BeBe Zahara Benet

BeBe Zahara Benet is the drag queen name of Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa, a performer, former male model, Season 1 winner of RuPaul's Drag Race and one of the contestants of All Stars 3, where she placed 3rd/4th.

Drag Origin

Growing up as a child, BeBe said she was always curious about fashion and makeup, even sneaking into her parent's room after they left the house and playing around with her mother's shoes and makeup products.

BeBe worked as a model in Paris, France, and in the US. In her modelling career, she once walked the runway as a woman after one of the models failed to show up at a Paris fashion show. At this time, she didn't know that what she was doing was considered drag.

In 2009, Zahara got another big break. She was approached by casting directors for the inaugural season of RuPaul's Drag Race three times. Declining twice, she was eventually persuaded to join the show after RuPaul herself approached her and told her that her voice, point of view and aesthetic was needed in the show. After competing in the show, she was crowned as the first "America's Next Drag Superstar", beating her fellow competitors.

Prior to 2018, Benet was invited back to appear on All Stars 3. Sceptical of joining the show once more, she eventually accepted the invitation and was introduced to a now massive audience of the show she helped launch. BeBe made it to the final episode and placed 3rd/4th overall with her competitor Shangela.

Since 2006, Zahara has been the subject of a feature-length documentary titled "Being BeBe". The documentary will follow her journey: from early days in Minneapolis to winning Season 1, to her inner struggles and all the way to competing on All Stars 3. The documentary is expected to be released in 2019. Filmmaker Emily Branham met Bebe when she was just starting at the Gay 90s club.

BeBe continues to tour the world and produce her own shows and performances, influenced by her African culture, currently residing in Minneapolis.

Drag Name Origin

The name "BeBe" randomly popped up in her mind while driving and she has stuck with it since, saying it represents her American side. "Benet" represents her French side. "Zahara" came after she went to Las Vegas and was in awe of the beautiful scenery, which reminded her of Cleopatra and the Sahara desert. She also wanted a name that connected her to her African roots and flowed well with "BeBe Benet".

RuPaul's Drag Race

Memorable Quotes

• "I bring a lot of international influence, and right now I really feel like I'm ahead of the game."
• "I want to win this because there is pride and dignity in what we do. Dressing up for a living does not make us less of a man."
• "Face, face, face, I give face, beauty face!" (BeBe's verse in "Cover Girl")
• "Mother, another day; another slay. Who's first?" (to RuPaul)
• "I'm not going to read Morgan McMichaels, life already has" (BeBe's reading Morgan)
• "I'm the only African here, but why does it look like you can sponsor Kennedy Davenport for 30 cents a day?"(BeBe's reading Kennedy)
• "Hahaha, bitch you got jokes!"
• "Paramedics! Paramedics, make sure she's okay because I was not ready!" (reacting to Aja's dip in the Variety Show)
• "Miss Thorgy drew the... a very like, you know, a picture of what the...*laughs*...she drew a picture!"
• "That's the gag of the season."
• "So RuPaul, when are we going to FUCK?" (as Grace Jones on All Stars 3's Snatch Game)
• "Oooh, the drama in the pageant!"
• "Bitch, I'm a performah!"
• "Rrrrra-ka-ta-ti-ti-ta-ta, yeah, I'm pussy, bitch! Ooh la la la la la la, c'est bon, c'est bon! Do-go-choco-la-ta-la, you can't take my snatch, drag it up, wild it up, give me more, bring it to the ball!" (BeBe's verse in "Drag Up Your Life")
• "Who's Ornacia? I don't know who that is."
• Oh HONEY! What are lanterns for? They're for searching through the forest at night for a beast! (from the pilot episode of Dragnificent)

Trivia

• After winning, BeBe moved from Minneapolis to New York City.
• BeBe has been doing drag since 2001.
• She's the only winner to earn a $20,000 cash prize, the lowest cash prize in series history.
• As winner of Season 1, she was given a featured cameo in the music video for RuPaul's song "Cover Girl (Put The Bass In Your Walk)". The version of the song featuring Bebe was included in RuPaul's 2009 album, Jealous of My Boogie - The RuMixes.
• According to Zahara, she never received her prize of $5,000 worth of MAC Cosmetics, though did receive everything else in the prize package.
• She was revealed to be the mysterious 10th queen on the premiere episode of All Stars 3. Thus, she is the first winner to compete in an All Stars season.
• On both seasons she competed in, she won 2 main challenges, placed high once, and was up for elimination once at the final 5.
• She is the first...
  • ...queen to hail from Africa, from Cameroon.
  • ...black contestant to win RuPaul's Drag Race.
  • ...queen to win 2 ball challenges on 2 separate seasons.
  • ...international queen to win a regular Drag Race season.
  • ...winner to compete in an All Star season.
• BeBe participated in the only lip-sync in herstory to feature two winners of a Drag Race season, in the fifth episode of All Stars 3 against Trixie Mattel. Although Trixie hadn't won yet, it is still the only lip-sync featuring two Drag Race winners.
• She lip-synced alongside both Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams and Miz Cracker during the Season 10 finale.
• She admitted to mess up her lip-sync performance against BenDeLaCreme on All Stars 3, as she knew Ben would eliminate herself.
• BeBe is on "Drag Me Down the Aisle" together with Drag Race-alumni Jujubee, Thorgy Thor and Alexis Michelle.

Gallery

Season 1 Looks

All Stars 3 Looks

Videos

Ongina vs Bebe

Filmography

Discography

Social Media

• BeBe Zahara Benet's Site | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
• BeBe Zahara Benet on YouTube | Apple Music | Wikipedia | Spotify

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