Kimmy Couture Explained

Kimmy Couture
Birth Date:30 September 1996[1]
Birth Place:Southern Leyte, Philippines
Other Names:Kimmy Dymond
Occupation:Drag queen

Kimmy Couture (born September 30, 1996) is a Filipino-Canadian drag queen known for being the first transgender contestant on Canada's Drag Race when she competed on season 3 of the series.[2]

Career

Kimmy Couture was first introduced to drag by friends in 2011 who got her a gig, following which club managers "loved all her performances" and continued to book her.[3] During this time, she also performed under the name Kimmy Dymond. In 2018, she was crowned Ms Capital Pride, becoming the first transgender woman to win the title.[4] [5] She also appeared on CTV News in 2019,[6] as well as being part of the first Winter Pride in February 2019 as part of Winterlude.[7] [8]

In 2021, Kimmy Couture was prominently featured in the documentary (613) Queens by Rowan O'Brien, along with drag daughter Jasmine Dymond, which showcased the local Ottawa drag scene.[9] [10]

In 2022, Kimmmy Couture was announced as one of the twelve queens competing on the third season of Canada's Drag Race. In episode 2, she won the maxi challenge for her performance in the Who-Knows Awards, a parody of the Juno Awards.[11] She impersonated American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande for the Snatch Game challenge, a performance which landed her in the bottom. She won the lip sync against Lady Boom Boom to "Run Away with Me" by Carly Rae Jepsen.[12] Kimmy Couture ranked in the bottom again in episode 8, beating Vivian Vanderpuss in a lip sync to Rêve's "CTRL + ALT + DEL".[13] Kimmy Couture made it to the finale but was eliminated by the judges before the final lip sync, placing in joint 3rd with Miss Fiercalicious.[14]

Kimmy Couture was chosen as the headliner for the 2022 Capital Pride, and appeared in Winter Pride 2023 co-headlining the drag show with Jada Shada Hudson, Miss Fiercalicious, and local Ottawa drag performers.[15] Kimmy Couture also attended the 2023 edition of RuPaul's DragCon UK.

In June 2023, she received a Plaque of Awards from the Southern Leyte Pride Federation and the Province of Southern Leyte as part of the province's 63rd anniversary. The award was in recognition of "Outstanding Contributions and Achievements in the Field of Arts and Entertainment" and for "exemplary leadership, dedication, and excellence in advocating and empowering the LGBT community".[16]

Personal life

Kim Couture was born in Southern Leyte, Philippines, and immigrated to Canada around 2011. She is a transgender woman and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns in and out of drag. She currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Her "drag mother" is Icesis Couture, winner of season 2 of Canada's Drag Race.[17]

Following her time on Drag Race, Kimmy Couture discussed how masculinity-centered challenges during the season triggered feelings of gender dysphoria.[18] She also discussed how members of marginalized communities, such as being trans and a person of colour, can come with the expectation to educate people outside of those communities on issues, stating that it felt like her life was just about "answering the same questions" over and over again.

Filmography

Film

!Year!Title!Role!Notes
2021(613) QueensHerselfDocumentary short

Television

!Year!Title!Role!Notes
2019CTV NewsHerself
2022Canada's Drag RaceContestant; 3rd place
CTV Your Morning

Web series

!Year!Title!Role!Publisher!Ref.
2019The Ottawa Drag Scene: Kimmy DymondHerselfAshley Stefureak[19]
2022Meet the Queen's of Canada's Drag Race Season 3Crave
iHeartRadioiHeartRadio
Canada's Drag Race Season 3: After the SashayXtra Magazine

