The Vixen (drag queen)

Last updated
The Vixen
The Vixen Bearded Braided Dress Hairpick.webp
The Vixen for Chicago Reader magazine, 2021
Born
Anthony Prince Taylor

(1990-12-11) December 11, 1990 (age 33) [1]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education Columbia College Chicago
Occupations
Years active2013–present
Known for RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) BlackGirlMagic Drag Show
Website thevixensworld.com

The Vixen is the stage name of Anthony Prince Taylor, [2] [3] an American drag performer, best known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and placing seventh. Her appearance on the show was notable for raising a conversation around racial dynamics both among her fellow drag queens and in the show’s fandom. [4] [5] [6] [7] She is the founder of Black Girl Magic, a drag show consisting of only African-American queens. In August 2020, she released Commercial Break, her debut album.

Contents

Early life

Taylor was born to Sheri Jones. [8] He started doing drag at a local bar called the Jeffery Pub in April 2013. His drag mother is Savannah Westbrooke. [9] The drag name "The Vixen" comes from his love of 1920s vintage wear, and the word "vixen" comes in those searches. [10]

Career

The Vixen is known for blending political activism and queer advocacy into her drag performances. [11] [12] She has been an outspoken critic about anti-black sentiment in America, including in white queer communities, stating, “you [often] have to choose between calling out racism or homophobia”. [12]

In November 2016, Taylor founded "Black Girl Magic", a drag show consisting of only African-American queens. Drag Race alumni Dida Ritz and Shea Couleé were part of the first show. [13] [14] Her fellow season ten contestants Asia O'Hara, Monét X Change and Monique Heart were added to the line-up of the "Black Girl Magic" cast in June 2018. [15] [16]

The Vixen was announced as one of fourteen contestants for season ten of RuPaul's Drag Race on February 22, 2018. [17] She won the episode two main challenge. [18] In the third episode, she engaged in a verbal back-and-forth with fellow contestant Aquaria, which left Aquaria crying and The Vixen noting that the exchange “created the narrative [of] an angry black woman who has scared off the little white girl". [5] Although Aquaria eventually conceded the point and later came to her defense, the Vixen received online death threats from Drag Race fans afterwards. [19] She faced more backlash after quarreling with competitor Eureka O'Hara in multiple episodes, most notably in episode 4 of Untucked. [20] [21] [22] She was eliminated in seventh place after losing a lip sync to "Groove Is in the Heart" against Asia O'Hara. [23] During the final reunion episode, she walked offstage after feeling cornered by moderator RuPaul who kept pressing her to revisit past confrontations with Aquaria and Eureka. [24] Season six alum Courtney Act later criticized RuPaul for a lack of compassion during the exchange. [25] [26]

Outside of Drag Race, The Vixen had a booth covered with the Black Girl Magic logo for the first annual Wakandacon in August 2018. [27]

She became a sponsor for Grindr's "Kindr" public service announcement in September 2018, in an effort to stop racial discrimination in the app. [28]

The Vixen has given speeches, Q&As and Performances at colleges such as Princeton, UCLA and Purdue.

in 2020 The Vixen produced BlackGirlMagic shows online on the Twitch streaming site. These shows expanded the cast of BlackGirlMagic across the globe including queens from Africa, Paris and Brazil.

The Vixen received special acknowledgement from The Obama Foundation for her activism. She has also spoken at a panel for The Obama Foundation in 2019 with President Barack Obama in attendance.

Music

Before her stint on Drag Race, The Vixen was a featured guest on Couleé's 2017 song "Cocky". [29] She released her first solo single, "Room pt. 1," in March 2018. [30] She released "Room pt. 2" on September 28, 2018, with Couleé featured on the track. [31] The Vixen was featured with other Chicago drag queens on the song "Drag" by Dorian Electra. [32] On October 17, 2018, she released the song "Demons, Witches & Bitches" with DJ Shilow and Aja. [33] The Vixen's single "Tea Party" was released on December 11, 2018. [1] She released her debut album, Commercial Break, on August 4, 2020. [34] [35]

Personal life

The Vixen is openly gay. [36] Her drag daughter is Delikate Doll. [37] In 2023, she announced that she had moved from Chicago to New Orleans, Louisiana. [38]

Filmography

Movies

YearTitleRoleNotes
2016Lipstick City [39] Red DancerShort film by Shea Coulee

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) HerselfContestant (7th place) [17]
2018RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (season 10)Herself
2018 ABC 7 Chicago HerselfGuest [40]
2018 The Jam HerselfGuest [41]
2019 Empire Drag queenEpisode: "Never Doubt I Love" [42]

Music videos

YearTitleArtist
2017"Cocky" Shea Couleé
2017"Ride"Shea Couleé

Web series

YearTitleRoleRef.
2016Cooking with Drag QueensHerself [43]
2018Watcha Packin'? [44]
Cosmo Queens [45]
Queen to Queen [46]
Countdown to the Crown [47]
2019 Hey Qween! [48]
Behind the Drag [49]
Detailz [50]
2020Queer Table [51]
2021Bambi Bakes [52]

Discography

Albums

YearTitleNotes
2020Commercial BreakFeaturing Lucy Stoole and Dida Ritz

Singles

Lead artist

YearTitleNotes
2018"Room pt. 1"
2018"Room pt. 2"Featuring Shea Couleé
2018"Tea Party"
YearTitleArtist
2017"Cocky" Shea Couleé (featuring Lila Star and The Vixen)
2018"Drag"Dorian Electra (featuring Imp Queen, Lucy Stoole, Eva Young, The Vixen and London Jade)
2018"Demons, Witches & Bitches" Aja (featuring DJ Shilow and The Vixen)

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References

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  2. ↑ Dazed (2018-04-24). "Vote for The Vixen on the #Dazed100". Dazed. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  3. ↑ "Tea Party". music.apple.com. Apple Inc. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ "How The Vixen Exposed the Racism of RuPaul's Drag Race". them. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  5. 1 2 "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Alum React to The Vixen Breaking Down Racial Narratives Created by Fans". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
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  7. ↑ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Reunion Put A Spotlight On The Show's Race Problem". NYLON. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
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  30. ↑ Drag Music (2018-03-01), The Vixen - Room pt.1 (Official Audio) , retrieved 2018-06-22
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  32. ↑ Drag (feat. Imp Queen, Lucy Stoole, Eva Young, The Vixen & London Jade) - Single by Dorian Electra, 2016-12-05, retrieved 2018-08-03
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  34. ↑ "Commercial Break". Spotify .
  35. ↑ @TheVixensworld (August 4, 2020). "MY DEBUT ALBUM: Commercial Break 📺..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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