Nikita Nguyen (born January 31, 1996), known professionally as Nikita Dragun, is an American

internet personality An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and Prosthetic makeup, prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other simil ...

, and model.

Early life and education

Nguyen was born on January 31, 1996 in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and raised in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 31,339 as of the 20 ...

, United States. She is of

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

and Mexican descent. She 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 ...

and began her

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 ...

while in college, choosing the name Nikita based on the television series of the same name.

Career

Nguyen joined YouTube in February 2013. She stated, "I started to get little brand deals around that time''…'' That was also when I decided to start taking Instagram and YouTube seriously." She later relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where, in 2015, she came out as transgender. As of May 2023, she has 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube, 9 million followers on Instagram, and 14.5 million followers on TikTok. In response to comments by

L Brands Bath & Body Works, Inc. (formerly known as L Brands, Inc., Limited Brands, Inc. and The Limited, Inc.) is an American specialty retail company based in Columbus, Ohio. It owns Bath & Body Works, posted $7.4 billion in revenue in 2023, and was ...

chief marketing officer Ed Razek that trans women should not be included in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show because "the show is a fantasy", Nguyen tweeted a video of herself modeling lingerie. In the tweet, Nguyen argues that trans women were indeed able to convey fantasy. In March 2019, she announced a make-up line, Dragun Beauty. Aside from the mainstream market, the cosmetic line is also targeted towards the transgender community. All products are vegan and cruelty-free; this is cited as a reason why Nikita decided to launch her brand independently. In June 2019, Nguyen was interviewed about her make-up brand on the LGBT radio network

Channel Q Channel Q (stylized as CHANNEL Q) is an LGBT community, LGBT lifestyle talk radio, talk and electronic dance music, EDM top 40 radio network created, owned, and operated by Audacy, Inc. The network airs on the Audacy internet radio service, as ...

, where she credited her journey as a trans woman building her brand as the inspiration behind Dragun Beauty and its products. In September 2019, it was announced Nikita would be starring in her own docuseries on

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...

, "Nikita Unfiltered". The series follows Nguyen as she searches for love, "a different path" in her career, and navigates fame as a trans woman. The series premiered on March 21, 2020.

Controversies

A 2017 photo shoot in which Nguyen appeared in heavy

bronzer Sunless tanning refers to the effect of a sun tanning, suntan without exposure to the Sun. Sunless tanning involves the use of #Oral agents, oral agents (carotenids), or creams, lotions or sprays applied to the skin. Skin-applied products may be ...

led some on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

to accuse her of

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

blackfishing Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or unacknowledged. Such a controversy typically arises when members of ...

. On July 21, 2020, Nguyen held a surprise birthday party for YouTuber

Larri Merritt Larri Merritt (born July 22, 1998), professionally known as Larray, is an American YouTuber and influencer. He produces comedic video content on his YouTube channel, and was part of the collaborative TikTok collective known as The Hype House. A ...

during 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 ...

at the Hype House mansion. The party included

internet celebrities An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...

such as

James Charles James Charles Dickinson (born May 23, 1999) is an American beauty YouTuber and makeup artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, Charles started a YouTube channel, where he began uploading makeup tu ...

Charli D'Amelio Charli Grace D'Amelio ( ; born May 1, 2004) is an American social media personality and dancer. She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-s ...

Dixie D'Amelio Dixie Jane D'Amelio ( ; born August 12, 2001) is an American social media personality and singer known for her videos on TikTok. She is the elder sister of Charli D'Amelio. Early life Dixie Jane D'Amelio was born on August 12, 2001 in Norwalk, ...

, and others. At the time of the party, California's COVID-19 cases had just surpassed New York's cases. An estimated 67 people were in attendance, many of whom were seen without face masks despite local health recommendations. Photos and videos of the event appeared on social media sites such as

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. These posts drew criticism from the public, including other influencers like

Elijah Daniel Elijah Daniel (born January 9, 1994) is an American comedian, rapper, record producer, songwriter, and author. He became popular online through his satirical social media posts. Daniel began rapping under the name Lil Phag in late 2017. Daniel ...

and

Tyler Oakley Mathew Tyler Oakley (born March 22, 1989) is an American YouTuber, actor, activist, author, television personality and Twitch streamer. Much of Oakley's activism has been dedicated to LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ rights, as well as social issues including ...

. Merritt and some of the other attendees later apologized. Residents of the Hype House later tested negative for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Arrest

Nguyen was arrested on November 7, 2022, after police claimed they found her roaming around a swimming pool at The Goodtime Hotel in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, wearing only underwear and spraying police and security personnel with water. According to the police report, officers were called in response to a report of a person acting in a "highly disorderly fashion" and causing a disturbance. She was charged for misdemeanor disorderly conduct, misdemeanor battery, and felony battery on a police officer. Nguyen was taken into custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

with a $2,000 bond. She claimed she was placed into a men's prison despite her gender identity. However, police body camera footage shows her requesting to be identified as a man after being arrested. Officials from the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department disputed Nguyen's account, saying during Nguyen's booking process she was first held in an open seating area, then in a one-person holding cell.

Filmography

Web series

TV series

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Nikita 1996 births Living people LGBTQ people from Virginia LGBTQ YouTubers LGBTQ Hispanic and Latino American people Transgender female models Transgender women entertainers Transgender women artists Female models from Virginia Shorty Award winners Hispanic and Latino American models Hispanic and Latino American entertainers Streamy Award winners American LGBTQ people of Asian descent American make-up artists American LGBTQ models American transgender women American transgender entertainers American transgender artists American people of Vietnamese descent American people of Mexican descent YouTubers from Virginia 21st-century American women artists 21st-century American LGBTQ people