Kayvon Zand, also known as Nadia Kayvon Zand, is an American nightlife personality and founder of Zandwagon, a model management and specialty casting company.

Background

Zand was brought up in a single parent household by her mother.Berusch, Martin

''The Blog'' (The Huffington Post), June 28, 2013.

Nightlife

Zand is the "ringleader" of the Zand Collective, a performance group of a dozen members.Raygoza, Isabela
"Kayvon Zand: From Iranian Heir To New York Nightlife Icon" MTV Iggy, July 16, 2013.
/ref> In July 2010 they gained attention when her act was banned from the

Highline Ballroom The Highline Ballroom was a music venue and nightclub located at 431 West 16th Street in the neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Description Primarily featuring musical acts, its capacity was approximately 700 people hosting divers ...

, as the venue deemed their act to be too shocking. They were nominated for a

Paper Magazine ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and ...

award in 2012, and they are known for throwing extravagant parties. Their dark, dance party, Dorian Gray, ran for the year of 2013, causing a controversy in the LES when the original venue for the party, the DL, came under fire from the local community board. The DL claimed they fired Zand because they were unaware they were throwing a dance party. Zand moved Dorian Gray to the Bowery Electric for its duration, and the party continued to receive favorable press. In 2014 Zand began a new event called Sex Fifth Avenue. The first edition took place at the Museum of Sex, where it was successful in cementing Zand's reputation for revitalizing NYC nightlife. Zand proceeded to launch Kayvon Zand's Metropolis at Webster Hall across 2016–2017. Zand has partnered with the Eventi Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants for a Halloween event in 2016. After taking 2020 off due to 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 ...

, Zand's popular 849 party returned in 2021 with an

Edward Gorey Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Awards, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for book ...

themed event titled Gorey 849.

Music

Zand creates '80s inspired electronic dance music. Zand writes their own music, but work with producers including Chew Fu and Gomination to create the final tracks. Zand is a self-taught pianist, and also play the violin and viola. Zand performed at the

Life Ball The Life Ball in Vienna is the biggest charity event in Europe supporting people with HIV or AIDS. The event is organized by the nonprofit organization AIDS LIFE, which was founded in 1992 by Gery Keszler and Torgom Petrosian. AIDS LIFE suppo ...

in Vienna in 2011. Zand has also released two EPs; the One Way Flight remix package (2012) and Just Give It Away (2014). Zand was featured in Paper Magazine's music issue in 2012. Zand has created one music video for each of their EPs. One Way Flight and Just Give It Away were both directed by

Mike Ruiz Mike Ruiz is a Canadian photographer, director, television personality, former model, spokesperson, creative director, and actor. Early life Ruiz, who is of French Canadian and Spanish Filipino ancestry, was born in Montreal in 1964, but raised ...

and have both received favorable press, being launched by Interview Magazine and Wild Magazine respectively. Zand headlined the Jersey City Pride festival in 2021 and in 2024 as a trans woman.

Acting

Zand has been both a film and a stage actor. They played a terrorist in

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 ...

's film Starrbooty,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

on an episode of the popular Japanese show The World's Astonishing News and starred in Alfred Preisser and Randy Weiner's ''"Caligula Maximus-Featuring Kayvon Zand"'', produced by Stephen Pevner.

Zandwagon

In June 2017, Zand launched "Zandwagon", a model management and specialty casting company."Zandwagon: The Queer Model Management Company Breaking All The Rules" Osenlund, R. Kurt June 21, 2017
/ref>

Personal life

In December 2024, Zand came out as nonbinary. Zand is married to Anna Zand. Zand has three children. ."The Zand Family Reveal How Their Daughter Inspires Them To Be More Accomplished" Nazim, Hafeezah July 8, 2017
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zand, Kayvon Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American people of Iranian descent American socialites America's Got Talent contestants American LGBTQ singers LGBTQ people from North Carolina Non-binary singers