Fast and Furious with Ongina from RuPaul's Drag Race

And yet you celebrate life so effortlessly -- what advice do you have for young queens trying to make it, especially the ones whose faces aren't as pretty as yours?
[Blushing] You just have to really own up to your look and exude confidence -- not having it brings the energy down and it shows. To have the balls to come out of [the drag] closet you need to own up to that persona and give it your all, because if you're boring on stage or not relatable, nobody's gonna watch it.

That's a lot of closets you've burnt down...but how do the other queens not scratch your face off? You're such a sweetheart onscreen...
I don't mean to put up a front. If someone isn't going to like me, that's it! I'm not going to try to make everyone like me -- I own up to who I am and I'm proud of it.

Who inspires you?
Not just being a member of the drag community, I'm more of a pop diva; I'm really obsessed with Miss Beyonce right now. I like that she takes risks, I love her performances. If you check YouTube you'll see I do a lot of her performances (see above).

Okay, but who is your drag mother? Sasha Fierce didn't teach you about lipgloss.
My drag mother at Lucky Chengs: her name is Gretche - she's a fierce Filipina who we all called Momma! She got me a job working there -- I went to dinner one night in drag and she told me that I should really be a part of them. I resisted at first, but then got hired. She introduced me to the owner and she later helped me elevate my persona: lending me wigs and showed me how to do better makeup.

Any final words of advice for your devoted fans?
I've learned that I can live as long as I want as long as I eat right, take my meds, and do everything right! I moved to the US when I was 12 -- back then I never thought I'd be on TV and now I'm a spokesmodel for something so amazing where people look up to me.

RuPaul's Drag Race airs on Mondays on LOGO at 10 pm ET/PT.

-- JOSEPH ALEXIOU

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