Mark Suknanan (born May 28, 1991) is a Canadian singer, television personality and

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 ...

. Competing under his drag name, Priyanka, Suknanan won the first season of the reality competition series ''

Canada's Drag Race ''Canada's Drag Race'' is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and is the Canadian edition of the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to t ...

'' in 2020. He was previously a host of the YTV children's series '' The Zone'' and the YTV reality competition series '' The Next Star'', where he went by Mark Suki. His first EP, '' Taste Test'', was released in 2021.

Early life

Suknanan was born on May 28, 1991, in Whitby, Ontario, where he attended

All Saints Catholic Secondary School All Saints Catholic Secondary School is a secondary school located in Whitby, Ontario, Canada open for students in grades 7–12. It offers a broad range of academic programs including Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), Cooperative Ed ...

. He is of

Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indians, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, a ...

descent. Suknanan is an alumnus of

Niagara College The Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology (frequently shortened to Niagara College and branded as Niagara College Canada) is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology partnered with the private Toronto School of Management withi ...

's broadcasting program.

Career

Suknanan began her career as a host in children's television, most notably on YTV's '' The Zone'' and as the web host of the YTV reality competition series '' The Next Star''. Suknanan began performing as a drag queen in 2017, initially under the name Priyanka Love, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

clubs. Her first competition in drag was for a local contest at the suggestion of fellow drag queen Xtacy Love, where she placed fourth. She quickly found success in the local drag scene, winning numerous titles, including Miss Crews and Tangos (2018–2019) and Woody's Queen of Halloween (2018). Priyanka was voted Toronto's best queen in ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

's'' annual reader poll in 2019. Speaking about her rise to fame, Suknanan said: "I went from zero to 100... I came into drag so hard and built up a name so quickly that it just kind of became routine." Priyanka has also performed as

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the Pop mus ...

in a

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

drag tribute act, alongside her ''Canada's Drag Race'' castmate Juice Boxx as

Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Pop music, pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the ...

. In 2020, came out as gay and was a contestant on the inaugural season of the reality competition series ''

'', ultimately winning the competition over finalists

Scarlett BoBo Scarlett BoBo is the stage name of Matthew Cameron (born December 1, 1989), a Canadian television personality and drag queen most noted as a finalist in the first season of the reality competition series '' Canada's Drag Race'' in 2020. Career ...

and Rita Baga. She became the first person of Indo-Caribbean descent to win in the franchise's global history. Throughout the season, her narrative included a running gag that the contrast between personas, as both established television personality Mark Suki by day and drag queen Priyanka by night, made her Canada's

Hannah Montana ''Hannah Montana'' is an American teen sitcom created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between March2006 and January2011. The series centers on Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cy ...

;Russ Martin
"Priyanka Is Canada's Drag Race's First Winner!"
. ''

Flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

'', September 4, 2020. for

Fierté Montréal Fierté Montréal, also called Montreal Pride, is an annual LGBT pride festival in Montreal, Quebec. The event was founded in 2007 at the initiative of Montreal’s LGBTQ+ communities after the city's prior Pride festival, Divers/Cité, reposi ...

's special online edition of its annual Drag Superstars show, which featured all of the ''Canada's Drag Race'' queens in prerecorded video performances, Priyanka performed to the Hannah Montana theme song " The Best of Both Worlds". She was also featured in

Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year to celebrate the LGBTQ community in the Greater Toronto Area. The centre of the festival is the city's Church and Wellesley village, while the parade and m ...

's online Drag Ball on June 27, 2020, performing to

Marina and the Diamonds Marina Lambrini Diamandis ( ; ; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps) and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Greek-Welsh singer, songwriter, poet and record producer. Born in ...

' single " Power & Control". At the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 17–20 May 2021 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020. The presentations were held as a seri ...

in 2021, she received a nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Web Program or Series for her Drag Ball appearance, and was one of the ten nominees for the fan-voted Audience Choice Award, as well as serving as the narrator of the livestream presentation for lifestyle and reality categories on May 17. Following the conclusion of the season, she headlined a cross-Canada tour with the other ''Canada's Drag Race'' contestants, which was performed at

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or Drive-in theater, movie theater) where one can driving, drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by ...

venues due to the ongoing

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...

restrictions remaining in place during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course o ...

. In October, she participated alongside Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga and Jimbo in an online panel discussion as part of the Just for Laughs festival. Priyanka was featured on the cover of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

'' digital issue, her first magazine cover. In November and December 2020, Priyanka appeared as the celebrity spokesperson in a Canadian advertising campaign for

SodaStream SodaStream International Ltd. () is an Israel-based manufacturing company best known as the maker of the consumer home carbonation product of the same name. The company's soda machines, in the style of soda siphons, add carbon dioxide to wate ...

