Willow Pill

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Willow Pill
RuPaul DragCon 2022 (52073264228).jpg
Willow Pill at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022
Born1995 (age 26–27)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
OccupationDrag queen
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race
PredecessorSymone

Willow Patterson, known by the stage name Willow Pill (born 1995), is an American drag performer. She is best known as the winner of season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2022.

Early life[]

Patterson was raised in Denver, Colorado and attended Colorado State University.[1]

Career[]

Willow Pill at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022

In an interview with KGNU in 2016, Willow Pill explained her drag persona was "a mix of 41 and 14... I'm kind of obsessed with little stoner girls as well as older women, like moms, that can't catch a break."[2] Her first performance was at a Colorado State University drag show, where she wore "a pink '90s housewife tracksuit, complete with glasses and a pearl necklace." She performed a comedy routine and danced to a mix of Missy Elliott and Gwen Stefani songs.[3]

In 2022, Willow Pill gained wider prominence as a contestant on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she won the main challenge on the third episode, earning a cash prize of $5,000. On episode seven, her Snatch Game performance placed her in the bottom seven,[4] and had to participate in a lip-sync tournament on episode eight.[5] She won the first round against Bosco.[5] She placed in the bottom a second time during episode 14, and was required to “lip sync for her life” against Angeria Paris VanMicheals. Following their performance of "Telephone" by Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé, neither was eliminated, resulting in five contestants advancing to the finale, a first for the series.

On the April 22, 2022, season finale, Willow Pill performed "I Hate People"[6] and defeated Lady Camden in a lip-sync battle to Cher's cover version of ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" and was declared the season's winner, earning a cash prize of $150,000, the highest amount awarded to date in a regular season so far.[7] Willow Pill is also the first openly transgender person to win a regular season of RuPaul's Drag Race in the United States,[8] and the fourth openly transgender contestant to win a season of the Drag Race franchise at the time of their crowning.[a]

Personal life[]

Patterson has had cystinosis her whole life and identifies as trans femme, as one of the five transgender contestants of Season 14.[b][9] She came out via social media: “It's taken me a long time to come to terms with my transness because so much space has been taken up by my illness," Patterson wrote in one of her posts. She uses she/they pronouns.[10]

Filmography[]

Television[]

Year Title Role Place Ref
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14) Contestant Winner [11]
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked

Web series[]

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2022 Whatcha Packin' Herself Guest [12]
The Awardist [13]
The Pit Stop [14]
Folx Presents [15]

Music videos[]

Year Title Artist Ref
2021 "Sick Bitch" Yvie Oddly [16]
2022 "Taste So Good" Weedmaps x Cann [17]
2022 "Angle" Feat. Kornbread Jeté [18]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award-giving body Category Work Results Ref.
2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Reality Star RuPaul's Drag Race Nominated [19]
2022 Critics' Choice Real TV Awards Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series
(Shared with the Season 14 cast) 		RuPaul's Drag Race Won [20]

Notes[]

  1. ^ The other transgender contestants to win a Drag Race season were Angele Anang, Kylie Sonique Love, and Vanessa Van Cartier. Trinity the Tuck, who won the fourth season of All Stars, came out as non-binary following her season victory.
  2. ^ The four other transgender contestants of season 14 were Kerri Colby, Kornbread Jeté, Bosco, and Jasmine Kennedie.

References[]

  1. ^ Alvarez, Alayna (2022-04-22). "Denver drag queen Willow Pill competes to win "RuPaul's Drag Race"". Axios. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  2. ^ "Outsources: A New Voice in Drag – Conversation with Will Patterson". KGNU. November 21, 2016. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  3. ^ Pinherio, Brooklyn (July 11, 2017). "Becoming a Drag Queen: behind the garters and glitter". The Plaid Zebra. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  4. ^ Ehrman-Dupre, Joe; Ehrman-Dupre, Joe (April 15, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 7, Episode 7: 'Snatch Game!'". Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "It's March Madness on RuPaul's Drag Race with a LaLaPaRuZa lip sync tournament". The A.V. Club. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  6. ^ Nolfi, Joey (April 23, 2022). "'Drag Race' winner Willow Pill plans to 'get more disgusting and dirty' — and fun". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  7. ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (2022-04-23). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': [SPOILER] Crowned Season 14 Winner In Milestone Finale For Franchise". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  8. ^ Malone, Chris; Music, More Articles; Published on May 6, 2022 (May 6, 2022). "How Many Trans 'Drag Race' Winners Have There Been?".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Dave, Quinn (April 22, 2022). "RuPaul's Drag Race Star Willow Pill Details Life with Cystinosis: 'Nothing Is Unaffected By It'". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  10. ^ Daw, Stephen (2022-03-04). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Star Willow Pill Comes Out as Trans Femme: 'I'm Starting to Feel Bits of Happiness'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  11. ^ Christopher, Rudolph. ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 14 Queens to Be RuVealed in VH1 Special". NewNowNext.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
  12. ^ Willow Pill's Whatcha Packin' | S14 TOP 5 | RuPaul's Drag Race, April 26, 2022
  13. ^ 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14 Contestants On Most Entertaining Season Yet! | Entertainment Weekly, June 23, 2022
  14. ^ The Pit Stop AS7 E07 | Bob The Drag Queen & Willow Pill Win! | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, June 25, 2022
  15. ^ Season 14 Drag Race Queens On Trans Joy, August 4, 2022
  16. ^ "Yvie Oddly - Sick Bitch (ft. Willow Pill) [Official Video]". Youtube.com. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  17. ^ ""Taste So Good" (The Cann Song) - Official Music Video | Weedmaps x Cann". Youtube.com. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  18. ^ "Willow Pill - Angle (feat. Kornbread) Official Music Video". Youtube.com. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  19. ^ MTV News (May 11, 2022). "HERE ARE YOUR 2022 MTV MOVIE & TV AWARDS NOMINATIONS: SEE THE FULL LIST". Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  20. ^ Erik Pedersen (June 12, 2022). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' & 'Top Chef' Lead Critics Choice Real TV Awards". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.

External links[]

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