American drag queen
Giovanni Lucca Palandrani (born February 12, 1996),
[2] better known by his stage name Aquaria , is an American
drag queen , television personality, and recording artist best known for winning the
tenth season of
RuPaul's Drag Race in 2018.
[3]
Early life and education
Palandrani was born in
West Chester, Pennsylvania to Gina and David Palandrani. He has a sister named Francesca, and is of
Italian descent . He trained as a dancer for four years and experimented with drag in high school.
[4] He attended the
Fashion Institute of Technology in
Manhattan for two semesters, studying
women's wear design, before dropping out.
[5]
[6]
Career
Aquaria in 2018
Aquaria is the
drag daughter of Drag Race
season four winner
Sharon Needles .
[7] However, after
accusations of abuse were made against Needles in 2020, Aquaria has said that she "does not support him" and "feels awful for anyone he has hurt".
[8] She began performing in drag in 2014.
[9] Like
RuPaul , Aquaria received early support from
Susanne Bartsch .
[4] Aquaria was featured in a
Vogue Italia spread in January 2016 with Bartsch and other Drag Race alumnae.
[10]
In early 2018, it was announced that Aquaria was chosen as one of fourteen contestants for the
tenth season of
RuPaul's Drag Race , upon her first audition for the program.
[6]
[11] She won three main challenges, never ranked in the bottom two, and was the first queen in the show's history to win both the
ball and the "
Snatch Game " in the same season.
[12] Aquaria was announced as the winner of the season on June 28, 2018, beating out
Eureka O'Hara and
Kameron Michaels in the final three.
[13]
Aquaria was nominated with
Miz Cracker for the "Competition Contestant of 2018" for the 2018
People's Choice Awards .
[14]
In October 2018, Aquaria appeared solo in an issue of Vogue Italia , photographed by
Michael Bailey-Gates .
[15] She was a model for
Moschino and
H&M 's November 2018 Capsule Collection with
Bria Vinaite and
Jeremy Scott .
[16] She received a contract from
IMG Models , and was announced as the Entertainment editor for
Dazed .
[17]
In 2019, Aquaria was announced as one of the faces of
MAC 's Viva Glam campaign.
[18]
[19] She attended the
2019 Met Gala , and was the first drag queen to walk the red carpet.
[20]
[21]
[22] In June 2019, a panel of judges from
New York magazine placed her 11th on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race contestants.
[23]
In 2019, Aquaria released her very own makeup palette in collaboration with
NYX Cosmetics .
[24]
In September 2019, at RuPaul's DragCon NYC, Aquaria was named as one of a rotating cast of a dozen Drag Race queens in
RuPaul's Drag Race Live! , a Las Vegas show residency from January to August 2020 at the
Flamingo Las Vegas .
[25]
Aquaria performed as a part of
Rihanna 's Savage X
Fenty Beauty Fashion Show during the Fall 2019
New York Fashion Week .
[26]
Music
Aquaria in 2022
As part of the final challenge of season 10, Aquaria and the other top four contestants wrote and recorded their own verses for
RuPaul 's song "
American ." The song reached number 12 on the
Billboard
Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
[27] Aquaria was featured in the song "Looks" by Linux in 2016.
[28] He released his debut single, "Burn Rubber", in June 2018. The song was written by
Jesse Saint John .
[29]
Personal life
Aquaria lives in
Brooklyn , New York City.
[30]
On July 3, 2018, singer
Bebe Rexha criticized Aquaria and the other Drag Race top four queens over
Twitter for supposed bad behavior toward her at the
VH1 Trailblazer Honors , such as not talking to her and being "cold". Aquaria responded with a series of tweets defending herself and her fellow queens.
[31]
[32]
In May 2018, Aquaria criticized rapper
Travis Scott for removing
Amanda Lepore , a
transgender woman , from the cover art of his 2018 album
Astroworld .
