Kiara (drag queen)

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Kiara
Born
Dimitri Nana-Côté

(1998-07-28) July 28, 1998 (age 25)
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Other namesKiara Schatzi
Kiara Mulan
EducationConcordia University (BFA)
OccupationDrag queen
Years active2010s–present
Known forCanada's Drag Race

Kiara, sometimes credited as Kiara Schatzi or Kiara Mulan, is the stage name of Dimitri Nana-Côté (born July 28, 1998),[1] a Canadian drag entertainer from Montreal, Quebec who is most noted as a competitor in the first season of Canada's Drag Race.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

The biracial son of a Black Canadian father and a Québécois mother, Nana-Côté grew up in Quebec City, and moved to Montreal to study film at Concordia University.[3] He began performing drag at Cabaret Mado, including as Mel B in a regular Spice Girls tribute show,[4] choosing the drag name Kiara in reference to the character Kiara from The Lion King.[5]

Career[edit]

Kiara appeared on the first season of Canada's Drag Race, and was eliminated from the competition in the fifth episode after performing a poor impression of Mariah Carey in the Snatch Game challenge; however, her Lip Sync for Your Life performance against Priyanka, to Céline Dion's cover of "I Drove All Night", was widely labelled as the best lipsync battle of the season and one of the best in the history of the Drag Race franchise.[6] In a post-elimination interview with the entertainment website PopBuzz, Kiara revealed that she had considered impersonating Canada's Drag Race judge Stacey McKenzie.[7]

On June 24, 2020, after production on Canada's Drag Race had wrapped but before the series had begun airing, Kiara was the host of Sainte-Jeanne, an LGBTQ-themed Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebration coordinated by singer-songwriter Safia Nolin, whose participants also included comedians Tranna Wintour and Karl Hardy, actress and writer Gabrielle Tremblay, songwriter and producer Annie Sama (Apigeon), rapper Backxwash and drag queens Matante Alex and Gisèle Lullaby.[8] For the special online edition of Fierté Montréal's Drag Superstars show, which saw all of the queens from Canada's Drag Race appearing in prerecorded video performances, Kiara performed to Marie-Mai's single "Qui prendra ma place" in a video which climaxed with her dancing in front of the Montreal Biosphere.

Following the conclusion of the season, Kiara participated in the national Canada's Drag Race Live at the Drive-In tour.[4]

In October 2020, Kiara appeared in the video for Cœur de pirate's single "T'es belle".[9] In the same month, Kiara released her first single as a vocalist, a bilingual collaboration with Matante Alex and Marc-André Sauvageau titled "Straight to Your Heart" in English and "Droit sur ton cœur" in French.[10]

Kiara also had a small acting role in "The Son", an LGBT-themed episode of the 2020 television anthology series Little America.[citation needed]

She is an active ballroom participant and part of the Canadian chapter of the Imperial Dynasty Kiki House of Hua Mulan, where she holds the title of "Princess".[11][12]

Filmography[edit]

Television[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ @KIARAQCCA (July 28, 2015). "😏😏😁😁🎉🎁 #bday #hbd #bd #birthday #yay #17" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Samuel Larochelle, "Les drag queens montent au front" Archived 2020-08-20 at the Wayback Machine. La Presse, June 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Richard Burnett, "Montreal’s Kiara aims for the stars on Canada’s Drag Race" Archived 2020-10-17 at the Wayback Machine. Time Out, June 26, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Brendan Kelly, "Montreal's Kiara pumped to be part of Canada's Drag Race drive-in tour" Archived 2020-11-03 at the Wayback Machine. Montreal Gazette, September 28, 2020.
  5. ^ Richard Burnett, "Concordian Kiara aims for the ‘superstars’ on Canada’s Drag Race" Archived 2020-09-21 at the Wayback Machine. Concordia University, June 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Natalia Manzocco, "Canada’s Drag Race queen Kiara on Snatch Game and that killer lip sync" Archived 2020-08-11 at the Wayback Machine. The Georgia Straight, July 31, 2020.
  7. ^ Woodrow Whyte, "Kiara reveals her alternative character for Snatch Game and it's iconic" Archived 2020-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. PopBuzz, August 3, 2020.
  8. ^ Calum Slingerland, "Safia Nolin Gets Backxwash for Inaugural Saint-Jeanne Concert" Archived 2020-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. Exclaim!, June 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Chelsea Brimstin, "Watch: Cœur de Pirate shares video for new feminist anthem ‘T’es belle’" Archived 2020-10-23 at the Wayback Machine. CIND-FM, October 7, 2020.
  10. ^ Jonathan Currinn, "DISCOVER: Last Week Saw Canada’s Drag Race Star Kiara Drop Debut Single In Collaboration With Matante Alex Titled “Straight To Your Heart” & “Droit sur ton coeur”" Archived 2021-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. CelebMix, October 1, 2020.
  11. ^ "Canadian chapter of Mulan's Instagram". Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  12. ^ @kikiwannakaikai (August 8, 2023). "I earned PRINCESS title of the @hausofhuamulan.ca last Saturday!👑😁🥹💕" – via Instagram.

External links[edit]

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