Podcasts

!Year!Title!Role!Notes!Ref.
2022The Chop BloqueHerselfGuest; 2 episodes

Discography

Singles

Notes and References

  1. itskimmycouture . CUfe6MFLxB8 . Roses and Red Violets are Blue I'm that Bitch and Will always be that Bitch Not like YOU . October 1, 2021.
  2. Nolfi . Joey . 15 June 2022 . Canada's Drag Race season 3 cast sash-ehs this way: Meet the queens! . Entertainment Weekly . 29 May 2023 . 16 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220616132936/https://ew.com/tv/canadas-drag-race-season-3-cast-meet-the-queens/ . live .
  3. News: Stanley . Rachel . 30 August 2018 . Capital Pride Pageant dazzles, makes history . The Charlatan . live . 29 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231204084207/https://charlatan.ca/capital-pride-pageant-dazzles-makes-history/ . 4 Dec 2023.
  4. News: 13 September 2022 . One Day in Ottawa: Canada's Drag Race queen Kimmy Couture . Eat North . 29 May 2023 . 5 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230205224938/https://eatnorth.com/eat-north/one-day-ottawa-canadas-drag-race-queen-kimmy-couture . live .
  5. News: Hemens . Aaron . 28 August 2018 . Ottawa's biggest and most colourful Capital Pride Parade to date . Ottawa Life Magazine . 5 June 2023.
  6. Web site: 13 December 2019 . Me Being A Big Mood on Live TV News . 29 May 2023 . Instagram.
  7. News: 10 February 2019 . 1st winter Pride march takes centre stage at Winterlude . CBC News . 5 June 2023.
  8. News: 6 February 2019 . Capital Pride Launches First-Ever WinterPride . Capital Pride – Media Releases . 5 June 2023.
  9. Web site: Film Screening: Long Time Comin' . Rainbow Reels.
  10. Web site: O'Brien . Rowan . 2021 . (613) Queens . 5 June 2023 . Rowan O'Brien.
  11. News: O'Keeffe . Kevin . 22 July 2022 . 'Canada's Drag Race' Season 3, Episode 2 recap: And the award goes to … . Xtra Magazine . 29 May 2023 . 22 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220722180053/https://xtramagazine.com/culture/canadas-drag-race-season-3-episode-2-recap-227278 . live .
  12. News: O'Keeffe . Kevin . 12 August 2022 . 'Canada's Drag Race' Season 3, Episode 5 recap: Snatched again . Xtra Magazine . 29 May 2023 . 12 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220812200219/https://xtramagazine.com/culture/canadas-drag-race-season-3-episode-5-recap-228414 . live .
  13. News: O'Keeffe . Kevin . 3 September 2022 . 'Canada's Drag Race' Season 3, Episode 8 recap: Ball is life . Xtra Magazine . 29 May 2023 . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903180223/https://xtramagazine.com/culture/canadas-drag-race-season-3-episode-8-235290 . live .
  14. News: O'Keeffe . Kevin . 9 September 2022 . 'Canada's Drag Race' Season 3 finale recap: Our new Queen of the North is … . Xtra Magazine . 29 May 2023 . 9 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220909193052/https://xtramagazine.com/culture/canadas-drag-race-season-3-finale-recap-235603 . live .
  15. Web site: Winter Pride Drag Show with The Hot Glue Gun Girls . 29 May 2023 . Capital Pride . 3 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203040611/https://capitalpride.ca/events/winter-pride-drag-show-with-the-hot-glue-gun-girls/ . live .
  16. Couture, Kimmy. (1 July 2023). "My province back home gave me an award." Instagram story. Screenshot uploaded to img.bb on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  17. Nolfi . Joey . 9 December 2022 . Queen quits Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World in emotional shocker: 'I just can't keep up' . Entertainment Weekly . 29 May 2023 . 22 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230222192542/https://ew.com/tv/canadas-drag-race-canada-vs-the-world-queen-quits-competition/ . live .
  18. News: Martin . Russ . Taher . Sarah . 'Canada's Drag Race' Season 3: 'After the Sashay' with Kimmy Couture . 29 May 2023 . Xtra Magazine . 9 September 2022 . 9 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220909223019/https://xtramagazine.com/video/canadas-drag-race-season-3-after-the-sashay-with-kimmy-couture-235515 . live .
  19. Web site: Stefureak . Ashley . 25 March 2019 . The Ottawa Drag Scene: Kimmy Dymond . YouTube.
  20. Web site: 26 August 2022 . Squirrels Trip: The Rusical – Single . 19 May 2023 . Apple Music . 19 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230519165224/https://music.apple.com/us/album/squirrels-trip-the-rusical-single/1641750795 . live .
  21. Web site: 9 September 2022 . True North Strong and Fierce – Single . 19 May 2023 . Apple Music . 19 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230519165222/https://music.apple.com/us/album/true-north-strong-and-fierce-single/1644158880 . live .