Delta Work | |
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Born | Gabriel A. Villarreal January 23, 1976 |
Nationality | American |
Occupations |
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Awards | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (2018) |
Delta Work is the stage name of Gabriel A. Villarreal, [1] [2] an Emmy-Award winning American drag performer and stylist, best known for competing on the third season of the reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race .
Work received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special at the 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (2018) for her work as a personal hairstylist for Drag Race. [3]
Work hosted the podcast Very That alongside fellow drag performer Raja. [4] She currently hosts the podcast Very Delta following the end of Very That.
Work's drag mother is Miss Coco Peru; they met in Los Angeles, early in Delta Work's drag career. [5] He started drag on Halloween at age 22. [6] Her drag name originates from when she attended a drag show and the performing group of queens, who were making a spoof of Designing Women, needed a "bigger woman" to play the role of Delta Burke's character Suzanne Sugarbaker. After her performance, one queen commented that "you are not Delta Burke, you are Delta Work!" [7]
Work was selected among thirteen contestants for the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race , which was announced on January 24, 2011. [8] During the season, she impersonated Cher for the "Snatch Game" episode, where contestants were required to imitate a chosen celebrity. Bowen Yang wrote "Delta barely made an attempt at all... Points for the wink at Bob Mackie with her look, but otherwise Delta just waded around in her nothing-doing. Snap out of it!" [9] She placed seventh overall, losing a lip sync performance to Manila Luzon on Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park". [10] Out called the battle "certainly one of the most famous lip syncs" of the show. [11] Outside of season three, she was an audience member for the season five and season six reunions, [12] [13] and was a guest with other Drag Race alumni for the first challenge of season ten. [14] Work became RuPaul's personal wig stylist for her judging panel attire beginning with the second episode of the ninth season, with season two alumnus Raven styling her makeup. [15] Work appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere of season eleven. [16]
In a 2023 interview with Joseph Shepherd, Work revealed that she did not work as RuPaul's wig stylist beyond the eleventh season. This was largely because of contractual disagreements over her involvement in RuPaul's Netflix series AJ and the Queen that led to another wig stylist being brought in, who continued to work with RuPaul after that. Work also stated that World of Wonder, the producers of RuPaul's Drag Race, intentionally refrained from submitting her name for Emmy consideration for the eleventh season, despite her having done the same job as the tenth season when she won the award, because she was no longer working with them. [17]
Work appeared on a 2011 episode of E!'s The Soup with RuPaul, Raja, and Shangela. [18] She makes recurring appearances on WoWPresent's internet show Fashion Photo RuView , filling in for Raja or Raven to critique looks from Drag Race alumni, with her first appearance on November 19, 2014. [19] She also makes regular appearances on the web show The Pit Stop, which reviews the episodes of Drag Race. She was on its debut episode on August 27, 2016. [20]
Work appeared on the cover of Skorch Magazine in 2013. [21] In August 2015, she headlined Palouse Pride in Moscow, Idaho. [22] On August 6, 2016, she was invited on stage by Adele in a Los Angeles concert, while in full drag as an Adele impersonator. They took a selfie, which quickly went viral. [23] [24]
Work received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special at the 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (2018) for her work. [3] She portrayed Adele in the music video for Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" (June 2019). [25]
From September 2020 to May 2023 Work co-hosted the conversational podcast Very That on the Forever Dog and Moguls of Media networks, alongside her RuPaul's Drag Race season three castmate Raja, [26] where the duo discussed recent news and answer questions from fans. The podcast's executive producers included fellow RuPaul's Drag Race alumni Alaska Thunderfuck and Willam Belli.
