NINA WEST (he/him/they/them) is a veritable “every-queen” – an actor, singer/songwriter, producer, author, host, and activist who won the title of Miss Congeniality on the 11th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and will be featured on the upcoming RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 9.
Nina West rose to international acclaim in 2019 on season 11 of VH1’s hit showRuPaul's Drag Race, placing sixth and receiving the coveted title of Miss Congeniality. She returned to the show in 2021 as a guest and was anointed “America’s Sweetheart” by RuPaul. Nina made history at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2019 as the first person to walk the carpet in full drag, in support of her season; that year, RuPaul’s Drag Race won five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Best Reality Competition Show.
In the world of music, Nina has released three EPs: John Goodman, a musical comedy EP, which reached no. 2 on the Billboard Comedy Charts; Drag Is Magic, a children’s music album, which reached no. 9 on the Billboard Children’s Charts; and The West Christmas Ever, featuring Disney legend Jim Cummings, which debuted at no. 5 on the Billboard Comedy Charts. She has also released a handful of singles along the way including acclaimed Halloween favorites “Slayer” featuring Taran Killam and “Lisa Frankenstein” featuring Bobby Moynihan.
And Nina is no stranger to the worlds of television and film, having partnered with Nickelodeon and Blue’s Clues for a series of Pride videos—Blue’s Clues Pride Parade Sing-Along and The Meaning of Pride. She also has voiced characters on animated shows including Baby Shark’s Big Show (NICK JR), The Bravest Knight (HULU), Bobby Moynihan’s Loafy (COMEDY CENTRAL), and the voice of “Mom” for the animated short Coaster, which was shortlisted for a 2020 Academy Award. Other credits include RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race, Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch for Paramount+ where she portrayed Alice, the Neil Patrick Harris/David Burtka reality show Drag Me To Dinner (HULU), the Lady Camden documentary Lady Like, and her feature film debut as drag legend Divine in 2022’s Emmy-winning Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Nina is also one of the subjects of the 2017 documentary Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens.
Nina has proudly partnered with Disney, hosting the Disney+ special in 2020This Is Me: Pride Celebration Spectacular, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community with Disney classics reinterpreted by LGBTQ+ artists like Hayley Kiyoko, Todrick Hall, and Alex Newell. During this pride special, she had the distinct honor of performing with Kermit the Frog where they sang “Rainbow Connection.”She returned again in 2021 for the Say It With Pride: Disney+ Celebrates Pride 365 special, performing with the legendary composer and pianist Alan Menken.
But the stage is where Nina feels most at home. For two seasons (2021-2023), Nina toured the nation as Edna Turnblad in the 20th anniversary Broadway production of Hairspray. Other favorite stage credits include the regional premiers of Buyer and Cellar (Alex Moore) and Peter and the Starcatcher (Betty Bumbrake), both for CATCO, as well as Disney’s The Little Mermaid, where she portrayed her favorite villain, Ursula. As a touring artist, she has proudly written, produced, and performed shows for Provincetown, GayDays, and toured with Broadway icon and legend Seth Rudetsky.
Nina’s used all of the skills that she acquired over her career to become a highly sought-after host for events and shows across the globe. Her event hosting has taken her to Comic-Con, where in 2022, she cohosted the HerUniverse Fashion Show with her super hypefriend, Ashley Eckstein. She is also a favorite at D23 Expo, where she has hosted Mousequerade and a very special 30th anniversary celebration of The Muppet Christmas Carol that included an all-star panel of guests including Brian Henson, Dave Goelz, Paul Williams, Polly Smith, and the Muppets, among other panels and events. Nina has also hosted events for Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruiseline, Proctor and Gamble, Paramount, among others. In 2024, Nina had the distinct honor of hosting the 74thAnnual ACE Eddie Awards, honoring the best in television and film editing for the year, where she performed the original piece, Editor! The Musical.
Charity is a major part of who Nina West is, and in 2012, she created The Nina West Foundation, which is housed at The Columbus Foundation. Throughout her career, she has worked to amplify and uplift LGBTQIA+ voices, issues surrounding mental health, and healthcare access -- and with the help of people in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio and around the world, raised over $3 million dollars for various organizations. She has partnered with incredible organizations like The Trevor Project, Family Equality, Bring Change 2 Mind, Kids Mental Health Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Kaleidoscope Youth Center, Sage, The Ali Fornay Center, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and many more. One of her favorite projects to date was partnering with the queen of country music,Dolly Parton for the “Kindness is Queen” campaign to raise money for both the Nina West Foundation and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2020.
In 2020, Nina was named the “Most Googled Drag Queen in The World” with over 7.8 billion unique searches.
In 2022, Nina’s first children’s book The You Kind of Kind was published to critical acclaim. It was illustrated by her friend, artist Hayden Evans.
In May 2024, Nina will give the commencement address at the Columnbus College of Art and Design and receive an honorary doctorate.