. She has also starred in online advertising campaigns for

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (colloquially Shoppers; named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in ten provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist ...

and the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...

. In April 2021, she was announced as the host of the 2021 virtual edition of

. In May 2021, she partnered with Vizzy Hard Seltzer, serving as community impact director. In August 2021, they were a featured performer in ''Drag Fest'', a live music festival. She also co-hosted the Forever Dog podcast ''Famous This Week'' alongside

Brooke Lynn Hytes Brooke Lynn Hytes is the stage name of Brock Edward Hayhoe (born March 10, 1986), a Canadian-American drag queen, ballet dancer, and television personality. After working as a dancer with Cape Town City Ballet and Les Ballets Trockadero de Mont ...

, which won a Canadian Podcasting Award in 2022. Priyanka at Burlington Sound of Music 2024 B

In July 2021, Priyanka released her debut music project, the EP '' Taste Test''.Corey Atad
"'Canada's Drag Race' Winner Priyanka Releasing Debut EP 'Taste Test'
''

ET Canada ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...

'', July 14, 2021. which surpassed 16 million streams, as of January 2024. In addition, Priyanka was featured on the July/August 2021 edition of ''

Elle Canada ''Elle'' (stylized in all caps) is a worldwide magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, and society and lifestyle. The title ''Elle'' means ''She'' in French. ''Elle'' is considered "one of the world's largest ...

'', becoming the first drag queen to do so. In November 2021, Priyanka was named as a co-host with

Lindsay Ell Lindsay Elizabeth Ell (born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian-American country pop singer, songwriter, guitarist and television personality from Calgary, Alberta. Her music incorporates elements of rock and blues. Her debut extended play, ''Worth the ...

of the

2021 Canadian Country Music Awards The 2021 Canadian Country Music Awards, honouring achievements in Canadian country music in 2021, were presented November 29, 2021, at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. Hosted by Lindsay Ell and Priyanka, the ceremony was presented in-perso ...

. Priyanka released the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

single "Country Queen", which she performed during the opening number of the award ceremony. In December 2021, Priyanka appeared on

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008 * "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu ''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...

of ''

'' as a guest, to crown her successor. The look that she wore was dubbed one of the best looks across the entire ''Drag Race'' franchise. In February 2023, Suknanan signed a development deal with

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

on potential future television or film projects, also joining CTV's '' eTalk'' as a special correspondent. She was featured as the "lip-sync assassin" of the tenth episode of the eighth season of

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, ...

, where she beat Kandy Muse in a lipsync to

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

's "

Jumpin', Jumpin' "Jumpin', Jumpin' is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for its second studio album, ''The Writing's on the Wall'' (1999). The song was co-written and co-produced by Chad Elliott and group member Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, with a ...

". In July 2023, it was announced that Priyanka, alongside

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 ...

and Jaida Essence Hall, would be the new hosts for the upcoming fourth season of the Emmy winning reality television series ''

We're Here ''We're Here'' is a HBO reality television series featuring former ''Drag Race'' contestants, documenting the drag queens as they travel across the United States to recruit small-town residents to participate in one-night-only drag shows. The sh ...

''. In June 2024, Priyanka's first Bell Media project, a reality series called ''Drag Brunch Saved My Life'' in which she visits struggling restaurants to help them reinvent themselves by launching drag brunch shows, was announced as premiering on Crave in the 2024-25 television season. In November 2024, Priyanka hosted the inaugural PTP Pink Awards ceremony.David Friend
"Elliot Page joins LGBTQ2S+ honourees being celebrated at inaugural PTP Pink Awards"

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

, November 7, 2024. In January 2025, Priyanka was made honorary WWE Women’s Champion by WWE Hall of Famer,

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975), better known by the ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, yoga instructor, actress and former fitness model. She is signed to WWE. An inductee of the 2013 WWE Hall ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Web series

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Priyanka 1991 births Living people 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Canada's Drag Race winners Canadian children's television presenters Canadian drag queens Canadian gay musicians Canadian LGBTQ broadcasters Canadian LGBTQ singers Canadian people of Indo-Guyanese descent Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian pop singers Drag performers from Toronto Gay singers Musicians from the Regional Municipality of Durham Niagara College alumni People from Whitby, Ontario Canada's Drag Race contestants