While Raja was absent traveling after appearing on season seven of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars , Work began hosting the spin-off podcast Very Delta, described as a "luxury public access podcast". The podcast continued after the eventual conclusion of its parent show Very That. On Very Delta, Work interviews celebrities, drag performers, and nightlife personalities from the Southern California area. Notable interviewees include Bianca Del Rio, Candis Cayne and Margaret Cho. [27]
In July 2023 Work began hosting More Very Delta, a supplement to the main podcast available exclusively to MOM Plus Gold subscribers. [28] In the same month Work won the award for Best Local Radio/Podcast Personality for the Orange County, South Bay and Westside areas in the 2023 Best of the Southland awards, presented by the Los Angeles Times . [29] [30] [31]
Delta Work released her debut solo single, "The Walkin' Blues (Walk Right In, Walk Right Out)", on May 12, 2015. [32] She had previously recorded music as part of The Heathers, with Manila Luzon, Raja, and Carmen Carrera. The group released their debut single "Lady Marmalade" on June 6, 2014. [33]
On November 16, 2023, Work released the collaborative single "I Want House" with dance music duo BOY2K, based on a viral monologue from Very Delta. [34]
Work works and lives in Norwalk, California, as of 2011. [35]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2018 | Frankly a Mess | Miss Edamame | |
2022 | Sex with Sue | Herself |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 3) | Herself | Contestant (seventh place) | |
2011 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | |||
2011 | The Soup | Episode: "The Soup Awards" | ||
2012 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 1) | Guest (1 episode) | ||
2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) | Guest (1 episode) | ||
2019 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11) | Guest (2 episodes) | ||
2021 | NewsBeat | Correspondent | [36] | |
2023 | Gogo for the Gold | Episode: "Heel Appeal" |
Year | Title | Artist | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | "Lady Marmalade" | The Heathers | [37] | |
2019 | "Go Fish" | Manila Luzon | ||
"You Need to Calm Down" | Taylor Swift | Adele impersonator | ||
2020 | "Ass Like Mine" | Morgan McMichaels | Herself | [38] |
"Nerves of Steel" | Erasure | Herself | [39] |
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Ring My Bell | Herself | [40] |
2013 | Cooking With Needles | [41] | |
2014-19 | Fashion Photo Ruview | ||
2015 | Dear Delta | [42] | |
2016-19 | The Pit Stop | ||
2019 | Hey Qween! | [43] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | RuPaul: What's the Tee? | Guest | Episode: "Theraposer with Delta Work" | [44] |
2019, 2021 | Race Chaser with Alaska and Willam | 3 episodes; Moguls of Media production | [45] [46] [47] | |
2020-2023 | Very That with Delta and Raja | Co-host | With Raja; 115 episodes; Moguls of Media production | [48] |
2020-2022 | Sloppy Seconds with Big Dipper and Meatball | Guest | 3 episodes; Moguls of Media production | [49] [50] [51] |
2022-present | Very Delta | Host | Moguls of Media production | [48] |
2023-present | Fierce Rivalries | Co-host | With Kelsey Padgett; Somethin' Else and Sony Music Entertainment production | [52] |
2023 | I've Had It | Guest | Episode: "Is It Still Mansplaining If You're in Drag? with Delta Work" | [53] |
2023-present | More Very Delta | Host | Moguls of Media production; MOM Plus Gold exclusive extension of Very Delta | [28] |
Year | Title | Album |
---|---|---|
2014 | "Lady Marmalade" (with Raja, Manila Luzon and Carmen Carrera, as The Heathers) | Non-album singles |
2015 | "The Walkin' Blues (Walk Right In, Walk Right Out)" | |
2023 | "I Want House" (with BOY2K) [34] |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special | RuPaul's Drag Race (Episode: "10s Across the Board") | Won | [54] |
2019 | MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | "You Need to Calm Down" (as creative producer) | Won | [55] |
Video for Good | Won | ||||
2023 | Los Angeles Times Best of the Southland Awards | Best Local Radio/Podcast Personality (Orange County) | Very Delta | Won | [29] |
Best Local Radio/Podcast Personality (South Bay) | Won | [30] | |||
Best Local Radio/Podcast Personality (Westside) | Won | [31] | |||
Best Local Radio/Podcast Personality (Overall) | Won | [56] | |||
2024 | Queerty Awards | Podcast | Runner-up | [57] [58] |
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My name was given to me by some queen that hosted a show near where I live. They needed someone to be a Suzanne Sugarbaker character (Delta Burke) and my name came from that. One queen said you are not Delta Burke, you are Delta Work, and the rest is history!