Suchismita Ghosh
Based on the series RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ is a drag competition series that premiered on July 2, 2020, on Crave. Season 1 featured 12 gorgeous drag queens who showcased their fierce personalities and quirky sense of fashion to the judging panel comprising ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ season 11 runner-up Brooke Lynn Hytes, fashion model Stacey McKenzie, and actor Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman. From the lot of stunning drag queens, Priyanka was crowned the winner, with Rita Baga and Scarlett BoBo being the runners-up. As it’s been some time since the season wrapped up, eager fans must be wondering about the current whereabouts of their favorite drag queens.
Mark Suknanan is Now an Established Film Star
Season 1 winner Priyanka AKA Mark Suknanan, was quite the star before she entered the show. Having several hit music videos to her credit, she previously hosted several children’s television shows and has the experience of working as a television presenter as well. Priyanka currently serves as the host of season 4 of HBO’s ‘We’re Here,’ and ‘Etalk.’ Her extensive portfolio got another feather added when the star featured in her debut film, ‘It’s All Sunshine and Rainbows,’ in the lead role of Melonie Sunshine.
In 2022, she won the Canadian Podcasting Award in Outstanding Foreign Series for ‘Famous This Week.’ The same year, she won a UK Music Video Award for Best Hair & Make-Up in a Video for ‘Come Through.’ In 2023, she appeared on season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars for a lip sync battle, where she defeated Kandy Muse. The glamorous diva has also been featured for a Queerty Award as a nominee in the category of Drag Royalty for the year 2024.
Jean-François Guevremont Now Hosts and Judges Drag Race Belgique
The runners-up of season 1, Jean-François Guevremont, better known as Rita Baga, has been shining after the show wrapped up. In 2021, she was a part of ‘Big Brother Célébrités.’ Rita was also a part of the 2022 ‘Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World’ and came in the top 4. The year 2023 has been particularly busy for her. She joined Belgium’s Drag Race spin-off ‘Drag Race Belgique’ as its judge and host. She did her first solo stand-up performance in Le Festival du Rire de Liège in the same year, and it was a huge hit.
In the same year, she became a cast member of season 3 of ‘Chanteurs Masqués’ and reached the third position. The stunning diva has also started her own collection of perfumes and accessories, all of which are available on her website. To let the world know her story, Rita published her memoir, ‘One Sequin at a Time – Diary of a Queen,’ in 2023. That same year, she extensively toured for her ‘Créature tour,’ a large-scale one-drag show in several of Quebec’s performance venues.
Matthew Cameron Has Released a Second Music Album
The other runner-up with Rita Baga was Scarlett BoBo AKA Matthew Cameron. After her stint on the show ended in 2020, Scarlett, with fellow contestants of her season, headlined a cross-Canada tour, performing at drive-in venues. In the same year, she along with Priyanka, Rita Baga, and Jimbo, were part of a panel discussion at the Just for Laughs festival. Ever since then, Scarlett has been putting her focus on her music, wherein she released five non-album singles in 2020.
In the same year, she was also part of the romantic comedy film, ‘Life in a Year,’ where she starred as a Drag Queen. April 2021 saw the television premiere of ‘Underneath the Empire,’ a documentary film revolving around Scarlett’s life and the Absolut Empire’s Ball. Thereafter, her second music album, ‘Daddy’s Girl,’ was released in 2022, and she became a part of the music label So Fierce Music. Scarlett has also been selling her official merchandise on Drag Queen Merch. To cap off the eventful year that was, the talented diva released a collaboration with Landan Brawley called ‘Jealousy,’ in 2023.
James Insell Has Won Season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
The fourth position of the season went to James Insell, who goes by the stage name Jimbo. After her stint on the show ended, Jimbo went on to star in ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World,’ in 2022 and placed seventh. However, this did not deter her spirit. In 2023, she participated in season 8 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ and ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: Untucked,’ both of which she convincingly won.
Soon after, Jimbo announced her plans to host her own series, ‘It’s My Special Show!’ following which she signed up with the talent agencies WME and Producer Entertainment Group in 2023. Jimbo has made several guest appearances over the years in several drag television shows and internet series’. Like her castmate Priyanka, she has also been featured as a nominee for a Queerty Award in the Drag Royalty category for 2024.
Christopher Elliott Baptista Has Released a Studio Album
Lemon AKA Christopher Elliott Baptista, reached the top 5 before getting eliminated in the race to the finale. Soon after, she was invited by Sasha Velour to feature in her New York Fashion Week collaboration. In 2021, Lemon appeared in castmate Priyanka’s single, “Come Through.” She then featured in ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World’ in 2022 and was placed ninth. In 2023, she released her first studio album, ‘Citrussy,’ which contains seven tracks. As of March 2024, Lemon is set to feature with Priyanka on an Australia Tour. Like several of her fellow castmates, Lemon has also released her own line of exclusive merchandise.
