BeBe Zahara Benet
Encyclopedia
Nea Marshall Kudi better known as BeBe Zahara Benet, is a former male model, a drag queen from Cameroon
and winner of the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar" from the first season of the popular reality television
series RuPaul's Drag Race
.
and Mark Picchiotti. He released his sophomore single "Cameroon" in July 2010. Benet made a cameo appearance in the music video for Erasure
's re-release of their song, A Little Respect
, in December 2010 (which was a fundraiser for students of the Harvey Milk Institute
in San Francisco.)
's popular reality series, RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered on the network in February 2009. Benet's prizes included an l.a. eyeworks print ad campaign, US$20,000 from Absolut Vodka
and MAC Cosmetics, a fashion spread in Paper magazine
, and a spot on the national Absolut Pride tour.
. Upon arriving in the United States from France, Kudi first settled in Minneapolis to be closer to family.
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
and winner of the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar" from the first season of the popular reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality television series produced by World of Wonder for Logo. RuPaul plays host, mentor and inspiration for this series, which details RuPaul's search for "America's next drag superstar."...
.
Biography
Kudi's first experience with drag was at a Paris fashion show, where he was asked to put on a dress to walk the runway as a female at the last minute when a model didn't show up. Kudi describes his drag persona Bebe as "a strong and beautiful character illusion created for entertainment and the artistic expression of the feminine."Music
Benet's first dance single, "I'm the Sh*t" was released on November 16, 2009. The single has been remixed by such notable remixers as Felix Baumgartner, Ralphi RosarioRalphi Rosario
Ralphi Rosario was a founding member of the influential Chicago DJ group, The Hot Mix 5. When this group formed in 1981 on radio station WBMX, Rosario, the youngest member of the group, was still in high school...
and Mark Picchiotti. He released his sophomore single "Cameroon" in July 2010. Benet made a cameo appearance in the music video for Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
's re-release of their song, A Little Respect
A Little Respect
American band Wheatus released the song in July 2001 as their second single from their debut album. The single peaked at number three in the United Kingdom, while reaching number 19 in Austria and number 41 in New Zealand.-Critical reception:...
, in December 2010 (which was a fundraiser for students of the Harvey Milk Institute
Harvey Milk Institute
Harvey Milk Institute, located in San Francisco, California, was the largest queer studies institute in the world, and was founded by Jonathan David Katz. It was named in honor of Harvey Milk....
in San Francisco.)
Television
Benet won the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar" on the first season of LogoLogo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
's popular reality series, RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered on the network in February 2009. Benet's prizes included an l.a. eyeworks print ad campaign, US$20,000 from Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
and MAC Cosmetics, a fashion spread in Paper magazine
Paper (magazine)
Paper magazine is a New York City–based independent magazine covering and discovering cultural movements with a focus on fashion, design, pop-culture, nightlife, music, art and film. The magazine covers trends, new creative talent, urban American lifestyle as well as international lifestyles and...
, and a spot on the national Absolut Pride tour.
Personal life
Kudi resides in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Upon arriving in the United States from France, Kudi first settled in Minneapolis to be closer to family.
Discography
SinglesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
- "I'm The Sh*t" (2010)
- "Cameroon" (2010)
External links
- Official website
- BeBe Zahara Benet on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- BeBe Zahara Benet on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- BeBe Zahara Benet on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Bebe Zahara Benet on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
- Bebe Zahara Benet's interview on LogoLogo (TV channel)Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
- BeBe Zahara Bene on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....