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Nina West

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Nina West
Nina West in 2020
Born
Andrew Robert Levitt[1]

(1978-08-10) August 10, 1978 (age 46)
Greentown, Ohio, U.S.
EducationDenison University (BA)
Occupation(s)Drag queen, actor, singer
Years active2001–present
Known forRuPaul's Drag Race (season 11)
TitleMiss Congeniality
PredecessorMonét X Change
SuccessorHeidi N Closet
Websiteninawest.com

Nina West is the stage name of Andrew Robert Levitt,[2] an American drag queen, queer activist,[3] actor, and singer-songwriter based in Columbus, Ohio.[4] She rose to national prominence with her appearance on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed sixth and won Miss Congeniality. In 2024, she competed in season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. She was named the Top Local Artist of 2019 by Columbus Underground.[5] Levitt has also created three EPs—Drag Is Magic, John Goodman, and The West Christmas Ever, which were all released in 2019.

Education

[edit]

Levitt was raised in Greentown, Ohio. He graduated from Denison University[2] with a degree in theater.[6] He planned to pursue acting, but decided not to move to New York City, due to the September 11 attacks.[7]

Career

[edit]
Levitt performing in his annual Halloween show, Axis Nightclub, 2018

Levitt began dabbling in drag in 2001.[2] Nina West is the name of his drag persona. Her drag mother is Virginia West.[3] Nina West hosts the annual "Heels of Horror" show at Axis Nightclub,[8] and has also hosted the competition "So You Think You Can Drag?"[9] In 2008, she won the Entertainer of the Year award;[10] her ensemble later inspired the singer Sia's outfit at the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[11]

Nina West competed in the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[12] She had previously auditioned for the show nine times, but failed to make the final cast selection. She won the third episode for his performance in the 'Diva Worship' challenge, and impersonated Sarah Sanders on the fourth episode, "Trump: The Rusical".[13] In the "Snatch Game" challenge, she became the first queen in the show's history to impersonate someone from the actual original Match Game, with her impersonation of Jo Anne Worley.[14] She then won the "Dragracadabra" challenge in episode ten.[15][16] She was eliminated in the following episode, losing a lip-sync to Silky Nutmeg Ganache.[17][18] She was subsequently crowned Miss Congeniality in the series finale. After her elimination, a number of celebrities and public figures took to social media to voice their support for Nina West, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez[19] and Scott Hoying. Levitt reported that Rihanna sent him a private message following her elimination.[20]

A street in Columbus was named after Levitt, called "The Nina West Way".[21][22] Nina West was interviewed with Adore Delano and Monet X Change for an episode of The View in June 2019.[23] She starred in Coaster, an animated short film directed and produced by Amos Sussigan and Dan Lund.[24] She attended the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, where she became the first person to walk the purple carpet in full drag.[25] Nina West was announced as part of the cast for the first ever season of RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race, a spin-off where Drag Race alumni transform celebrities into drag queens, premiering in 2020.[26]

Since Drag Race, Levitt has starred in several commercials, with some of the brands including Pantene,[27] Pepsi,[28] and OraQuick,[29] as well as being involved in campaigns for films such as Trolls World Tour[30] and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.[31] In 2019, World of Wonder announced that West was to host a children's-oriented program featuring "songs and comedy bits inspired by youth programming of the ’90s" entitled Drag Is Magic. However, as of 2023, the series is yet to be released.[32] In May 2021, the children's television channel Nickelodeon released an animated short on YouTube featuring an animated pride parade hosted by Levitt that showed a variety of diverse animal families, including those with same-sex parents and non-binary characters.[33][34] The next month, on June 5, 2021, Nickelodeon also released an advertisement featuring Levitt to explain to children the meaning of Pride as a part of their Pride month celebration.[35][36]

Levitt was included in Columbus Business First's "40 Under 40" list in 2018.[37][38] He worked as a social media strategist for Axis Nightclub as of 2018 and has done social media and marketing for Union Cafe since 2013.[2][39] He plays Edna Turnblad in the musical Hairspray for the 2021-2022 national tour.[40]

