Yuhua Hamasaki

Last updated

Yuhua Hamasaki
Rupaul Dragcon 2018-152 (41356432394) (cropped).jpg
Hamasaki at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2018
Born
Yuhua Ou

(1990-03-01) March 1, 1990 (age 34)
Education Pace University (BA)
Occupations
Years active2002–present
Website yuhuahamasaki.com

Yuhua Hamasaki is the stage name of Yuhua Ou, [1] a Chinese-born American drag queen, singer, actor and reality television personality who came to international attention on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race .

Contents

Early life

Ou was born on March 1, 1990, [2] in Guangzhou. They moved to Chinatown, Manhattan [3] in New York City when they were seven and started doing drag on the club kid scene under the name Yuhua. They later added Hamasaki after Japanese idol Ayumi Hamasaki. [4] Ou holds a business management degree from Pace University. [5]

Career

Before Drag Race, Hamasaki was one of several drag queens appearing in Katy Perry's performance of "Swish Swish" on Saturday Night Live in May 2017. [6] [7] She also designed outfits for other Drag Race alum prior to her appearance on the series, including Aquaria, Bob the Drag Queen, Peppermint, Aja, Jiggly Caliente, Alexis Michelle and Monét X Change. [8] She has won multiple pageant titles including Miss Fire Island, Miss Fire Island All Stars, Miss Stonewall, and Miss Asia NYC. [9]

Hamasaki was announced as one of fourteen contestants for the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2018. [10] Due to the popularity of Monét X Change's sponge dress in episode one, Hamasaki created her own sponge dress for sale, and donated the proceeds to Callen-Lorde. [11] [12] She was eliminated in the third episode after losing a lip sync to "Celebrity Skin" by Hole against Mayhem Miller. [13]

After Drag Race, Hamasaki appeared with Laverne Cox in the music video for "Bruised" by Mila Jam. [14] She appeared in a commercial for VH1's It Gets Better project, supporting LGBTQ youth. [15] She was also in the video for Trinity the Tuck's "I Call Shade" in February 2019. [16]

Hamasaki received notoriety from her self-published series Bootleg Fashion Photo RuView on YouTube based on the WOWPrsents internet series Fashion Photo RuView with Raja and Raven. She reviewed the runway looks of the All-Stars four cast starting on December 4, 2018, with Biblegirl666. [17] She started covering the season eleven looks on February 22, 2019, with Blair St. Clair. [18] Other guests on the series have included Jaymes Mansfield, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Dusty Ray Bottoms, Jessica Wild, Laganja Estranja, Jiggly Caliente, Vivacious, Alexis Michelle, Phi Phi O'Hara, Trinity the Tuck and Honey Davenport. [19] She filled in for an episode of the actual Fashion Photo RuView on November 24, 2018, with Eureka O'Hara. [20]

Hamasaki was a guest at the 2019 Life Ball, alongside Alaska Thunderfuck. [21]

In June 2019, Hamasaki was one of 37 queens to be featured on the cover of New York Magazine . [22] The same month, World of Wonder announced that she was set to appear in her own webseries, Sew What?, which aimed to "give viewers tips on how to construct a garment from start to finish". The series aired six episodes from November to December 2019. [23]

She has also been described as a "seamstress, dancer and comedian." [24]

Music

In 2018, Hamasaki released her first single "The Ankh Song" named after her runway look from episode one resembling an Ankh, noted by the judges. [25] A music video was released on April 5, 2018. [26]

Personal life

Yuhua is non-binary and uses pronouns interchangeably. [27] She resides in New York City. [28]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleRef
2019Guys at Parties Like ItConner [29]

Television

YearTitleRole
2012 Big Ang Drag Queen
2013 The Carrie Diaries
2014 Blue Bloods
2015 The Mysteries of Laura
2017 Saturday Night Live
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) Contestant (12th place)
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (season 10)Herself
2018 Shade: Queens of NYC
2021 The Mind, Explained
2022 And Just Like That... Drag Queen
2023

Music videos

YearTitleRef
2010"I'm Gonna Sh*t My Pants" – Sherry Vine
2011"Make Me Moan" – Sherry Vine ft. Peppermint
2018"The Ankh Song" – Yuhua Hamasaki [26]
2018"Bruised" – Mila Jam [14]
2019"I Call Shade" – Trinity the Tuck [16]

Web series

YearTitleRoleRef
2018Cosmo QueensGuest [30]
2018 Fashion Photo RuView Guest host[ citation needed ]
2018–PresentBootleg Opinions (formerly Bootleg Fashion Photo RuView)Host[ citation needed ]
2018Drag Queens ReactGuest [31]
2019Out of the ClosetHerself [32]
2019Localish (Potluck Premiere)Herself [33]
2019Sew What?Host [23]
2020The Pit StopHerself [34]
2023Glam SlamHerself [35]

Discography

Singles

YearTitle
2018"The Ankh Song"

See also

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