[33]
Discography
As lead artist
Title
Year
"Burn Rubber"
2018
As featured artist
Filmography
Television
Music videos
Internet series
Awards and nominations
See also
References
^
"BURN RUBBER" . ASCAP . American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved June 23, 2023 .
^
a
b
"The Unauthorized Rusical" . RuPaul's Drag Race . Season 10. Episode 8. 2018-05-10. Event occurs at 8:22.
VH1 . Archived from
the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2018-07-03 . My name's Aquaria and my birthday is February 12, 1996.
^ Dommu, Rose (2018-04-05).
"Aquaria: The Unreal Housewife of New York" .
Paper .
Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-08 .
^
a
b
"West Chester-born drag queen Aquaria makes it to 'RuPaul's Drag Race' finale" . Philly.com .
Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29 .
^ Katz, Evan Ross (2018-01-16).
"It's the age of Aquaria — and we're just along for the ride" . Mic .
Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-06-10 .
^
a
b Cuby, Michael (2018-04-05).
"Aquaria Doesn't Need Drag Race To Become a Superstar" . them .
Archived from the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2018-07-04 .
^ Lorusso, Billy (2018-02-08).
"The 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 10 Cast Will Be A Doozy If These Queens Are In The Running" .
Bustle .
Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29 .
^
"i feel awful for anyone he has hurt. i have also said this a million times already, but i do not support that man and SERIOUSLY do not wish to continue speaking on my experiences beyond being supportive towards the victim. if i had a problem, yall know i wouldnt be shy to say so" . Aquaria -
Twitter .
Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2021-10-01 .
^
"RuPaul's Drag Race winner Aquaria talks ahead of Birmingham show" . 27 July 2018.
^
"Yes. It's me… Susanne Bartsch - Vogue.it" (in Italian).
Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-07-04 .
^
" 'RuPaul's Drag Race': 5 Memorable Moments From Season 10 Finale" . Billboard .
Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29 .
^ Baggs, Michael (2018-06-25).
"Drag Race: Who should win season 10?" . BBC News .
Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-29 .
^ Yang, Matt Rogers, Bowen (2018-06-28).
"RuPaul's Drag Race Season-Finale Recap: The Butterfly Effect, or Lack Thereof" . Vulture .
Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2021-12-31 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link )
^
"30 Viacom Shows and Movies Up for People's Choice Awards: Vote Through October 19" . Viacom Corporate . 2018-09-26. Archived from
the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2018-10-02 .
^
"Aquaria on Instagram: "🎙 Aquaria as Mina 🎙 🎶 For @vogueitalia October 2018 issue 📸 Photographer @michaelbaileygates 🧥 Fashion Editor: Brian Molloy @brian__molloy…" " . Instagram . Archived from
the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2018-10-04 .
^
"RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10 Winner Aquaria is Turning Looks Like You've Never Seen in These Stunning New Spreads" . VH1 News .
Archived from the original on 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2018-10-13 .
^
"EXCLUSIVE: Aquaria Signed to IMG, Named New Entertainment Editor of Dazed Magazine" . WWD . 2018-10-15.
Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^
"Aquaria and Troye Sivan Are the Faces of MAC's Viva Glam Campaign" . www.out.com . 2019-05-01.
Archived from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2019-05-08 .
^
"Troye Sivan and Aquaria Star in M.A.C.'s New Viva Glam Campaign" . Allure . 2 May 2019.
Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-05-08 .
^
"Aquaria's Met Gala Look Could Kill You Three Ways" . www.out.com . 2019-05-06.
Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2019-05-08 .
^ Levesley, David (7 May 2019).
"This year marked the first time drag queens attended the Met Gala" . British GQ .
Archived from the original on 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-08 .
^
"Aquaria Made History by Being the First Drag Queen to Walk the Met Gala Red Carpet | NewNowNext" . www.newnownext.com .
Archived from the original on 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-08 .
^
"The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America" . vulture.com .
New York . June 10, 2019. Archived from
the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019 .
^ Stiefvater, Sarah (29 May 2013).
"Drag Queens Are Taking Over the Makeup Industry (and Honestly, It's About Damn Time)" . PureWow .
Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019 .
^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 7, 2019).
" 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Sets Live Show In Las Vegas" . Deadline .
Archived from the original on 2019-09-08. Retrieved 2019-09-08 .
^ Schmidt, Ingrid (11 September 2019).
"NYFW: Rihanna's Savage x Fenty Fashion Performance Delivers "a New Type of Sexy" " .
The Hollywood Reporter .
Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019 .
^ Youtt, Henry (2018-07-11).
" 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Queens Who Landed Entries on the Billboard Charts" . Billboard . Lynne Segall.
Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-23 .
^ Aquaria - Topic (2016-03-31),
Looks (feat. Aquaria) ,
archived from the original on 2019-06-06, retrieved 2018-07-04
^
"Aquaria Gears Up for Another Tight Race in Debut Single 'Burn Rubber' " . Billboard .
Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-30 .
^
" 'RuPaul's Drag Race': Which queen will win Season 10? Who should?" . USA TODAY .
Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-06-29 .
^
"Bebe Rexha Spars Online With 'Drag Race' Winner Aquaria Over Behavior at VH1's Trailblazer Honors" . Billboard .
Archived from the original on 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-04 .
^
"INTO: A Digital Magazine For The Modern Queer World" . intomore.com . 3 July 2018.
Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-07-04 .
^
"Aquaria Calls Travis Scott's Apology For Removing Trans Model From 'Astroworld' Art 'An Apologist Mad Lib' " . Billboard .
Archived from the original on 2018-08-10. Retrieved 2018-08-10 .
^
"Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales - June 30, 2018" .
Billboard . 24 January 2013.
Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019 .
^
"The Knocks - Collect My Love ft. Alex Newell [Official Video]" .
YouTube .
Archived from the original on 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-14 .
^
Kim Petras (May 11, 2020),
Malibu – Kim Petras (At Home Edition) ,
archived from the original on May 13, 2020, retrieved May 11, 2020
^
George Michael (May 21, 2020),
Always (Drag Stars Official Video) ,
archived from the original on May 22, 2020, retrieved May 21, 2020
^ Rude, Mey (December 23, 2020).
"Aquaria, Francois Sagat Bring The Sex in Brooke Candy's Music Video" . Out.com .
Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020 .
^
"The Knocks - Slow Song (With Dragonette) [Music Video Trailer]" .
YouTube .
Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-17 .
^
"Aquaria's MUG: M.U.G. 209" . M.U.G . Season 2. Episode 9. 2018-08-18.
WOW Presents Plus.
Archived from the original on 2018-08-19. Retrieved 2018-08-19 .
^ Garner, Glenn (2018-09-05).
"Exclusive: An Intimate Look at Aquaria in Queens of Kings Teaser" .
Out . Joe Landry.
Archived from the original on 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2018-09-15 .
^
Aquaria Rising: Portrait of a Queen | Logo TV .
Logo . July 10, 2019.
Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .
^
DRAG QUEENS REACT: Giving Birth w/ Aquaria, Derrick, Nebraska, Jade, Sonique, Kimora, & Nicole .
WOWPresents . March 25, 2019.
Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^
AQUARIA: ON/OFF ep. 1 . Giovanni Palandrani. October 25, 2019.
Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2019 .
^ Dino-Ray Ramos (May 19, 2020).
"World Of Wonder Sets U.S. Premiere Dates For 'How's Your Head, Hun?', 'Canada's Drag Race' And Return Of 'Werq The World' " . Deadline.com .
Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020 .
^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (5 September 2018).
"People's Choice Awards Unveils New Categories; Opens Nomination Voting" . Deadline .
Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019 .
^
"VOTING ENDS TODAY! Cast Your Votes NOW for World of Wonder's 2019 WOWIE Awards" . World of Wonder . 29 November 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2022 .
^ Nguyen, Nikki (May 4, 2020).
"Aquaria and Jasmine Masters Win at the Shorty Awards" . WorldOfWonder.net .
Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
External links