On April 23, 2024, Levitt was announced as one of the eight contestants competing on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[41]

Music

[edit]
Levitt as West promoting Drag Is Magic at RuPaul DragCon 2019 in Los Angeles

After her elimination, Levitt announced that she would release a children's music album, Drag Is Magic, and a comedy EP, John Goodman, by May 17, 2019.[42] She released a music video for her first single "Hucks" on May 10, 2019.[43]

Personal life and philanthropy

[edit]

Levitt lives in Columbus, Ohio.[2] He is gay and an advocate and fundraiser for the LGBTQIA community. His focuses have included HIV/AIDS testing and safe sex, marriage equality, trans rights, and childhood education. The Nina West Fund, established at The Columbus Foundation c. 2015,[44] is thought to be the only "drag-queen-supported fund of its kind" in the U.S.[2] The fund has raised more than $2 million,[44][45] supporting charities such as the ACLU of Ohio (fundamental rights), Dress for Success Columbus (career development for women), Equitas Health (focused on HIV/AIDS treatment),[46] and Kaleidoscope Youth Center (the largest LGBTQIA youth center in Ohio).[47]

In 2017, she received the Create Columbus Commission Visionary Award from the Columbus City Council and an equality award from the Human Rights Campaign Columbus chapter.[7]

In 2019 Nina West/Andrew Levitt was honored by Stonewall Columbus as the Grand Marshal of Columbus's 38th Annual Pride Festival and Parade and the City of Columbus' Steven Shellaberger Illuminator Award for her work promoting LGBTQ rights.[48]

Discography

[edit]

Extended plays

[edit]
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and album details
Title Details Peak chart positions
US Kids[49] US Comedy[50]
Drag Is Magic 9 —
John Goodman
  • Released: May 17, 2019
  • Label: Producer Entertainment Group
  • Formats: Digital download
 — 2
The West Christmas Ever
  • Released: November 8, 2019
  • Label: Producer Entertainment Group
  • Formats: Digital download
 — 5

Singles

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Title Year Album
"Hucks" 2019 John Goodman
"Treat Yourself” Non-album singles
"Lisa Frankenstein"
(featuring Bobby Moynihan)
"Nina the Vampire Slayer" 2020
"Quarantine Dream"

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2019 Coaster Nina Short film
2019 Ru's Angels[51] Himself Short film
2022 Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Divine

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself Contestant (6th place) [12]
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
2019 The View Guest [23]
2020 RuPaul's Celebrity Drag Race Mentor [26]
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race season 13 Guest
2021 NewsBeat Co-host [52]
2021 Blue's Clues & You! Parade MC (voice)
2021 Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch Alice Nelson [53]
2023 Drag Me to Dinner Himself Hulu original [54]
2024 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 9 Contestant (4th Place)

Theatre

[edit]
Year Title Role Theatre Ref(s)
2021 Hairspray Edna Turnblad National Tour [55]

Music videos

[edit]
Year Title Artist Role Ref
2019 "Scores" Kahanna Montrese Coach [56]
"Hucks" Himself Sarah Sanders, Donald Trump
"Drag Is Magic" [57]
"Treat Yourself" [58]
"Lisa Frankenstein" [59]
2020 "Nerves of Steel" Erasure Himself [60]

Web series

[edit]
Year Title Role Ref.
2019 Whatcha Packin' Himself [61]
2019 Queen to Queen Himself [62]
2021 What's My Game? Himself [63]
2021 Drag Queens React Himself [64]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Andrew Robert Levitt". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Wagner, Mike (January 28, 2018). "Gay-rights advocate Nina West has long used drag-queen act to raise money for charities". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. ^ a b West, Nina (April 30, 2019). "How Nina West Channeled Her Republican Childhood into Queer Activism". out.com. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Seman, Gary Jr. "Everyday heroes: Drag queen gives to LGBT charities so others don't have to feel alone". The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Top 10 Local Artists of 2019". December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  6. ^ "Generosity Embraces Belonging: The Nina West Fund". Columbus Foundation. 2018.
  7. ^ a b Clark, Joe (June 15, 2017). "The positive impact of becoming Nina West". WCMH. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  8. ^ Soroka, Breanna (October 21, 2013). "Review: Heels of Horror combines pop culture, Halloween". The Lantern. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  9. ^ "Photos: Weekends events for Columbus and central Ohio, September 21–23". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  10. ^ Thurston, Susan (July 17, 2009). "Will This Lady Be a Champ?". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Avery April 22, 2016, Dan. "How A Drag Queen Inspired Sia's Unbelievable Coachella Costume Reveal | NewNowNext". Newnownext.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b "Miss Vanjie rejoins RuPaul's Drag Race: See the full season 11 cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "RPDR S11E4: Nina West Shares Her Story Of Growing Up As A Republican While Growing Up As Gay". Z6mag. March 23, 2019. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  14. ^ "Nina Levitt Made Snatch Game History on 'Drag Race'–and Here's How". Decider. April 19, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  15. ^ Rogers, Matt (May 2, 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Practically Magic". Vulture.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  16. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Power Ranking Season 11: Episode 10". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  17. ^ Blanton, Kayla (May 10, 2019). "The 'Drag Race' Judges Did Nina West & Miss Vanjie Dirty This Week". Bustle. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  18. ^ Swift, Andy (May 10, 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Which Queen Won't Be Twinning Season 11?". TVLine. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  19. ^ Duffy, Nick. "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a fan message to Drag Race star Nina West". Pink News. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  20. ^ Evans, Mel (May 12, 2019). "Rihanna sends message to Nina West following Drag Race elimination". Metro. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  21. ^ "Columbus names street after RuPaul's Drag Race queen Nina West". Gay Star News. June 12, 2019. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  22. ^ "Street in the Short North to be renamed after Nina West". WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio | Columbus News, Weather & Sports. June 10, 2019. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  23. ^ a b Gremore, Graham (June 12, 2019). "Meghan McCain interviewed three drag queens on "The View" for Pride and people weren't having it". queerty.com. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  24. ^ Nolfi, Joey (October 2, 2019). "Drag Race MVP Nina West's whimsical new short could lead to an Oscar nod". Ew.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  25. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 22, 2019). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Contestant Nina West Makes Emmys History Walking Purple Carpet In Full Drag". Deadline. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  26. ^ a b Desta, Yohana (October 22, 2019). "RuPaul Announces Drag Race Spin-Off Featuring All-Celebrity Competitors". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  27. ^ Bollinger, Alex (March 24, 2020). "Drag queen Nina West stars in hilarious new Pantene shampoo ad". lgbtqnation.com. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  28. ^ "The Morning Beat: Pepsi Digital Content Features RuPaul's Drag Queens". wearechanelq.com. June 27, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  29. ^ Parsley, Jason (September 27, 2019). "Nina West Debuts 'Treat Yourself,' For Gay Men's HIV Awareness Day". southfloridagaynews.com. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  30. ^ Voss, Brandon (April 4, 2020). "Watch "Drag Race" Dolls Feel Their "Trolls" Runway Fantasy". NewNowNext.com. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  31. ^ Kilkenny, Katie (December 3, 2019). "Hollywood Is "Finally Catching On" to the Booming Drag Queen Economy". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  32. ^ Joey Nolfi (June 27, 2019). "Yvie Oddly, Nina West, more Drag Race stars getting new reality shows". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  33. ^ Artavia, David (June 1, 2021). "'Blue's Clues' rings in Pride month in new sing-along, starring drag queen Nina West, celebrating LGBTQ families". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  34. ^ VanHoose, Benjamin (June 1, 2021). "Watch the Blue's Clues Pride Parade Sing-Along with Drag Star Nina West Celebrating LGBTQ Families". People. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  35. ^ Dorman, Sam (June 8, 2021). "Kids' networks roll out Pride Month content: 'With imagination, I can be anything I want'". Fox News. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  36. ^ The Meaning of Pride ft. Drag Queen Nina West 🏳️‍🌈 (Pride Song), June 5, 2021, retrieved July 4, 2021
  37. ^ "CBF Morning Run: Reliving a splendid night at the casino, getting to know 40 Under 40, saying LoveSac and regretting it, mixing beer and ice cream, not climbing Everest and chewing on a midnight stout (Video)". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  38. ^ "What to expect at HighBall this weekend, and Nina West on why you should go (photos)". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  39. ^ Mantey, Jackie (July 31, 2013). "People to Watch: Activist/Ambassador/Entertainer: Andrew Levitt". Columbus Alive. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  40. ^ "Cast & Creative". Hairspray on Tour. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  41. ^ Vary, Adam (April 23, 2024). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Season 9 Queens Revealed, Will Compete for Charity for the First Time". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  42. ^ West, Nina (May 10, 2019). "WHAT? Two EP's? Pre-order now!". Twitter. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  43. ^ Nina West (May 10, 2019), Nina West – HUCKS (Official Music Video), retrieved May 12, 2019
  44. ^ a b "The Philanthropy of Nina West". ColumbusUnderground.com. October 10, 2017. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  45. ^ "Is this the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 11?". Gay Times. October 24, 2018. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  46. ^ "Columbus Foundation". ColumbusFoundation.org. 2018.
  47. ^ "ABOUT – Kaleidoscope Youth Center". Kaleidoscope Youth Center of Ohio. 2019. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  48. ^ "Columbus Pride Marks Culmination Of 'The Year Of Nina West'". WOSU Public Media. June 14, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  49. ^ "Billboard Kid Albums June 1, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  50. ^ "Billboard Comedy Albums June 1, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  51. ^ Nolfi, Joey (November 8, 2019). "Kristen Stewart, Charlie's Angels fight evil with RuPaul's Drag Race queens in new short film". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  52. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (May 26, 2021). "'NewsBeat': Drag Queens Nina West, Bianca Del Rio & More Unite For News Show From Politicon, EP Clay Aiken". Deadline. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  53. ^ Hatchett, Keisha (June 23, 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race Will Team with Brady Bunch Cast for Crossover Episode — Plus, Watch the First Act of All Stars 6". TVLine. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  54. ^ Rice, Lynette (May 1, 2023). "'Drag Me To Dinner': Hulu Announces Premiere Date For Unscripted Series From Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  55. ^ Nolfi, Joey (November 12, 2021). "Drag Race queen Nina West honors iconic Edna Turnblad 'titans' who came before him with Hairspray debut". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  56. ^ Kahanna Montrese (March 8, 2019), Kahanna Montrese – "Scores" (Official Music Video), retrieved September 21, 2019
  57. ^ Nolfi, Joey (January 31, 2019). "A fabulous collection of the RuPaul's Drag Race queens' best music videos". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  58. ^ Nina West (September 27, 2019), Treat Yourself, presented by OraQuick, retrieved September 27, 2019
  59. ^ Nina West (September 27, 2019), Lisa Frankenstein, retrieved October 11, 2019
  60. ^ Erasure (August 11, 2020). "Erasure - Nerves of Steel (Official Video)" (YouTube video). Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  61. ^ VH1 (May 10, 2019), Whatcha Packin': Nina West | Season 11 Episode 11 | RuPaul's Drag Race, retrieved June 13, 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  62. ^ VH1 (May 24, 2019), Queen to Queen: Brooke Lynn Hytes, Yvie Oddly & Nina West – RuPaul's Drag Race, retrieved July 9, 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  63. ^ Joey Nolfi (May 4, 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race stars Vanjie, Kameron Michaels land Gay Sex Ed series, Priyanka to quiz celebs on What's My Game?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  64. ^ Drag Queens React: RESPECT movie trailer starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin. WOWPresents. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
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