Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, sometimes known as Vanessa Vanjie, Miss Vanjie, or simply Vanjie, is the stage name of José Luis Cancel,[1] an American drag performer known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and placing fifth on the eleventh season of the show. In addition to competing on Drag Race, she has also appeared in many of its spin-offs, including RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race, RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue, Canada's Drag Race, and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, the latter of which she appeared as a contestant for its ninth season, where she placed runner-up along with season five and All Stars 2 contestant Roxxxy Andrews.
Vanessa Vanjie | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vanessa Vanjie at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018 | |
| Born | José Luis Cancel October 3, 1991 |
| Occupation | Drag queen |
| Known for | Competing on RuPaul's Drag Race |
| Website | vanessavanjie |
Early life
Vanjie Mateo was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Kissimmee, Florida[2]2 and Texas, and is of Puerto Rican descent. She started doing drag when Drag Race season three and All Stars alumna Alexis Mateo hired her as a backup dancer.[3][4]
Career
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was announced as one of the fourteen contestants competing for the crown on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered on March 22, 2018.[5] She was eliminated in the first episode, after lip syncing to Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" against competitor Kalorie Karbdashian Williams, while Aguilera was the guest judge.[6] As she walked backwards off the stage, her parting words were "Miss Vanjie... Miss Vanjie... Miss... Vanjie", which later became an internet meme. "Miss Vanjie" was tweeted by many, including several by RuPaul, as well as Michelle Visage and Kathy Griffin. The meme was also edited into clips of various movies, TV shows, and even on dating apps, with clips appearing in The Simpsons, Pokémon, Grindr, and The Shining.[7]
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The "Miss Vanjie" catchphrase was said by Rylan Clark-Neal while commenting on the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 first semi-final broadcast during the presentation of Eleni Foureira from Cyprus; he also said it in reference to Montenegro singer Vanja Radovanović, whose name resembles Miss Vanjie's.[8] RuPaul wore a "Vanjie" necklace during the Time 100 Gala red carpet.[9] The catchphrase was also referenced in multiple further episodes of Drag Race season ten. A Snapchat filter of Vanessa's runway look was made available the day after the season ten reunion.[10]
On January 24, 2019, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was announced as one of the fifteen competitors of season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race.[11] She was in the bottom two for episodes nine and ten, and won both lip syncs against Plastique Tiara and Shuga Cain.[12][13][14][15] She was eliminated by Brooke Lynn Hytes in the penultimate week in episode twelve, and placed fifth.[16][17][18] In Episode 5 of All Stars 5, she made a guest appearance as a "Lip Sync Assassin", where she lip-synced against Shea Couleé, but lost.
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was featured on the September 2018 issue cover of Gay Times.[19] She appeared with Nina Bo'nina Brown for two episodes of the WOWPresents internet series "Fashion Photo RuView" on November 3 and 17, 2018, filling in for Raja and Raven.[20][21] She appeared with Silky Nutmeg Ganache and Derrick Barry for an episode of the fourteenth season of Germany's Next Topmodel in 2019.[22] On May 12, 2019, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was sponsored by Chips Ahoy! for a social media post for Mother's Day, which got homophobic backlash.[23]
On April 23, 2024, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was announced as one of the eight contestants competing on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[24]
She is one of the most followed queens from Drag Race, and has accumulated over 1.5 million Instagram followers as of October 2021.[25]
Music
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo released her first single, "I'm Vanjie", on June 21, 2018.[26] She appeared in the music video for Iggy Azalea's "Sally Walker" on March 14, 2019.[27] She performed as a backup dancer to the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in April 2019.[28][29] Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was also in the video for Azalea's "Started" with Trixie Mattel.[30][31][32]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself | Contestant (14th place) |
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | |||
| 2019 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Contestant (5th place) | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | |||
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Backup dancer | ||
| Germany's Next Topmodel | Guest | ||
| 2020 | AJ and the Queen[33] | Guest appearance | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | Guest | ||
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | |||
| RuPaul's Celebrity Drag Race[34] | Mentor | ||
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Lip Sync Assassin | ||
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked | |||
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue[35] | |||
| 2022 | All Star Shore | Contestant (Finalist) | |
| Canada's Drag Race (season 3)[36] | Guest judge | ||
| The Book of Queer | Episode: "Queens' Work Makes the Team Work" | ||
| 2023 | Drag Me to Dinner | Hulu original[37] | |
| 2024 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Contestant Runner-Up | |
| 2024 | Everybody Still Hates Chris | Drag Queen (voice) | Episode: "Everybody Still Hates Bullies" |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Iggy Azalea – "Sally Walker" | Funeral attendee |
| Iggy Azalea – "Started" | Real Estate Agent | |
| 2020 | Yvie Oddly - "Hype" | Herself |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018, 2019 | Queen to Queen | Herself | With Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams, later with Silky Nutmeg Ganache and A'keria C. Davenport | [38] |
| Countdown to the Crown | Season 10 and Season 11 | [39] | ||
| Whatcha Packin' | Guest | [40] | ||
| 2018 | Cosmo Queens | Cosmopolitan Series | [41] | |
| 2019–2022 | The Pit Stop | Guest, 2 episodes | [42] | |
| 2019 | Reading Queens | Episode: "Miss Vanjie" | [43] | |
| Follow Me | [44] | |||
| 2019, 2020 | Be$tie$ for Ca$h | With Silky Nutmeg Ganache, later with Alexis Mateo | [45] | |
| 2020 | Silky's Snack Shack | Guest | [46] | |
| Werq the World | [47] | |||
| 2021 | Out of the Closet | [48] | ||
| 2022 | Vanjie: 24 Hours of Love | Host | [49] | |
| 2023 | LGBTQ Herstory Month: Honoring Latinx Heroes | Web special | [50] |
Discography
Singles
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2018 | "I'm Vanjie" |
| 2019 | "Queens Everywhere" with A'keria Davenport, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Rupaul, Yvie Oddly |
| 2020 | "Hype" with Yvie Oddly[51] |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | People's Choice Award | The Competition Contestant of 2019 | Herself | Nominated | [52] |
| 2023 | Queerties Awards | Future All-Star | Herself | Nominated | [53] |
References
External links
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