The Girlfriend Experience (drag queen)

Last updated
The Girlfriend Experience
The Girlfriend Experience at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2024 (cropped).jpg
The Girlfriend Experience at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2024
Born (1991-06-25) June 25, 1991 (age 33)
Germany [1]
Other namesBerlin Le Bon [2]
Girlfriend
Berlin Stiller [3]
Occupation Drag queen
Television Canada's Drag Race (season 4)
Website girlfriendexperience.ca

The Girlfriend Experience (or simply Girlfriend) is the stage name of Berlin Le Bon, a German-born, Canada-based drag performer and trans activist who appeared on the first season of Canada's a Drag and competed on season 4 of Canada's Drag Race . [4]

Contents

Early life

The Girlfriend Experience was born in Germany. She was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Germany, by her mother and father, respectively. [1]

As a teenager, she was kicked out of her home by her mother when it was discovered that she was attending gay bars. She then began performing in drag as Berlin Stiller on Davie Street in Vancouver while working part-time at a local McDonald's. She reconnected with her mother after a year of performing, which motivated her to become sober from alcohol. [3]

Career

Under the drag name Berlin Stiller, she was featured in the CBC Gem docu-series Canada's a Drag.

The Girlfriend Experience competed on season 4 of Canada's Drag Race . She was the second contestant to be eliminated. [5] On the show, she and fellow contestant Denim said using the terms "AFAB" and "AMAB" (assigned female at birth and assigned male at birth, respectively) can be transphobic when used to categorize drag entertainers. [6]

Personal life

The Girlfriend Experience is a trans woman. [7] She lives in Vancouver. [8]

Filmography

Television

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFAB queen</span> Subtype of drag queen

An AFAB queen, diva queen or hyper queen is a drag queen who is a woman, or a non-binary person who was assigned female at birth. These performers are generally indistinguishable from the more common male or transgender female drag queens in artistic style and techniques.

RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, one of three rotating judges, as well as one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.

Monica Dejesus-Anaya, known by the stage persona Monica Beverly Hillz, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and transgender activist best known for appearing on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2013, as well as for returning in 2023 on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. She was the second contestant in the show's history to come out as a transgender woman, on the show, after Sonique Kylie Love of season 2. Hillz came-out during the judges' critiques for that episode's main challenge; her coming-out was especially historic, as it was a first for network television or a reality competition show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gia Gunn</span> American drag performer (born 1990)

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 UK</i> British reality competition television series

RuPaul's Drag Race UK is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. The show is the fourth installment of the Drag Race franchise, and the second fronted by RuPaul. The show documents RuPaul and a panel of judges' search for "the United Kingdom's next drag superstar", the first series title dubbed "UK's First Drag Superstar". RuPaul plays several roles on the show including host, mentor and head judge for the series, as the contestants are given different challenges to participate in each week. The show also employs a panel of judges: RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and Graham Norton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ra'Jah O'Hara</span> American drag performer

Benni Miller, better known by the stage name Ra'Jah O'Hara, is an American drag queen best known for winning the first season of Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World. She previously competed on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2019 and the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in 2021.

<i>Canadas a Drag</i> Canadian documentary series about drag queens

Canada's a Drag is a Canadian documentary series that premiered on CBC Gem on March 7, 2018. The show was created by Peter Knegt and Mercedes Grundy. Each episode focuses on a drag performer from a different Canadian city, inclusive of drag queens, drag kings and transgender or non-binary performers. It is produced by CBC Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gigi Goode</span> American drag performer

Gigi Goode is an American drag queen, fashion designer, and reality television personality known for being a runner-up on the twelfth season of the drag competition series RuPaul's Drag Race. Following her appearance on Drag Race, Goode was cast in the Drive 'N Drag concert series, appeared in multiple music videos, and participated in a Savage X Fenty fashion show. In 2020, she received a People's Choice Award in the Competition Contestant category. Originally from Illinois, Goode attended Millikin University and, as of 2020, lives in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice Boxx</span> Canadian drag performer

Joseph “Jo” Primeau, better known by the stage name Juice Boxx, is a Canadian drag performer best known for being the first contestant to be eliminated on Canada's Drag Race, the Canadian version of RuPaul's Drag Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priyanka (drag queen)</span> Canadian drag performer and television personality

Mark Suknanan is a Canadian singer, television personality and drag queen. Competing under his drag name, Priyanka, Suknanan won the first season of the reality competition series Canada's Drag Race in 2020. He was previously a host of the YTV children's series The Zone and the YTV reality competition series The Next Star, where he went by Mark Suki. His first EP, Taste Test, was released in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icesis Couture</span> Canadian drag performer

Icesis Couture is the stage name of Steven Granados-Portelance, a Canadian drag queen who won the second season of Canada's Drag Race in 2021. She later returned to compete on the first season of the spin-off series, Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World, in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve 6000</span> Canadian drag performer

Eve 6000 is the stage name of Rina Adams, a Canadian drag performer most known for competing on season 2 of Canada's Drag Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerri Colby</span> American drag performer

Kerri Colby is the stage name of Elyse Alessandra Anderson, an American drag performer best known for competing on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed ninth overall. Kerri Colby is based in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sasha Colby</span> American drag performer

Sasha Kekauoha, best known by the stage name Sasha Colby, is an American drag performer and beauty pageant competitor. In 2012, she won the Miss Continental competition. In 2023, she was crowned the winner of season 15 of RuPaul's Drag Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denim (drag queen)</span> Canadian drag entertainer

Denim, formerly known as Denim Pussy, is the stage name of Emerson Sanderson, a Canadian drag performer who competed on season 4 of Canada's Drag Race.

Kitten Kaboodle is the stage name of Jeffrey Christensen, a Canadian drag performer and costume designer who competed on season 4 of Canada's Drag Race, winning the title of Miss Congeniality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venus (drag queen)</span> Canadian drag performer

Venus is a Canadian drag performer and the winner of season 4 of Canada's Drag Race.

Jaylene Tyme is the stage name of Jaylene McRae, a Canadian drag queen who was profiled on the fourth season of Canada's a Drag. She is currently a contestant on the fifth season of Canada's Drag Race.

Makayla Walker, known professionally as Makayla Couture, is a Canadian drag performer competing on the fifth season of Canada's Drag Race (2024). She previously competed the second season of Call Me Mother (2022) as a finalist.

References

  1. 1 2 Bowness, Gordon (18 October 2023). "'Canada's Drag Race' Season 4 cast announced". xtramagazine.com. Pink Triangle Press. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Heartbreak". music.apple.com. Apple Inc. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Knegt, Peter. "How Vancouver drag icon Berlin Stiller went from serving Big Macs to serving her own 'full fantasy'". cbc.ca. CBC/Radio-Canada. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  4. ↑ "'Canada's Drag Race' Star The Girlfriend Experience On Being Proud, Pretty & Ready To Take On The World". Yahoo News. 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  5. ↑ Guzzo, Bianca (2023-12-02). "Canada's Drag Race Season 4: Sashay Q&Eh With The Girlfriend Experience". IN Magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  6. ↑ Wratten, Marcus (2023-11-24). "Canada's Drag Race stars explains why term 'AFAB' is 'transphobic'". PinkNews . Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  7. ↑ Guerra, Joey (2023-12-12). "'Canada's Drag Race' Q&A: The Girlfriend Experience talks getting to know herself as a woman". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  8. ↑ "'Canada's Drag Race' Season 4: 'Prettiest' queen The Girlfriend Experience admits she wasn't 'emotionally prepared'". Yahoo News. 2023-12-01. Archived from the original on 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.