BeBe Zahara Benet

Bebe Zahara Benet
BeBe Zahara Benet in June 2009
Born Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa
March 20, 1981
Cameroon
Residence Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation Drag performer, singer
Known for RuPaul's Drag Race (season 1) winner
Successor Tyra Sanchez
Website bebezahara.com

BeBe Zahara Benet (born March 20, 1981) is the stage name of Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa,[1] a Cameroonian-American drag performer and singer best known for winning the first season of the reality-television drag competition RuPaul's Drag Race in 2009. In 2018, she also returned as a surprise contestant for the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars.

Early life

Benet was born in Cameroon.[2] Upon arriving in the United States, Benet settled in Minneapolis to complete his college studies and to be closer to family.[3]

Career

Benet's first experience with drag was at a Paris fashion show, where he was asked to put on a dress to walk the runway as a female as a last-minute replacement for an absent model.[4] His first drag performance was alongside Cyndi Lauper in The Gay 90s bar in Minneapolis.[5]

Music

Benet's first dance single, "I'm the Sh*t", has been remixed by Felix Baumgartner, Ralphi Rosario and Mark Picchiotti.[6] She released her second single, "Cameroon" in July 2010. Benet made a cameo appearance in the music video for Erasure's re-release of their song, A Little Respect, in December 2010 (which was a fundraiser for students of the Harvey Milk Institute in San Francisco.[7] She released her third single "Dirty Drums" on April 17, 2012 via iTunes.[8] and her fourth single, "Face," was released on March 3, 2014.

Television

Benet was announced as one of the nine contestants for the first season of Logo's reality-TV drag-queen competition RuPaul's Drag Race in 2009.[9] She was the inaugural winner of the series.

In 2011, Benet appeared in two episodes of RuPaul's Drag U, serving as a "drag professor".

Benet was revealed as the surprise 10th contestant on the third season premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. She reached the season finale, but was not chosen to advance to the final two by a jury of previously eliminated queens and subsequently finished in joint third/fourth place along with Shangela.

Benet created a Kickstarter in 2018 to produce a documentary on her life and drag career, titled "Being Bebe".[10]

Discography

EPs

Year Title
2017 Kisses & Feathers[11]

Singles

Year Title
2009 I'm The S**t[12]
2010 Cameroon[13]
2012 Dirty Drums[14]
2014 Face[15]
2017 Get Fierce (Lose Yourself)[16]
2017 Fun Tonite[17]
2017 Starting A Fire[18]
2018 Dirty Drums/Cameroon (All Stars Mix)[19]
2018 Jungle Kitty[20]

References

  1. ↑ Desta, Yohana. "Catching Up with BeBe Zahara Benet, the Very First Winner of RuPaul's Drag Race". HWD. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  2. ↑ Peloquin, Jahna (February 2018). "RuPaul's Drag Race's BeBe Zahara Benet Talks About Her Style Evolution". Minnesota Monthly. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  3. ↑ Juergens, Brian (2009-03-25). "Interview with the next drag superstar BeBe Zahara Benet". AfterElton.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  4. ↑ "Absolut Dirty Martini - BeBe Zahara Bennet". Logo TV. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  5. ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race's BeBe Zahara Benet Talks About Her Style Evolution". Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  6. ↑ "Bebe Zahara Benet - I'm The Sh*t (Incl. Felix Baumgartner & Ralphi Rosario Mixes)". Traxsource.com. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  7. ↑ "Gay Iconography: 'A Little Respect' For Erasure's Andy Bell - Towleroad". Towleroad. 2014-01-31. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Sabancontact, Stephen (2009-03-31). "Let the Prizes Begin!". Worldofwonder.net. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  10. ↑ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Star BeBe Zahara Benet Launches Kickstarter Campaign For New Documentary". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  11. ↑ Kisses & Feathers - EP by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2017-11-17, retrieved 2018-03-04
  12. ↑ I'm the S**t by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2009-01-01, retrieved 2018-03-04
  13. ↑ Cameroon by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2010-08-23, retrieved 2018-03-04
  14. ↑ Dirty Drums - Single by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2012-04-17, retrieved 2018-03-04
  15. ↑ Face - EP by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2014-03-03, retrieved 2018-03-04
  16. ↑ Get Fierce (Lose Yourself) - Single by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2017-04-21, retrieved 2018-03-04
  17. ↑ Fun Tonite - Single by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2017-07-21, retrieved 2018-03-04
  18. ↑ Starting a Fire - Single by Bebe Zahara Benet on Apple Music, 2017-11-03, retrieved 2018-03-04
  19. ↑ "Dirty Drums / Cameroon All Stars Mix" from Dirty Drums / Cameroon All Stars Mix - Single by Bebe Zahara Benet on iTunes, 2018-01-26, retrieved 2018-03-04
  20. ↑ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' star BeBe Zahara Benet slaps haters with 'Jungle Kitty' music video". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
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