Ilona Verley Explained

Ilona Verley
Birth Place:Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality:Canadian
Citizenship:Canada, United States
Occupation:Drag queen
Credits:, which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by
Works:, which produces label "Works"; or by
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Television:Canada's Drag Race
Office:may be used as an alternative when the label is better rendered as "Office" (e.g. public office or appointments) -->

Ilona Verley is a Canadian-American drag queen, most known for competing on the first season of Canada's Drag Race.[1]

Early life

Verley was born to Sandi Verley[2] and raised in Lytton, British Columbia[3] and Surrey, British Columbia.[4] They attended the Blanche MacDonald Centre in Vancouver for make-up artistry.[5]

Career

Verley appeared in pop singer Mathew V's 2018 video for his single "Broken", after Mathew V attended a drag show at which Verley had performed to Mathew V's 2017 single "Tell Me Smooth".[6]

Verley competed on the first season of Canada's Drag Race, a reality competition television series based on the American series RuPaul's Drag Race and the Canadian edition of the Drag Race franchise. Prior to their appearance on the show, they had auditioned in Los Angeles for the eleventh and twelfth seasons of American version.[4] [7] [8] They became the "first Indigenous, two-spirit, and openly non-binary queen" to compete.[9] On Canada's Drag Race, Verley placed in the bottom two on three occasions and was eliminated in the seventh episode.[10] [11] They also attracted positive notice for their look in the season finale, which blended a First Nations jingle dress in their signature pastel colours with red handprints, a symbol of the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.[4]

They have also worked at a NYX Professional Makeup store.[12]

In October 2020, Verley was announced as one of the performers at the opening gala of the 2020 imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.[13]

In November 2020, Verley was named to Out magazine's annual Out100 list of influential LGBTQ personalities.[1]

Personal life

Verley is Nlaka'pamux and two-spirit, and has said they identify as a "proud, Indigenous trans woman".[4] They have described their gender identity as fluid and in flux. In November 2020 they stated: "I don't want to put my foot down too much with any label. Because who knows, in a few months from now, when I'm in a better mind-set or a better situation, how I'm going to feel".[1] On the LGBTQ&A podcast in the same month, Verley said "I think for me right now, the best way to describe who I am right now in this moment is nonbinary and gender fluid."[14]

They live in Vancouver as of October 2020,[12] having returned to Canada after living in Los Angeles.[5] In 2020, they accused NYX Professional Makeup of cultural insensitivity.[12]

Filmography

Television

Web series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: November 19, 2020. Ilona Verley, Drag Race's Two-Spirit Queen. Out. November 19, 2020. March 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220314094008/https://www.out.com/print/2020/11/19/see-he-full-2020-out100-list-here#media-gallery-media-27. live.
  2. ilonaverley . CwQh5lZPXWe . "You were a mirage, you're not really there" . August 22, 2023.
  3. Web site: 2020-08-14 . Ilona Verley on making HERstory as the first two-spirit and Indigenous contestant on Drag Race . 2023-03-20 . GAY TIMES . en-GB . June 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220625230835/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/ilona-verley-on-making-herstory-as-the-first-two-spirit-and-indigenous-contestant-on-drag-race/ . live .
  4. Web site: Allaire. Christian. 2020-08-31. Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation to Canada's Drag Race. 2020-10-17. Vogue. en-us. April 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220424104004/https://www.vogue.com/article/ilona-verley-canadas-drag-race-indigenous-queen. live.
  5. Web site: 2020-07-18. Canada's Drag Race: Things You Didn't Know About The Queens. 2020-10-17. ScreenRant. en-US. April 13, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220413034330/https://screenrant.com/canadas-drag-race-things-you-didnt-know-about-queens/. live.
  6. Patrick Crowley, "Canadian Crooner Mathew V Debuts Drag-tastic 'Broken' Music Video: Watch" . Billboard, February 9, 2018.
  7. Web site: 2020-09-11. Canada's Drag Race: Indigenous drag queen Ilona Verley from Vancouver makes a splash in Vogue. 2020-10-17. The Georgia Straight. en. April 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220424104009/https://www.straight.com/living/canadas-drag-race-indigenous-drag-queen-ilona-verley-from-vancouver-makes-a-splash-in-vogue. live.
  8. Web site: 2020-08-14. Canada's Drag Race: Vancouver queen Ilona Verley on Indigenous representation and that ass critique. 2020-10-17. The Georgia Straight. en. April 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220424115043/https://www.straight.com/living/canadas-drag-race-vancouver-queen-ilona-verley-on-indigenous-representation-and-that-ass. live.
  9. Web site: Rudolph. Christopher. Why Ilona Verley Almost Quit "Canada's Drag Race". 2020-10-17. LOGO News. May 19, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210519224231/http://www.newnownext.com/ilona-verley-canadas-drag-race/08/2020/. live.
  10. Web site: 2020-08-18. Canada's Drag Race star Ilona Verley on being the first Indigenous two-spirit queen to bring it to the runway. 2020-10-17. PinkNews. en-GB. April 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220424115043/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/08/18/canadas-drag-race-star-ilona-verley-indigenous-two-spirit-eliminated/. live.
  11. Web site: 2020-09-03. Ilona Verley Is 1st 'Canada's Drag Race' Queen To Get The Vogue Treatment. 2020-10-17. HuffPost Canada. en. May 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210517000416/https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/canada-drag-race-ilona-verley-vogue_ca_5f5134a0c5b6578026cb1e81. live.
  12. Web site: 2020-10-15. A 'Canada's Drag Race' Queen Is Calling Out An Offensive Nyx Makeup Tutorial. 2020-10-17. HuffPost Canada. en. June 19, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210619024418/https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/nyx-dream-catcher-makeup-video_ca_5f885ae1c5b6f53fff093016. live.
  13. http://muskratmagazine.com/tantoo-cardinal-ilona-verley-lorne-cardinal-at-imaginenative-2020/ "Tantoo Cardinal, Ilona Verley, Lorne Cardinal at imagineNATIVE 2020"
  14. Web site: Masters. Jeffrey. 2020-11-24. Ilona Verley: 'Drag Race's' Two-Spirit Queen Says 'F*ck Gender'. 2020-11-25. Advocate. en. April 24, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220424115043/https://www.advocate.com/television/2020/11/24/ilona-verley-drag-races-two-spirit-queen-says-fck-gender. live.

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