Roy Haylock (born June 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Bianca Del Rio, is an American actor, drag queen, insult comedian, and costume designer. He is a fixture in the New Orleans and New York City club scenes, often working with Lady Bunny, and is best known for winning the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Video Bianca Del Rio
Early life
Haylock grew up in Gretna, Louisiana. He is of Cuban and Honduran descent and is the fourth of five children. He started acting and designing costumes for plays at West Jefferson High School. After high school, hurricane Katrina's damages kept Haylock from returning to his house, so he decided to move to New York City and worked at Bloomingdale's for nine months, but later returned to Louisiana.
Maps Bianca Del Rio
Career
Haylock has primarily worked as a costume designer. In 1993, he won a Big Easy Entertainment Award for Best Costume Design for Snow Queen at the age of 17. He has been nominated for 13 Big Easy Entertainment Awards for costume design, winning six. Haylock has also made costumes for New Orleans Opera.
In New Orleans, Haylock started performing as a drag artist in 1996 in the play Pageant. The local drag queen Lisa Beaumann saw him in the play and later cast him in shows at the nightclub Oz. Haylock won the New Orleans Gay Entertainer of the Year for three years as drag queen Bianca Del Rio.
In 2001, Bianca Del Rio was selected as co-grand marshal, with Pat "Estelle" Ritter and Rick Thomas for Southern Decadence XXIX.
2005 - present: Move to New York
Haylock moved to New York City after Hurricane Katrina. In addition to performing in drag, Haylock builds costumes for Broadway shows, ballet and opera having worked for Barbara Matera, Ltd. Del Rio performs weekly in various NYC nightclubs including in cabaret with Lady Bunny at XL Nightclub. Notable events include a roast of Patricia Krentcil, better known as "Tan Mom."
Haylock starred in the first regional production of Rent (following its initial Broadway closing) at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans, playing the role of 'Angel' opposite Christopher Bentivegna as Collins.
Del Rio was featured in the web series Queens of Drag: NYC by gay.com in 2010. The series featured fellow New York drag queens Dallas DuBois, Hedda Lettuce, Lady Bunny, Mimi Imfurst, Peppermint, and Sherry Vine. In 2011, Del Rio appeared on One Night Stand Up: Dragtastic! NYC by Logo TV. The episode was filmed live at the Bowery Ballroom and was hosted by Pandora Boxx.
He appeared on the cover of Next for their Summer Yearbook 2012 issue. Del Rio appeared on the variety show She's Living for This, hosted by Sherry Vine, in 2012.
In 2013, Del Rio was announced starring in the film Hurricane Bianca. An Indiegogo campaign was made for the film and was sponsored by Fractured Atlas, a non-profit art services organization in New York City.
RuPaul's Drag Race
In December 2013, Logo announced that Bianca Del Rio was among 14 drag queens who would be competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She quickly became a front-runner among the contestants and a fan favorite, eventually reaching the top three.
On May 19, 2014, Del Rio was crowned the winner of the sixth season over runners-up Adore Delano and Courtney Act. She was the second winner and fourth contestant to reach the finale without having to lip sync for her life, and is the first contestant in the history of the series to make it through the entire competition without ever placing low or in the bottom of a challenge. Del Rio is also the first Hispanic winner of RuPaul's Drag Race, with the second being her successor, Violet Chachki.
Filmography
Film
Television
Web series
Theatre
Comedy tours
- The Rolodex of Hate Tour (2014)
- Not Today Satan Tour (2016-2017)
- Blame It On Bianca Del Rio Tour (2018)
References
External links
- Official website
- Roy Haylock on IMDb
- Interview with Bianca Del Rio -- RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 on YouTube
- Trailer for 'Hurricane Bianca'
Source of the article : Wikipedia