Brita Filter | |
---|---|
Born | Jesse Carl Havea
[1] September 16, 1985 [1]
Anthem, Arizona, U.S.
[1] |
Occupation | Drag queen |
Television |
|
Website |
thebritafilter |
Brita Filter, the stage name of Jesse Carl Havea, is an American drag queen who has appeared on Shade: Queens of NYC and the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, ultimately placing 8th. [2]
Havea was born in Anthem, Arizona before moving to Dover-Foxcroft, Maine as a kid. She is of Tongan descent. [3] Havea was born and raised Mormon. [4] Havea grew up as a child performer, and later went on to book national tours with theater companies and eventually studied acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. [5] He later became a stage actor and performed in various regional and national productions. He landed the role of a stepsister in the musical production of Cinderella. On the last night of his tenure with this production, Havea met a girl named "Brita" and decided to make "Brita Filter" his stage name that night. [6] He then returned to Manhattan and started his business performing as Brita Filter, a drag queen, [2] stating, "So after that finished, I came back to New York that day, and I decided I was going to take over New York!" [6]
In 2016, Havea won the 2016 Glam Awards for Best Duo alongside fellow drag artist Terra Hyman. [7] In 2018, she won the Best Host and the NYC Entertainer of the Year Award at the Annual Glam Awards. [8] In 2020, Havea co-hosted the 21st annual GLAM Awards, alongside Bob the Drag Queen. [9]
Havea performed alongside Katy Perry on Saturday Night Live, performing her song " Swish Swish". [10] [11] [12]
Havea starred in a segment called "How Drag Queens Are Getting Out the Vote" on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, along with RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12 co-stars Jaida Essence Hall, Heidi N. Closet and Jackie Cox. [13]
Havea is a co-chair of Drag Out The Vote, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with drag performers to promote participation in democracy.
Havea joined the cast of Shade: Queens of NYC at its inception in October 2017, as Brita Filter. The series documents the daily reality of lives as Manhattan drag queens. [14]
On January 23, 2020, Havea was announced as one of the thirteen contestants on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming the first Pasifika queen to appear on the show. [15] To protect copyright, his stage name on the show is shortened from "Brita Filter" to simply "Brita". [16] In the fourth episode, "The Ball Ball", Havea lipsynced for her life against Rock M Sakura, sending them home to " S&M" by Rihanna. [17] She later found herself again in the bottom two in episode six, where she lipsynced for her life against Aiden Zhane, to " Let It Go" by Caissie Levy, where Brita also sent Aiden home. [18] She was in the bottom two again on episode seven, where she lipsynced for her life against Heidi N. Closet, to " Burning Up" by Madonna, Havea lost the lipsync and went home. [19]
Brita placed 8th overall in the competition.
Havea is pansexual, and their preferred pronouns are "anything respectful". [20]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | The Sorcerer's Apprentice | Calcutta Peasant | Uncredited | [21] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | City of Dreams | SVU Actor | Episode: "Pilot" |
2017 | Shade: Queens of NYC | Herself | Lead role |
Saturday Night Live | Background dancer | ||
2019 | Broad City | Guest [22] | |
2020 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Contestant (8th Place) | |
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | |||
Kal Penn Approves This Message | Herself | Episode "Kal Penn Approves Education" | |
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah | Herself | Episode 3457, August 21, 2020 [13] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Daniel's Desk | Himself | Episode 1 | [23] |
2019 | Cosmo Queens | Himself | Cosmopolitan Series | [24] |
2020 | Drag News | Himself | Guest | [25] |
2020 | The X Change Rate | Himself | Segment: Brita Unfiltered | [26] |
2020 | Whatcha Packin | Himself | Guest | [27] |
2020 | Review with a Jew | Himself | Guest | [28] |
2020 | Da Fuq | Himself | Guest | [29] |
2020 | Out of the Closet | Himself | Guest | [30] |
2020 | Bring Back My Ghouls | Herself | Guest | [31] |
2022 | Bring Back My Girls | Herself | Guest |
Year | Production | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Forever Plaid | Smudge | Fine Arts Center Theatre Company | Credited as Jesse Havea | [32] |
Cinderella: A New Telling of an Old Tale | Stepsister | Penobscot Theatre Company | [33] | ||
2017 | The Shards of an Honor Code Junkie | Starr Lyte | Metro Baptist Church | Credited as Jesse Havea & Brita Filter | [34] |
2021 | Hard On Love | Steve | The Blank Theater (digital) | Credited as Jesse Havea | [35] |
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"I'm That Bitch"
[36] (with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12) |
2020 | non-album single |
"
Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical" (with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12) | ||
"The Shady Bunch"
[37] (with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12) | ||
"You Brita Vote, Kay?
[38]
(with Bryce Quartz and KayKay Lavelle) |
non-album
single |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | The WOWIE Awards | Resistor of the Year (The Right Side of Herstory Award) | Herself | Won | [39] [40] |