TheDrag Racechamp says shes always aspired to be washed-up.
InChicago, shes definitely the star.
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Fame is a fickle thing.
She is appropriately bewitching in the role.
Not in 26 years.
At the time, Ru told her she would make a great Blanche DuBois.
But I also wouldve just taken anything, she tells me.
Maybe,maybewhen I was 16.
You might say shesChicago-ingChicago.
Is it weird that I have always aspired to be washed-up?
Monsoon asks when I meet up with her one day after rehearsals.
Theyre happy tears, she says.
We stop by a corner bodega for a Red Bull and ginger shots.
Little potions, she calls them, before admitting that, yes, she identifies as a witch.
My anxious brain can stop worrying about it because the spells are going to take care of it.
She even brought a wand to our photo shoot.
This is my way of making peace with a dark childhood, she said on the show.
Luckily, there were people around her who got who she was and nurtured her in it.
Everyone in my life knew I wanted to perform.
It was coming for me, she says.
I wanted to play the female roles, so I had to start doing drag.
In high school, she fought her theater teachers for the opportunity to do so.
A man in a dress!comedy instead of seeing her truly inhabit the role.
Basically, very playfully, it became my life mission to prove him wrong, Monsoon says.
(Hedwig was a bit washed-up too, come to think of it.)
Her drag self came up in the Seattle nightclub scene.
We both were like scraping for dollars, working constantly to keep the lights on, says BenDeLaCreme.
It was at like four oclock in the afternoon, no charge, ten folding chairs and a keyboard.
She and her musical partner came out of the bathroom.
Is this something we want to participate in?
I decided that it wasnt for me, and Jinkx decided she was going to go for it.
(BenDeLaCreme changed her mind about the show after Monsoons win and competed on season six.)
On her audition tape, Monsoon introduced herself as Seattles hardest-working single mother.
Also, she often took naps in theDrag Raceworkroom, blaming her narcolepsy.
As her competitor Detox told the cameras, I dont know about that Jinkx yet.
Shes a little kooky.
(Bette Davis mightve been more on point).
This is someone whos been on the planet for a long time even though shes quite young.
Shes an old woman inside.
My friends come to nurse their heart after breakups, when theyre down on their luck, she says.
Its a witchy little house.
People like to party there.
Its already got a reputation.
Lets face it, being successful begets better drag, she said on the show.
WhatDrag Racedoes is that it breaks you down to absolutely nothing.
Everything you thought about yourself and how you do drag and your art form is demolished, says Kressley.
Many queens do not get that far.
As Monsoon says, That was me being the most myself Ive ever been on television.
(As Ru likes to note, she chooses the winners.)
Thats not to say shes not an excellent drag queen or passionate about her work.
But shed like to be, first and foremost, an actor.
Its Jinkx Monsoon, the actor, playing theroleof Mama Morton.
As she told me in the park, I kind of just see drag as my gender identity.
My drag self is just another form of me.
And the rest of us remain spellbound.
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