Jade or Jade Sotomayor, born David Sotomayor, is a drag queen, dancer, model and makeup artist from Chicago, Illinois. Jade was part of Season 1 of RuPaul's Drag Race.
One of Jade's most memorable performances was her imitating Britney Spears in her MTV "I'm a Slave 4 U" performance in 2001. Jade came dressed out in a replicated Britney Spears "I'm a Slave 4 U" costume and carried an Albino Python. Her dancers starred in her performance dressed in animal costumes from head to toe.
Jade is very passionate about entertaining and has always enjoyed pleasing an audience.
Jade is also very open and passionate about her drag career, calling it a true art form. Her family has been very supportive of her and accepted her doing drag as long as it made her happy.
In her introduction video for RuPaul's Drag Race, she described herself as "Talented, Professional and Passionate", as the queens were required to describe 3 words about themselves.
She is not to be confused with Season 5 contestant Jade Jolie, who placed eighth in her season.
| Season Competed | Season 1 |
|---|---|
| Ranking: | 6th |
| Mini-Challenges Won: | 1 (ep. 4) |
| Times as Team Captain: | 0 |
| Main Challenges Won: | 0 |
| Times in Bottom Two: | 1 (ep. 4) |
| Episode Eliminated: | Episode 4 |
Elimination
Jade was eliminated on the 4th Episode of RuPaul's Drag Race.
The 4th episode's name was called "Mac Viva Glam Challenge" where the queens had to create a commercial promoting Mac Cosmetics, which is a makeup company that helps benefit HIV/Aids. RuPaul herself once modeled for Mac Cosmetics.
The girls used the commercial to explain who they are as drag queens, why they are beautiful, and to inform the audience of Viva Glam's help for those living with HIV/AIDS. Each queen was given 10 minutes to shoot their commercial, with an exception of Jade. Jade earned an extra 5 minutes for winning the Mini-Challenge, making over Nina Flowers successfully.
The causes of her elimination first reflected the main challenge. Jade was told that she lacked progress and star potential. She fell into the bottom two alongside Rebecca Glasscock. Rebecca outshined Jade, and Jade was sent home.
Drag Name Origin
She didn’t have a name for her first show, so the name Jennifer was offered due to her love for Jennifer Lopez. She thought it was too common and decided to shorten to Jay. The show director mispronounced it as Jade, which she liked better. Later Facebook required a last name, so she used her real last name and now goes by Jade Sotomayor.
Queen Relationships
Jade and Rebecca Glasscock were known to have a feud against one another. Jade called Rebecca "The Fakest Bitch she has ever known in her life". In the Reunion special, the two of them fought it out, but made up with each other in the end.
Trivia
- One of Jade's idols is Jennifer Lopez. She views J'Lo as an amazing performer, multi-talented woman, an amazing business woman.
- As of January 2018, David has performed 15 years as Jade.
- Jade is a bartender at Spin Nightclub in Chicago.
- Jade studied Dance Performance at Columbia College in Chicago.
- Jade is the first queen to have her drag name simplified on the show. (Jade instead of Jade Sotomayor)
- Jade is of Puerto Rican descent. She is the first Latin queen to be eliminated from the show.
- Jade is the first queen to place 6th.
- She was the first queen to perform a split on the show, during the lip-sync against Rebecca.
- At the reunion, it was revealed that the reason Jade was eliminated over Rebecca because Jade physically touched Rebecca as a hindrance, which was against the rules.
- She is fluent in both English and Spanish.
- Her cousin Eddie Sotomayor was killed in the Orlando Nightclub shooting.
- She lip-synced alongside Monique Heart during the Season 10 finale.
- Jade labels herself the '#originalfish', as she was the first 'fishy queen' to appear on the show.
Memorable Quotes
- "Jade is definitely my alter-ego, basically she has more balls than I do!"
- "Not only am I going to present myself as Jade, but I'm also going to showcase my talents as a dancer and as a performer."
- "I strive to continue going towards my goals because I know I am closer and closer every day."
- "Rebecca is the fakest bitch I have ever known in my life. "
- "She lacks talent, she lacks professionalism, because she is fake." (Referring to Rebecca Glasscock)
Follow Jade
| Winner | BeBe Zahara Benet |
|---|---|
| Runners-Up | 2nd: Nina Flowers (Miss Congeniality) • 3rd: Rebecca Glasscock |
| Other Contestants | 4th: Shannel • 5th: Ongina • 6th: Jade • 7th: Akashia • 8th: Tammie Brown • 9th: Victoria "Porkchop" Parker |
| Judges | RuPaul • Santino Rice • Merle Ginsberg |
| Pit Crew | Emanuel Palmer • Max "The Body" Philisaire |