Soa de Muse
Soa at the Musée du Quai Branly in 2022
Born (1989-01-31) January 31, 1989 (age 35)
Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France
NationalityFrench
OccupationDrag queen
TelevisionDrag Race France

Soa de Muse (born January 31, 1989)[1] is a French drag performer best known for participating in the first season of Drag Race France.[2]

Early life

Soa de Muse was born in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, France.[3] At the age of 15, de Muse moved to Martinique with their parents, where they remained through their high school years, and first discovered a love for theater.[4]

At the age of 20, Soa returned to continental France to study, at their parents' urging. They initially pursued a degree in literature, then switched to theater studies. It was during the latter program that de Muse decided to pursue performance full time, and ultimately terminated her studies: "I realized that I shouldn't be sitting, listening to someone talking ... I had to do the scene [myself]."[4]

Career

Before appearing on Drag Race France, Soa worked as a burlesque performer at Madame Arthur, a historic Parisian drag venue open since 1946.[5]

In March 2021, Soa participated in the "109 Mariannes" exhibition, curated by France's then-Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Marlène Schiappa, to mark International Women's Rights Day.[6][7] Portraits of de Muse, and 108 other participants selected to "celebrate the diversity of France" in the image of national symbol Marianne, were displayed in front of the Panthéon for one week.[8]

Soa de Muse competed on the inaugural season of Drag Race France, a spin-off franchise of the original series RuPaul's Drag Race. Soa was the first challenge winner of the series, in the episode "Bonjour, Bonjour, Bonjour."

Elsewhere in 2022, Soa opened their own cabaret in Paris, called "La Bouche", in collaboration with three other local performers.[3]

Public image and artistry

Soa's drag is heavily inspired by their Afro-Martinican culture.[9] During their time on Drag Race France, Soa shared a desire to highlight "the West Indian community which is a little invisible" as well as contribute "a battle cry to say that we are here now."[10] They have also stated a desire to some day return to perform in their native Martinique.[4]

Personal life

Soa de Muse identifies as non-binary, having stated in a 2021 interview that they identify with "neither man nor woman, just universelle. I just am who I am."[6]

Soa is a drag sister of Honey Mahogany, a San Francisco-based drag performer, activist and competitor in RuPaul's Drag Race season 5, through their shared drag mother Alotta Boutté — a connection that both queens discovered via Instagram comments.[11]

Discography

Singles

As a featured artist

Title Year Album Ref.
"Boom Boom (The Nails)"
with Drag Race France, season 1 (Lolita Banana and Elips) 		2022 — [12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Ref
2021 Panorama Memory Gerard & Kely [13]
2017 The Ladies Almanack [fr] Arthur Cravan Daviel Shy [citation needed]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2023 The Drag Race France Phenomenon: One Year with the Queens Self France 2 documentary [14]
2022 Drag Race France Self Finalist (Season 1)
Special guest (Season 2) 		[2]
2022 Queen Drag Queen [15]

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2022 Tea Time par Tinder x Drag Race - Episode 6 - La Big Bertha et Soa de Muse Self Guest with La Big Bertha [16]
2022 Tea Time par Tinder x Drag Race - Episode 2 - La Briochée et Soa de Muse Self Guest with La Briochée [17]

References

  1. ^ "Paloma et Soa, les (drag) queens de l'été". France Inter (in French). 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  2. ^ a b "Meet the 10 Queens of 'Drag Race France' Season 1". out.com. 2022-06-03. Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  3. ^ a b "Une soirée au cabaret avec la drag queen martiniquaise Soa de Muse". Outre-mer la 1ère (in French). 16 July 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  4. ^ a b c "Soa de Muse : une Martiniquaise dans le premier drag show télévisé français". Outre-mer la 1ère (in French). 2 July 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-07-02. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  5. ^ Millot, Ondine (2022-07-23). "The joyous renaissance of Madame Arthur, the very first Parisian drag cabaret". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  6. ^ a b "[VIDEO] Soa de Muse, artiste non-binaire martiniquaise, une des nouvelles figures de Marianne". RCI (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  7. ^ Mateus, Christine (2021-03-08). ""Vous êtes celles que je donne pour modèles à mes filles»: la reconnaissance de Marlène Schiappa aux «Mariannes"". Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  8. ^ "109 Mariannes". Ministère de l'Intérieur (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  9. ^ "Les queens". FranceTvPro.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  10. ^ "Soa, une reine martiniquaise dans l'émission Drag Race France". France-Antilles (in French). 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022.
  11. ^ honeymahogany. "Opened up Instagram to see @dragrace_france star @soa_de_muse serving some old school @honeymahogany realness… except she's far more fabulous. Love this! Can't wait to watch more @thenickydoll !!! Et bon chance, Soa!". Archived from the original on 2022-08-10. Retrieved 2022-08-06 – via Instagram.
  12. ^ Boom Boom (The Nails) - Single, July 21, 2022, archived from the original on 2022-08-10, retrieved 2022-08-09 – via Apple Music
  13. ^ Giovannini, Joseph (2022-11-16). "Artists Reveal a Dark Side of the Bourse's Crowning Glory". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  14. ^ Pownall, Jack (2023-06-07). "Drag Race France is back!". Vogue Paris (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  15. ^ P, Maddie (2022-06-07). "Netflix's 'Queen': Release Date, Trailer, Cast, and Everything We Know So Far". Collider. Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  16. ^ Tea Time par Tinder x Drag Race - Episode 6 - La Big Bertha et Soa de Muse, archived from the original on 2022-08-06, retrieved 2022-08-06 – via YouTube
  17. ^ Tea Time par Tinder x Drag Race - Episode 2 - La Briochée et Soa de Muse, archived from the original on 2022-08-06, retrieved 2022-08-06 – via YouTube
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