Ilona Verley Now Works as a Make-Up Artist
Ilona Verley is a Nlaka’pamux and two-spirit who identifies herself as a “proud, Indigenous trans woman.” She was the first Indigenous, two-spirit, and openly non-binary queen to feature in the show. Being the sixth contestant to get eliminated, Ilona has since been shifting her entire focus to working as a make-up artist. Her social media is filled with her make-up and costume experiments. She now resides in Vancouver and also gives lip-sync performances. In 2020, Ilona performed in the opening gala of the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. In November of the same year, her name was featured in Out Magazine’s annual 100 list of influential LGBTQ+ personalities.
Ryan Boa Now Runs a Wellness Podcast Series
Famously known as Boa, Ryan Boa, since her promising stint on the show, has had a lot done for herself. In 2021, she released her debut single, “Gettin’ It Done,” and in the same year, she performed with Juice Boxx, Anastarzia Anaquway, Farra N. Hyte, and TroyBoy at the inaugural drag event, Drag Starz, in Ontario. Boa has been an active advocate of mental health and fitness.
She has documented her journey to 4 years of sobriety and even shared the milestone in May 2023. Boa also runs a wellness podcast called ‘BOGA: Wellness With Boa,’ wherein she actively talks about her intensive weight loss journey that has given her a new lease on life. On the personal front, Boa’s beloved pet, Bort, passed away in February 2024 after a struggle with arthritis.
Dimitri Nana-Côté is an Active Ballroom Participant Today
Dimitri Nana-Côté AKA Kiara, Kiara Schatzi, or Kiara Mulan, a Quebec City, Canada native, is one of the very few queens of color and a star in her own right. Her drag name, too, has an interesting reference — the character of Kiara in ‘The Lion King.’ She is a ballroom participant and has actively been part of the Imperial Dynasty Kiki House of Hua Mulan’s Canadian chapter, where she has the title of ‘Princess.’ In October 2023, she was seen at the Rendezvous De La Drag, which happens to be the first Quebec/Francophone drag convention. Kiara’s social media stands as a testament to how much she enjoys performing in the ballroom crossovers.
Sheldon McIntosh is Set to Embark on Her Solid Gold Tour
A well-known face since the 2010s in Toronto’s queer nightlife, Sheldon McIntosh, whose professional name is Tynomi Banks, has been performing drag for over a decade before her appearance on the show. After exiting the show in the ninth position, Tynomi has been keeping busy, working on quite a few different things. In 2020, she was a spokesperson for Carrera y Carrera, while in 2021, she released a special ‘Black Lives Matter’ themed clothing line.
A portion of the proceeds from the sales were donated to disassemble all forms of anti-Black racism. Other than RuPaul, she is the only drag performer ever to have been featured in a Super Bowl ad, as was seen in 2021. As of 2024, Tynomi has been preparing for her Solid Gold tour, which is set to happen extensively all across the US.
Jermaine Aranha is the Creator of a Lip-Sync Battle Show
Anastarzia Anaquway, whose real name is Jermaine Aranha, is the only Bahaman to have ever been featured in the Drag Race franchise. Her pageant debut was in 2003, for the Miss Bahamas pageant. Following this, she participated in and won 15 pageants. Anastarzia, who also goes by the name Starzy, performed at Drag Starz in 2021, along with BOA, Juice Boxx, Farra N. Hyte, and TroyBoy. In 2023, she and fellow Drag Race contestant Justin Baird, aka Kimora Amour, competed in season 9 of ‘The Amazing Race.’ As of 2024, Starzy is preparing for the release of her show, ‘The Royality Battle,’ which is going to be pitting some of the biggest reality TV names against each other in a battle for lip sync glory.
Kyne Santos is Set to Be a Published Author Soon
Manila, Philippines native Kyne Santos, who is often referred to by her professional name Kyne, was the second contestant to get eliminated from the show. Before appearing in the series, she had a massive YouTube following, particularly for drag enthusiasts looking to learn sewing and wig styling. Kyne has since been focusing on becoming a published author after his stint on the show ended. In 2023, she was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Local: Toronto list. Her book ‘Math In Drag,’ is slated to release in March 2024.
She has also been working on her podcast, ‘Think Queen,’ the first drag-STEM podcast ever, and has recently released a newsletter called, ‘The Math Queen Digest,’ which is a blog containing essays on education, math, science, and pop culture. Kyne’s interest in imparting knowledge further sees her make educational videos related to history, math, and science, and drag on her social media profile.
Joseph “Jo” Primeau Now Runs a Podcast With Synthia Kiss
Juice Boxx, whose real name is Joseph “Jo” Primeau, has been enjoying life as a gamer ever since the show wrapped up. Even though her journey on the show was cut short due to an unexpected panic attack during critiques, she has not let the loss get to her. Juice Boxx opened a Twitch account in 2021 and has been actively playing a host of video games there as well as interacting with fellow gamers, updates of which she keeps posting from time to time. She has also made an appearance in Priyanka’s music video, “Cake.”
Juice Boxx has been running a podcast called ‘Semi-Qualified Queens with Juice Boxx and Synthia Kiss,’ which is a show where they “talk about all things Drag Race, with tangents, trauma, and tea spilled along the way!” The duo has many live shows lined up for 2024. Like several of her fellow castmates, Juice Boxx too has released a set of her exclusive merchandise for her ardent fans to pick and buy from.
Read More: Where is Canada’s Drag Race Filmed?
