Willow Pill
Willow Patterson (born January 22, 1995), known by the stage name Willow Pill, is an American drag performer. She is best known as the winner of season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2022.
Willow Pill | |
|---|---|
Willow Pill at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022 | |
| Born | January 22, 1995 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Other names | Willow Patterson |
| Education | Colorado State University |
| Occupation | Drag queen |
| Television | RuPaul's Drag Race |
| Predecessor | Symone |
| Successor | Sasha Colby |
| Website | willowpill |
Early life edit
Patterson was raised in Denver, Colorado and attended Arapahoe High School in Littleton Public Schools. Patterson later attended Colorado State University.[1]
Career edit
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. Her Snatch Game performance as Drew Barrymore placed her in the bottom seven,[4] and she participated in the 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.[citation needed]
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 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] After being crowned the winner of season 14, Willow Pill became the second openly transgender person to win a regular season of RuPaul's Drag Race in the United States,[8][9] and the sixth openly transgender contestant to win a season of the Drag Race franchise at the time of their crowning.[a]
Personal life edit
Patterson has had cystinosis her whole life and identifies as trans femme, as one of the five transgender contestants of Season 14.[b][10] 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 they/she pronouns.[11]
Filmography edit
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14) | Contestant | Winner | [12] |
| 2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | |||
| 2023 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 15) | Herself | Guest | [13] |
Web series edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Meet the Queens | Herself | Stand-alone special RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 | [14] |
| 2022 | Whatcha Packin' | Guest | [15] | |
| The Awardist | [16] | |||
| The Pit Stop | [17] | |||
| Folx Presents | [18] | |||
| Meet the Queens | Host RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15 | [19] | ||
| 2023 | Sloppy Seconds' | Guest | [20] | |
| Give It To Me Straight' | [21] | |||
| Fashion Photo RuView | [22] |
Music videos edit
| Year | Title | Artist | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Sick Bitch" | Yvie Oddly feat. Willow Pill | [23] |
| 2022 | "Taste So Good (The Cann Song)" | Vincint, Hayley Kiyoko, MNEK and Kesha (Weedmaps x Cann) | [24] |
| 2022 | "Angle" | Willow Pill feat. Kornbread Jeté | [25] |
Awards and nominations edit
| Year | Award-giving body | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Reality Star | RuPaul's Drag Race | Nominated | [26] |
| Critics' Choice Real TV Awards | Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series (Shared with the Season 14 cast) | Won | [27] | ||
| People's Choice Awards | The Competition Contestant of 2022 | Nominated | [28][29] | ||
| 2023 | Queerty Awards | Closet Door Bustdown (Shared with Bosco, Jasmine Kennedie and Kornbread Jeté) | Runner-up | [30] | |
| Drag Royalty | Herself | Nominated | [31] |
Notes edit
- ^ The other transgender contestants to win a Drag Race season were Angele Anang, Kylie Sonique Love, Vanessa Van Cartier, and Sasha Colby, as well as Jinkx Monsoon and Trinity the Tuck, the winners of RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 5) and fourth season of All Stars respectively, who came out as trans non-binary following their season victories.
- ^ The four other transgender contestants of season 14 were Kerri Colby, Kornbread Jeté, Bosco, and Jasmine Kennedie.
References edit
- ^ Alvarez, Alayna (2022-04-22). "Denver drag queen Willow Pill competes to win "RuPaul's Drag Race"". Axios. from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ "Outsources: A New Voice in Drag – Conversation with Will Patterson". KGNU. November 21, 2016. from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
- ^ Pinherio, Brooklyn (July 11, 2017). "Becoming a Drag Queen: behind the garters and glitter". The Plaid Zebra. from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
- ^ Ehrman-Dupre, Joe; Ehrman-Dupre, Joe (April 15, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 7, Episode 7: 'Snatch Game!'". from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ a b "It's March Madness on RuPaul's Drag Race with a LaLaPaRuZa lip sync tournament". The A.V. Club. 19 March 2022. from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ Nolfi, Joey (April 23, 2022). "'Drag Race' winner Willow Pill plans to 'get more disgusting and dirty' — and fun". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
- ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (2022-04-23). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': [SPOILER] Crowned Season 14 Winner In Milestone Finale For Franchise". Deadline. from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ Malone, Chris (May 6, 2022). "How Many Trans 'Drag Race' Winners Have There Been?". Showbiz Cheatsheet. from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ https://twitter.com/JinkxMonsoon/status/441008303779217408
- ^ Dave, Quinn (April 22, 2022). "RuPaul's Drag Race Star Willow Pill Details Life with Cystinosis: 'Nothing Is Unaffected By It'". PEOPLE.com. from the original on 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ 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. from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
- ^ Christopher, Rudolph. ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 14 Queens to Be RuVealed in VH1 Special". NewNowNext.com. from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray. "RECAP: 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 15 Episode 16: The Grand Finale". www.glaad.org. from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- ^ Meet the Queens of Season 14! | RuPaul's Drag Race, December 3, 2021, from the original on January 15, 2022, retrieved December 14, 2022
- ^ Willow Pill's Whatcha Packin' | S14 TOP 5 | RuPaul's Drag Race, April 26, 2022, from the original on May 17, 2022, retrieved June 4, 2022
- ^ 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14 Contestants On Most Entertaining Season Yet! | Entertainment Weekly, June 23, 2022, from the original on June 23, 2022, retrieved June 23, 2022
- ^ The Pit Stop AS7 E07 | Bob The Drag Queen & Willow Pill Win! | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, June 25, 2022, from the original on June 26, 2022, retrieved June 26, 2022
- ^ Season 14 Drag Race Queens On Trans Joy, August 4, 2022, from the original on August 5, 2022, retrieved August 5, 2022
- ^ MEET THE QUEENS OF SEASON 15! 🚘 | RuPaul's Drag Race 👠✨, December 13, 2022, from the original on January 9, 2023, retrieved December 14, 2022
- ^ Sloppy Seconds #308 - Shower Milk (w/ Willow Pill), January 19, 2023, from the original on March 5, 2023, retrieved March 5, 2023
- ^ WILLOW PILL - "Give It To Me Straight" Ep4 - Hosted by Maddy Morphosis, March 1, 2023, from the original on March 2, 2023, retrieved March 3, 2023
- ^ FASHION PHOTO RUVIEW - RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15 - Reunion, April 12, 2023, from the original on April 18, 2023, retrieved April 18, 2023
- ^ "Yvie Oddly - Sick Bitch (ft. Willow Pill) [Official Video]". Youtube.com. from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
- ^ ""Taste So Good" (The Cann Song) - Official Music Video | Weedmaps x Cann". Youtube.com. from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ "Willow Pill - Angle (feat. Kornbread) Official Music Video". Youtube.com. from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- ^ MTV News (May 11, 2022). "HERE ARE YOUR 2022 MTV MOVIE & TV AWARDS NOMINATIONS: SEE THE FULL LIST". from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Erik Pedersen (June 12, 2022). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' & 'Top Chef' Lead Critics Choice Real TV Awards". Deadline.com. from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ Schwartz, Missy (October 26, 2022). "Bad Bunny, 'Nope', Harry Styles and Lizzo Lead People's Choice Awards Nominations: Complete List". TheWrap. from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ Malec, Brett (December 7, 2022). "People's Choice Awards 2022 Winners: The Complete List". E! Online. from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ "Closet Door Bustdown Nominees". The Queerties. from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Drag Royalty Nominees". The Queerties. from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
External links edit
- Media related to Willow Pill at Wikimedia Commons