Queens Are Going All Out To Raise Money For Puerto Rico". LOGO News. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  17. Cook, Michael (2017-10-28). "Queens United/Reinas Unitas-The Ladies of "RuPaul's Drag Race" Hit The Stage For The People Of Puerto Rico!". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  18. "Meet All 30 Of Miley's Day-Glo Dancers From Her Insane VMA Performance". MTV News. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  19. 1 2 Lip Sync Battle (2018-03-29), Charli XCX's "Shape of You" vs. Rita Ora's "Wannabe" | Lip Sync Battle , retrieved 2018-09-09
  20. 1 2 "WATCH: 'Younger' Star Nico Tortorella Stunned as Ariana Grande on 'Lip Sync Battle' • Instinct Magazine". Instinct Magazine. 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  21. "How Drag Queens Broke Through the Beauty Barrier". Women's Wear Daily . Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  22. Blanton, Kayla (June 5, 2020). "The 'All Stars' 5 Premiere Included A Powerful Performance About Systemic Racism". Bustle. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  23. Smith, Reiss (June 24, 2020). "Drag Race legend Mariah Paris Balenciaga reveals she was 'cringing' over All Stars lip sync". PinkNews . Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  24. Reynolds, Daniel (September 22, 2020). "Black Drag Race Stars Urge Fans to 'Stop the Racism' in PSA". The Advocate . Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  25. Ermac, Raffy (March 23, 2022). "Drag Race Queens Paid Tribute To Jennifer Lopez At Her iHeartRadio Music Awards Performance". Out.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  26. Mug 4 Dayz - Single by Mariah Balenciaga, 2013-11-19, retrieved 2018-09-09
  27. Mug 4 Dayz Stone Cold Remixes by Mariah Balenciaga, 2014-04-11, retrieved 2018-09-09
  28. Pandora Boxx (2018-09-24), Pandora Boxx - Oops I Think I Pooped (Official Video) , retrieved 2018-09-24
  29. "Lizzo - JUICE Music Video feat. RuPaul's Drag Race Queens". YouTube . 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  30. Huff, Lauren (June 12, 2019). "Watch Aly & AJ's 'Star Maps' music video featuring stars from Shameless, Drag Race, Silicon Valley, The Goldbergs, and more". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  31. "I'm In Love - Single". iTunes.
  32. Gascot, John (July 27, 2011). "RuPaul's Drag U: Professor Mariah". Huff Post. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  33. Boulet, Ruth (2015-07-08). "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: The Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  34. Damshenas, Sam (22 March 2018). "Watch Drag Race fan favourites return for the season 10 premiere". Gay Times. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  35. O’Keeffe, Kevin (28 February 2019). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 11 premiere recap: Queens here, queens there, queens everywhere". Xtra.
  36. Nolfi, Joey (2019-12-03). "RuPaul brings 22 Drag Race queens to costar on AJ and the Queen". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  37. Dino-Ray Ramos (June 8, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Brings Back 'Untucked' Aftershow For Season 5". Deadline . Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  38. Patterson, Denny (November 11, 2021). "'The Browns' Are Back in Town with a Second Season". Out Front Magazine. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  39. WOWPresents (2014-09-16), James St. James and Mariah Balenciaga: Transformations, archived from the original on January 12, 2021, retrieved 2019-09-21
  40. WOWPresents (2015-07-09), Mariah Balenciaga & Jaidynn Diore Fierce in Morgan McMichaels' Rooftop Lipsync, archived from the original on November 19, 2020, retrieved 2019-09-21
  41. WOWPresents (2015-06-24), Part 2 | Drag Queens Reading Mean Comments w/ Alaska, Raja, Raven, Milk, Morgan, and More! , retrieved 2019-10-23
  42. WOWPresents (2017-02-09), M.U.G. with Kim Chi & Mariah Balenciaga - First Timer Mistakes, archived from the original on November 20, 2020, retrieved 2019-05-10
  43. WOWPresents (2017-06-27), Spilling The Tea: The Queens Kiki on Gay Dating Apps & Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way: Billboard, archived from the original on November 25, 2021, retrieved 2019-08-02
  44. Cosmopolitan (2018-10-11), Mariah Balenciaga | Cosmo Drag Queens | Cosmopolitan, archived from the original on July 3, 2020, retrieved 2019-05-10
  45. Producer Entertainment Group/PEG (February 26, 2019), Chicken Adobo You Betta Don't | Wigs In A Blanket - Episode 4, archived from the original on June 30, 2021, retrieved June 26, 2021
  46. Yuhua Hamasaki (April 1, 2019), MARIAH BALENCIAGA joins BOOTLEG FASHION PHOTO RUVIEW: Season 11 Episode 5!, archived from the original on November 21, 2020, retrieved April 11, 2020
  47. Voss, Brandon (2019-04-13). "Mariah Balenciaga and Manila Luzon Have Thoughts About This Week's "RuPaul's Drag Race"". NewNowNext.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  48. Youtube (2023-02-04), The Pit Stop S15 E06 🏁 | Bianca Del Rio & Mariah Are Golden! | RuPaul's Drag Race S15, archived from the original on February 11, 2021, retrieved 2023-02-07
  49. WOWPresents (2019-06-25), ICONIC with Brad Goreski: Mariah Balenciaga , retrieved 2019-08-02
  50. WOWPresents (2019-06-06), Mariah Balenciaga: Reading Queens with Psychic Char Margolis, archived from the original on July 1, 2020, retrieved 2019-09-14
  51. WOWPresents (June 19, 2020), Whatcha Packin': SPOILER ALERT! | S5 E3 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars , retrieved June 20, 2020
  52. Hey Qween (January 25, 2021), MARIAH BALENCIAGA on Hey Qween! with Jonny McGovern- Part 1, archived from the original on February 16, 2021, retrieved January 25, 2021
  53. SNEAK PEEK - Binge Queens: Drag Race Mexico, airing Tuesdays only on WOW Presents Plus!. WOW Presents. June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  54. Tharrett, Matthew (2016-07-21). "Kim Chi, Willam, Mariah, Alaska And Laganja Get "Expensive" With Todrick Hall". NewNowNext.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  55. Hill, Leigh (February 28, 2017). "Alaska and Gia Gunn feel their oats in new music video Stun". OutInPerth. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  56. Bote, Joshua (2018-09-24). "Pandora Boxx Lets it Rip With Alaska, Jasmine Masters and More in Epic Katy Perry Parody: Watch". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  57. Horbelt, Stephan (2018-08-24). "This 'Girly' Pop Singer Just Re-Created Some of Your Favorite Female-Fronted Music Videos". Hornet. Retrieved 2020-03-03.