Jump to content

Nina West

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2600:6c5d:5880:38:493d:61a8:1ff0:e605 (talk) at 13:16, 26 May 2019 (→‎Discography). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Nina West
Nina West performing in 2009
Born
Andrew Levitt

Greentown, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materDenison University
OccupationDrag queen
Websiteninawest.com

Nina West is the stage name of Andrew Levitt,[1] an American drag queen, actor, and singer based in Columbus, Ohio.[2] She rose to national prominence with her appearance on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed sixth.

Education

Levitt was raised in Greentown, Ohio. He graduated from Denison University[1] with a degree in theatre.[3] He planned to pursue acting, until the September 11 attacks.[4]

Career

Nina West performing in her annual Halloween show, Axis Nightclub, 2018

West began dabbling in drag in 2001.[1] Her drag mother is Virginia West.[5] She hosts the annual "Heels of Horror" show at Axis Nightclub,[6] and has also hosted the competition "So You Think You Can Drag?"[7] In 2008, she won the Entertainer of the Year award;[8] her ensemble later inspired the singer Sia's outfit at the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[9] West was included in Columbus Business First's "40 Under 40" list in 2018.[10][11]

West competed in the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[12] She won the third episode for her performance in the 'Diva Worship' challenge, and impersonated Sarah Sanders on the fourth episode, "Trump: The Rusical".[13] In the "Snatch Game" challenge, she became the first queen in the show's history to impersonate someone from the actual original Match Game, with her impersonation of Jo Anne Worley.[14] She then won the "Dragracadabra" challenge in episode ten.[15][16] She was eliminated in the following episode, losing a lip sync to Silky Nutmeg Ganache.[17][18][19]

Levitt worked as a social media strategist for Axis Nightclub as of 2018 and has done social media and marketing for Union Cafe since 2013.[1][20]

Music

After her elimination, West announced she will release a children's music album, Drag Is Magic, and a comedy EP, John Goodman, by May 17, 2019.[21] She released a music video for her first single "Hucks" on May 10.[22] A music video for her second single, "Drag Is Magic" was released on May 21.[23][24]

Personal life and philanthropy

Levitt lives in Columbus, Ohio.[1] He is gay and an advocate and fundraiser for the LGBTQIA community. His focuses have included HIV/AIDS testing and safe sex, marriage equality, and trans rights. The Nina West Fund, established at the Columbus Foundation c. 2015,[25] is thought to be the only "drag-queen-supported fund of its kind" in the U.S.[1] The fund has raised more than $2 million,[25][26] supporting charities such as the ACLU of Ohio (fundamental rights), Dress for Success Columbus (career development for women), Equitas Health (focused on HIV/AIDS treatment),[27] and Kaleidoscope Youth Center (the largest LGBTQIA youth center in Ohio).[28]

In 2017, he received the Create Columbus Commission Visionary Award from the Columbus City Council and an equality award from the Human Rights Campaign Columbus chapter.[29]

Discography

EPS

Year Title
2019 Drag Is Magic
John Goodman

Singles

Year Title
2019 "Hucks"
"Drag Is Magic"

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Contestant (6th place)
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked Herself

Music videos

Year Title Artist Role Ref.
2019 "Hucks" Herself Sarah Sanders, Donald Trump
"Drag Is Magic" [30]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wagner, Mike (January 28, 2018). "Gay-rights advocate Nina West has long used drag-queen act to raise money for charities". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Seman, Gary Jr. "Everyday heroes: Drag queen gives to LGBT charities so others don't have to feel alone". The Columbus Dispatch. Ohio. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2018-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Generosity Embraces Belonging: The Nina West Fund". Columbus Foundation. 2018.
  4. ^ Clark, Joe (2017-06-15). "The positive impact of becoming Nina West". WCMH. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2018-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "How Nina West Channeled Her Republican Childhood into Queer Activism". www.out.com. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  6. ^ Soroka, Breanna. "Review: Heels of Horror combines pop culture, Halloween". The Lantern. Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2018-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Photos: Weekends events for Columbus and central Ohio, September 21–23". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2018-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Thurston, Susan (17 July 2009). "Will This Lady Be a Champ?". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 4 May 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Avery 4/22/2016, Dan. "How A Drag Queen Inspired Sia's Unbelievable Coachella Costume Reveal | NewNowNext". Newnownext.com. Retrieved 2018-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "CBF Morning Run: Reliving a splendid night at the casino, getting to know 40 Under 40, saying LoveSac and regretting it, mixing beer and ice cream, not climbing Everest and chewing on a midnight stout (Video)". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  11. ^ "What to expect at HighBall this weekend, and Nina West on why you should go (photos)". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Miss Vanjie rejoins RuPaul's Drag Race: See the full season 11 cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-25. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "RPDR S11E4: Nina West Shares Her Story Of Growing Up As A Republican While Growing Up As Gay". Z6mag. 2019-03-23. Archived from the original on 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2019-03-25. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Nina West Made Snatch Game Herstory on 'Drag Race'–and Here's How". Decider. 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  15. ^ www.vulture.com https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-11-episode-10-dragracadabra.html. Retrieved 2019-05-07. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Power Ranking Season 11: Episode 10". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  17. ^ Blanton, Kayla. "The 'Drag Race' Judges Did Nina West & Miss Vanjie Dirty This Week". Bustle. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  18. ^ Swift, Andy; Swift, Andy (2019-05-10). "RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Which Queen Won't Be Twinning Season 11?". TVLine. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  19. ^ staff. "Nina West eliminated from 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  20. ^ Mantey, Jackie (2013-07-31). "People to Watch: Activist/Ambassador/Entertainer: Andrew Levitt". Columbus Alive. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  21. ^ West, Nina (2019-05-10). "WHAT? Two EP's? Pre-order now! JOHN GOODMAN http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1462770495?ls=1&app=itunes … DRAG IS MAGIC http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1462773617?ls=1&app=itunes …pic.twitter.com/LfZifn3XxJ". @NinaWest. Retrieved 2019-05-10. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 32 (help)
  22. ^ Nina West (2019-05-10), Nina West - HUCKS (Official Music Video), retrieved 2019-05-12
  23. ^ "Nina West's 'Drag Is Magic' Is Perfect, Family-Friendly Fun". www.pride.com. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  24. ^ "Nina West Spreads Her Own Kind Of Glitter With Her New Single & Video "Drag Is Magic" • Instinct Magazine". Instinct Magazine. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  25. ^ a b "The Philanthropy of Nina West". ColumbusUnderground.com. 2017-10-10. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2018-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ "Is this the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 11?". Gay Times. 2018-10-24. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2018-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Columbus Foundation". ColumbusFoundation.org. 2018.
  28. ^ "ABOUT - Kaleidoscope Youth Center". Kaleidoscope Youth Center of Ohio. 2019.
  29. ^ Clark, Joe (2017-06-15). "The positive impact of becoming Nina West". WCMH. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2018-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ Nina West (2019-05-21), Nina West - Drag Is Magic (Official Music Video), retrieved 2019-05-26
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nina West.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nina_West&oldid=898871948"