Reginald "Reggie" Gavin (born January 14, 1995), known by the stage name Symone, is an American

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 ...

and model. She is best known as the winner of season 13 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, ...

'' (2021). She is a member of the

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

art collective House of Avalon.

Early life

Born Reggie Gavin, Symone was raised in

Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Townshi ...

, Arkansas, as the youngest of three children, with two siblings who are significantly older. A shy child due to anxiety about being gay, Symone discovered drag as a teenager in 2009 after ''

'' debuted, and began to experiment with

makeup Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created sy ...

and drag, attending senior

prom A promenade dance or prom is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a ''prom king'' and ''prom queen''. Other students may be honored ...

in a dress.

Career

2013–2020: Drag beginnings

Shortly after high school graduation in 2013, she performed drag for the first time at Triniti Nightclub under the name Delilah Alamaine. While a student at

University of Arkansas at Little Rock The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock, UALR) is a Public university, public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the ...

, she began to build a following as a performer at Discovery and The Factory, and later changed her stage name to Symone, after a character in a play she wrote in high school. She hosted a series called Symone Says. Of her drag identity, she said Symone represents "the person that I really am. I would say Reggie is a mask I put on every day." Symone is a member of the queer fashion and pop culture collective House of Avalon along with season 12 ''

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 ...

'' finalist Gigi Goode. The collective was started in 2016 in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

by designer Marko Monroe, Hunter Crenshaw, and Grant Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is Symone's drag mother. Symone moved to Los Angeles in 2019 and joined other relocated members of House of Avalon.

2021–present: ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' success

Kamala Harris and Symone at 2022 Capital Pride

In 2021, Symone gained wider prominence as a contestant on season 13 of ''

'', where she became the show's first Arkansas contestant. She has received positive reception from critics for her drag fashion and persona, which frequently nod to Black cultural icons like

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

and

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

. After the first two episodes aired, pop culture websites ''Vulture'' and ''Jezebel'' stated that Symone was a frontrunner to win season 13.

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

sent Symone an

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 ...

DM after seeing her on the show: "You soooo EVERYTHING! Nasty Lil bitch! I live for every second of it! You're a true joy to watch!" Symone received media attention for her runway dress worn on episode 9: a white faux leather dress with exaggerated hips, red crystal bullet holes on the back, and a white headpiece emblazoned with Say Their Names. As she walked the runway she recited the names of several murdered Black Americans:

Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor (June 5, 1993 – March 13, 2020) was an African-American woman who Killing of Breonna Taylor, was shot and killed while unarmed in her Louisville, Kentucky home by three police officers who entered under the auspices of a No-kn ...

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit tw ...

, Brayla Stone,

Trayvon Martin Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was killing of Trayvon Martin, fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic an ...

, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, and Monika Diamond. The dress was designed by Marko Monroe and created by Howie B. Symone said her intention with the dress was to state: "No matter how pretty or beautiful or non-threatening I—and Black people—seem, we're still seen as a threat." Symone ultimately won the season in the grand finale that aired on April 23, 2021. In August 2021, Symone was a featured performer in ''Drag Fest'', a live music festival. Symone was featured on the cover of the September 2021 issue of ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

''. That same month, Symone attended the

2021 MTV Video Music Awards The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held on September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. This marked the first time in eight years that the venue hosted the show. The show was hosted by hip-hop rapper and singer Doja ...

, the 2021 Met Gala, and walked the red carpet at the

73rd Primetime Emmy Awards The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The award ceremony was held live on September 19, 2021, ...

Awards and nominations

, - ! scope="row" ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ,

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the Fan (person), fans and Public, general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined us ...

for The Competition Contestant of 2021 , , - ! scope="row" , 2022 , Herself , Queerty Award for Drag Royalty , , -

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Featured and cameo roles

Web series

Discography

As part of the Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 13

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

* *
The Pride Series
– Interview with ''British Vogue'' on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Symone (drag queen) 1995 births Living people 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people African-American drag queens African-American models American drag queens African-American LGBTQ people Drag performers from Arkansas Drag performers from Los Angeles LGBTQ people from Arkansas People from Conway, Arkansas RuPaul's Drag Race contestants RuPaul's Drag Race winners University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumni