Kandy Ho Explained

Kandy Ho
Birth Name:Frank Diaz Jr.[1]
Birth Date:24 September 1987
Birth Place:Connecticut, U.S.

Frank Diaz Jr. (born September 24, 1987), better known by the stage name Kandy Ho, is a Puerto Rican drag queen and television personality.[2]

Early life

Diaz was born and raised in Connecticut, United States, and moved to Puerto Rico when she was 10 years old.[3] [4] She was raised as a Pentecostal and Baptist.[3]

Before competing on RuPaul's Drag Race, she worked in sales for 8 years. She first performed in drag as a fill-in for a talent show, where she impersonated Madonna, but was hesitant to return to drag until she was asked by friends to fill in as Kimberly Wyatt in a Pussycat Dolls impersonation act for Pride. She was convinced to fill in by her then-boyfriend, and decided to continue pursuing drag afterwards. Her drag name is composed of "Kandy", because she describes herself as sweet and was suggested to her by a friend, as well as "Ho", because she needed something "raunchy" to "spice up" the name and was suggested the name by her then-boyfriend.[5]

Career

Originally from Cayey, Puerto Rico, she rose to prominence on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2015,[6] [7] [8] and later competed on the second season Chilean version of Drag Race, The Switch Drag Race, in 2018, where she represented Puerto Rico.[9] She was accepted onto Drag Race after only auditioning once.[10] During her run on season 7 she was notably critiqued by Michelle Visage for her makeup contouring looking like she had painted on a beard, with Visage's reaction of wagging her finger and saying "no" being turned into a popular GIF.[11]

In 2019 she was ranked by Vulture as one of the most powerful drag queens in America.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: KANDY HO' - Trademark Details . trademarks.justia.com . Justia . July 15, 2023 . July 15, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230715054445/https://trademarks.justia.com/879/11/kandy-87911980.html . live .
  2. Web site: Altomonte . Alex . 2015-04-28 . Exclusive Interview: Kandy Ho' Right On Her Alley! . 2023-06-20 . Queerty.
  3. Web site: Kandy Ho – Hey, Hey, Ho'! . Riviera . Samara . adelantemagazine.com . 14 May 2015 . Adelante Magazine . October 19, 2023 . 9 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200809232043/https://adelantemagazine.com/kandy-ho-hey-hey-ho/ . live .
  4. News: Boulet . Ruth . 1 June 2015 . RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 Finale recap . Channel Guide Magazine . 29 May 2023.
  5. Web site: Exclusive Interview: Kandy Ho' Right On Her Alley! . Altomonte . Alex . queerty.com . 28 April 2015 . Queerty, Inc. . October 19, 2023 . 18 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240118201139/https://www.queerty.com/kandy-ho-interview-rupauls-drag-race-season-7-20150428 . live .
  6. News: Portwood . Jerry . 8 December 2014 . Meet the Queens of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 . Out . 29 May 2023 . 18 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240118201152/https://www.out.com/entertainment/television/2014/12/08/meet-queens-rupauls-drag-race-season-7 . live .
  7. Web site: Guerra . Joey . 2015-04-09 . Kandy Ho talks 'RuPaul's Drag Race' elimination . 2023-06-20 . . en-US.
  8. Web site: Cook . Michael . 2015-05-19 . Kandy Ho says "Being a bigger and better Drag Queen is really what it's about" . 2023-06-20 . Out In Jersey . en-US . 2024-01-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240118201141/https://outinjersey.net/rupaul-s-drag-race-season-kandy-ho/ . live .
  9. News: Chávez . Daniela . 16 September 2016 . Estas son las 13 participantes que darán vida a "The Switch 2" . Fotech . 29 May 2023 . 18 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240118201137/https://www.fotech.cl/estas-son-las-13-participantes-que-daran-vida-a-the-switch-2/2016/09/14/ . live .
  10. Web site: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 – Hotspots Interviews Kandy Ho . Holland . Scott . hotspotsmagazine.com . 9 April 2015 . Hotspots Media Group . October 19, 2023 . 6 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230406133438/https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2015/04/09/rupauls-drag-race-season-7-hotspots-interviews-kandy-ho/?amp=1 . live .
  11. News: Carpentier . Megan . Rushe . Dominic . 2015-03-03 . RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode one – the devil wears nada . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-05-29 . 0261-3077 . 2015-05-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150530224724/http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/03/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-seven-episode-one-the-devil-wears-nada . live .
  12. Web site: 2019-06-10 . The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America, Ranked . 2023-05-29 . Vulture . en-us . 2019-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190610184458/https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/most-powerful-drag-queens-in-america-ranked.html . live .