Reggie Gavin (born January 14, 1995),[2] known by the stage name Symone, is an American drag queen and model. She is best known as the winner of season 13 of RuPaul's Drag Race (2021). She is a member of the queer art collective House of Avalon.[3][4]
Early life
Born Reggie Gavin, Symone was raised in Conway, Arkansas,[3] as the youngest of three children, with two siblings who are significantly older.[5] A shy child due to anxiety about being gay, Symone discovered drag as a teenager in 2009 after RuPaul's Drag Race debuted,[5] and began to experiment with makeup and drag, attending senior prom in a dress.[4]
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.[5] While a student at University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 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.[5] She hosted a series called Symone Says.[3] 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."[3]
Symone is a member of the queer fashion and pop culture collective House of Avalon along with season 12 Drag Race finalist Gigi Goode.[3] The collective was started in 2016 in Little Rock by designer Marko Monroe, Hunter Crenshaw, and Grant Vanderbilt.[6][7] Vanderbilt is Symone's drag mother.[5]
Symone moved to Los Angeles in 2019 and joined other relocated members of House of Avalon.[8]
In 2021, Symone gained wider prominence as a contestant on season 13 of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she became the show's first Arkansas contestant.[9] She has received positive reception from critics for her drag fashion and persona, which frequently nod to Black cultural icons like Lil' Kim and Grace Jones.[5][4] After the first two episodes aired, pop culture websites Vulture and Jezebel stated that Symone was a frontrunner to win season 13.[10][11]Rihanna sent Symone an InstagramDM 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!"[8]
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.[9][7] As she walked the runway she recited the names of several murdered Black Americans: Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Brayla Stone, Trayvon Martin, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, and Monika Diamond.[9] The dress was designed by Marko Monroe and created by Howie B.[7] 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."[9] Symone ultimately won the season in the grand finale that aired on April 23, 2021.[2]
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