Sasha Kekauoha (born July 26, 1984), best known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Sasha Colby, is an American drag performer and

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

competitor. In 2012, she won the

Miss Continental Miss Continental is an annual drag queen pageantry system founded in 1980 by Jim Flint. The pageant itself takes place at the Baton Show Lounge in Chicago, Illinois, and is usually held over Labor Day weekends. History Jim Flint organized th ...

competition. In 2023, she was crowned the winner of

season 15 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

''.

Early life

Sasha Colby was born in Waimānalo,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, as the youngest of seven children. She was raised in a conservative

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

household. As a teenager, she secretly did drag, locking herself in the bathroom and wearing her sister's clothes. The first transgender woman she met was her mother’s hairdresser, Tammy. Her father died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in 2016.

Career

Sasha Colby has been described as a "beauty queen", a "drag legend", and a "pageant legend". She won the

competition in 2012. In 2018, Sasha Colby was cast in

Sasha Velour Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...

's drag showcase ''NightGowns'' and appeared in the stage show's 2020 docu-series. Alongside other

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s, Sasha Colby walked the runway before

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

's performance at the

iHeartRadio Music Awards The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platf ...

wearing a look inspired by Lopez. Chrissy Callahan of

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

said Sasha Colby's look "channeled" the "

Jenny from the Block "Jenny from the Block" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez, which features American rappers Jadakiss and Styles P, both members of the Lox. It was released by Epic Records on September 26, 2002, as the lead single from her third studio al ...

" music video. Sasha Colby is also known as a model and activist. In 2020, she represented Hawaii in

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

's video, which featured

s from all 50 states and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and sought to mobilize voters in the

2020 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and vi ...

. Before the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she organized a monthly trans-inclusive event at The Chapel, a gay bar in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In 2023, Sasha Colby was cast on the fifteenth season of ''

''. She is the first-ever

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

to be cast on ''

Drag Race Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

.'' She was crowned the winner of the season, earning the title of America's Next Drag Superstar and becoming the first winner of Polynesian descent. Later that year, Colby spoke at the annual

Pride Month Pride Month, sometimes specified as LGBTQ Pride Month, is a List of month-long observances, month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender a ...

celebration hosted by Vice President

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

was opposed to casting openly transgender women on the show until late 2018, despite casting closeted transgender women in previous seasons. Colby waited until she felt it was her time to audition for the show and told ''Vogue'' that winning during a year of vehement anti-transgender legislation was important to her. She is the second trans woman to win ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' (after Willow Pill) and fourth to win ''Drag Race'' globally, following

Angele Anang Angele-Anang Pokinwuttipob, known professionally as Angele Anang, is a Thai drag performer, best known for winning the second season of ''Drag Race Thailand'', the Thai spinoff of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. She was the first transgender winner in th ...

on ''Drag Race Thailand'' (Season 2),

Kylie Sonique Love Kylie Sonique Love (born May 2, 1983), formerly known as Sonique, is an American entertainer, singer, dancer, model and reality television personality. She rose to prominence as a contestant on the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' in 2009 ...

on ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' (Season 6), , and Vanessa Van Cartier on ''Drag Race Holland'' (Season 2), and preceding Captivating Katkat on ''Drag Race Philippines'' (Season 2). Following Van Cartier, Colby is the second Miss Continental winner to win a ''

'' season.

Personal life

Sasha Colby is a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

. She is based in Los Angeles. She is the "drag mother" of season 14 contestant

Kerri Colby Kerri Colby is the stage name of Elyse Alessandra Anderson (born July 30, 1996), an American Drag (clothing), drag performer best known for competing on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14), season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', where she placed ninth ov ...

and singer-songwriter

Chappell Roan Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (born February 19, 1998), known professionally as Chappell Roan ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her Camp (style), camp and drag queen–influenced aesthetic. Her debut EP, ''School Nights'' (201 ...

. Colby has Native Hawaiian and Irish heritage. While on ''Drag Race'', Colby performed a lip-sync to "

Zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

" by

The Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...

to honor her Irish heritage and the trauma of seeing the

Warrington bombings The Warrington bombings were two bomb attacks that took place during early 1993 in Warrington, Cheshire, England. The first attack happened on 26 February, when a bomb exploded at a gas storage facility. This first explosion caused extensive ...

on the news as a child. Additionally, the performance was a tribute to how "Zombie" helped her cope with witnessing her parents' struggles with mental illness, especially her mother who had

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

. Colby is passionate about learning history. She is particularly inspired by the

gender transition Gender transition is the process of affirming and expressing one's internal sense of gender, rather than the sex assigned to them at birth. It is a recommended course of treatment for individuals experiencing gender dysphoria, providing impro ...

of Chevalier d’Éon during the 1700s. She is

polyamorous Polyamory () is the practice of, or the desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. Some people who identify as polyamorous believe in consensual non-mono ...

and has three partners, including a queer gym owner based in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Titles

* America’s Next Drag Superstar, ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' Season 15, 2023, Winner * Miss Continental 2012, Winner * Miss Pennsylvania Premiere Continental 2012, Winner * Miss Continental 2008, First Alternate * Miss West Virginia Continental 2008, Winner * Miss Continental 2005, Fourth Alternate

Filmography

Television

Web series

Discography

All credits adapted from

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

and

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Sasha Colby
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colby, Sasha 1984 births Living people 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American women American drag queens American people of Irish descent American transgender women Drag performers from Hawaii Drag performers from Illinois Drag performers from Los Angeles Entertainers from Hawaii Former Jehovah's Witnesses Indigenous drag performers of the Americas LGBTQ Native Hawaiians LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ people from Hawaii LGBTQ people from Illinois Miss Continental winners Native Hawaiian people People from Honolulu County, Hawaii Polyamorous people RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Sasha Colby Transgender drag performers Transgender women entertainers