Icesis Couture
Born
Steven Portelance[1]

(1987-02-03) February 3, 1987 (age 37)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Other namesSteven Granados-Portelance
OccupationDrag queen
Television
TitleCanada's Next Drag Superstar
PredecessorPriyanka
SuccessorGisèle Lullaby
Websiteicesiscouture.com

Icesis Couture is the stage name of Steven Granados-Portelance (born February 3, 1987),[1] a Canadian drag queen who won the second season of Canada's Drag Race in 2021.[2] She later returned to compete on the first season of the spin-off series, Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World, in 2022.[3]

Career

Granados-Portelance appeared as Icesis Couture on the second season of the documentary series Canada's a Drag in 2019,[4] and won Ottawa's Miss Capital Pride pageant in 2020.[5]

In 2021, he competed in the second season of Canada's Drag Race,[6] winning two challenges over the course of the season and ultimately winning the competition over finalists Pythia and Kendall Gender.[7] On the night of the Canada's Drag Race finale, all three finalists were at a viewing party at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall, on a bill that also included Icesis's drag daughters Kimmy and Savannah Couture, as well as Makayla Walker Couture, an emerging Toronto drag artist who had appeared in the prom makeover episode as Couture's drag daughter "Ruby Couture".[8] On the same day, Couture released "La Pusetta", a bilingual English and Spanish pop single and music video created in collaboration with DJ and producer Velvet Code under the music label So Fierce Music.[8][9]

In 2021, Couture modelled the Amsterdam Rainbow Dress, described as "a voluminous multicoloured gown that embodies a powerful statement about the global persecution of LGBTQ people", at Ottawa's National Gallery of Canada.[10][11]

In 2022, Couture returned to compete on Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World against other former competitors from across the Drag Race franchise, including fellow Canada's Drag Race season 2 alumni Kendall Gender and Stephanie Prince. She placed in the Top 2 in episode 2 for her impersonation of Donatella Versace in the Snatch Game and was never up for elimination throughout her run. However, in episode 4, she decided to withdraw from the competition citing her mental health, ultimately placing 6th.[12]

In 2023 Couture participated, alongside fellow CDR alumni Kimora Amour and Suki Doll, in Courage Across Canada, a speaking tour in which the CDR queens spoke to high school students about bullying and homophobia.[13]

Personal life

Granados-Portelance is of Salvadoran and French Canadian descent,[8] and lives in Ottawa, Ontario.[14] His younger brother Randy is also a drag queen, who performs under the name Savannah Couture.[1]

He is a close friend of Kiki Coe, a drag performer who was contemporaneously a competitor in the first season of the drag competition series Call Me Mother[8] and later became a competitor in the fourth season of Canada's Drag Race.[15]

Granados-Portelance is also the drag mother of Kimmy Couture, a contestant on the third season of Canada's Drag Race,[16] and Makayla Couture, a contestant on the second season of Call Me Mother who Granados-Portelance put into drag for the makeover challenge of Canada's Drag Race season two.[17][18]

Filmography

Year Title Genre Role Notes
2019 Canada's a Drag TV Herself Guest; Season 2, episode 2
2021-2022 Canada's Drag Race TV Contestant Winner; Season 2, 10 episodes
Herself Guest; Season 3, episode 9
2021 eTalk Herself Guest[19]
2022 Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World TV Contestant 5 episodes

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2021 Meet The Queens: Canada's Drag Race Season 2 Herself Stand-alone special [20]
iHeartRadio Canada Herself Guest [21]
2022 Drag Us Weekly Herself Guest [22]
Canada's Drag Race S3 x Slap or Scrap Herself Guest [23]
Meet The Queens: Canada's Drag Race vs The World Herself Stand-alone special [24]

Discography

Singles

Year Title Notes Ref
2021 "La Pusetta" Produced by Velvet Code [25]

References

  1. ^ a b c Peter Knegt, "All in the glamly: These real-life brothers are giving Ottawa drag a jolt of sister queen realness" Archived 2021-12-10 at the Wayback Machine. CBC Arts, February 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Samhan, Jamie (2021-12-17). "'Canada's Drag Race' Names Season 2 Winner". ET Canada. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  3. ^ Nolfi, Joey (October 17, 2022). "See the 'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World' cast of international all-stars". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  4. ^ Leah Collins, "Meet the stars of Canada's a Drag Season 2" Archived 2021-12-10 at the Wayback Machine. CBC Arts, February 11, 2019.
  5. ^ Dani-Elle Dubé, "Virtual pride parade wraps up Pride Week with Miss Capital Pride 2020 Icesis Couture". CityNews, August 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Joey Nolfi, "Step your poutine up with the Canada's Drag Race season 2 queens" Archived 2021-12-13 at the Wayback Machine. Entertainment Weekly, September 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Kevin O'Keeffe, "‘Canada’s Drag Race’ Season 2 finale recap: A new Queen of the North is here". Xtra!, December 17, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d Russ Martin, "Shantay she slayed! Icesis Couture is the winner of ‘Canada’s Drag Race’ Season 2". Xtra!, December 17, 2021.
  9. ^ BUZZMUSIC (2022-03-02). "Icesis Couture Pops "La Pusetta," In Velvet Code's Newest Hit". BuzzMusic. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  10. ^ Sandra Abma, "Sartorial symbol of LGBTQ persecution arrives in Ottawa-Gatineau" Archived 2021-12-10 at the Wayback Machine. CBC News Ottawa, December 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Megan Gillis (December 8, 2021). "Amsterdam Rainbow Dress makes Canadian début in the capital region". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  12. ^ "Icesis Got Real About Why She Chose To Leave 'Canada Vs. The World'". Elite Daily. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  13. ^ Ian Campbell, "Student presentation in Sudbury to go ahead, despite board opposition" Archived 2023-03-28 at the Wayback Machine. CTV Northern Ontario, February 2, 2023.
  14. ^ Ryan, Anya (2021-12-08). "Canada's Drag Race series two: Everything you need to know". BBC Three. Archived from the original on 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  15. ^ Bianca Guzzo, "Canada’s Drag Race Season Four: Meet The Queens". In Magazine, October 18, 2023.
  16. ^ "'Canada's Drag Race' Season 3: 'After the Sashay' with Kimmy Couture". Xtra Magazine. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  17. ^ Lautens, Annika (18 January 2022). "Icesis Couture on Her Best Looks from "Canada's Drag Race"". Fashion Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  18. ^ Nolfi, Joey. "Call Me Mother season 2 cast of drag artists revealed". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  19. ^ Meet Icesis Couture | Canada's Drag Race Season 2. Youtube.com. October 29, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  20. ^ MEET THE QUEENS: Icesis Couture. Youtube.com. September 14, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  21. ^ ICESIS COUTURE tells us about their time on Canada's Drag Race!. Youtube.com. December 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  22. ^ RuPaul’s Drag Race Canada Icesis Couture Winner Tells All | Drag Us Weekly. Youtube.com. January 12, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  23. ^ Canada's Drag Race S3 x Slap or Scrap: "The Grand Finale" with Eve 6000 and Icesis Couture!, retrieved 2023-05-29
  24. ^ Meet The Queens | Icesis Couture - Canada's Drag Race Vs The World. Youtube.com. October 17, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  25. ^ LA PUSETTA - Icesis Couture. Youtube.com. December 25, 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Icesis Couture.
Preceded byPriyanka Winner of Canada's Drag Race Canada season 2 Succeeded byGisèle Lullaby
Canada's Drag Race
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