France Dimanche: Tell us a bit about your background?
Remy/Leona Winter: I grew up near Perpignan where I took singing, dancing and theater lessons. It was there that I learned to tame the stage until I was 16. When I was 18, I left with my husband for Spain, for Barcelona. I dropped out of school and we started a cabaret. This is where Leona was born and where I did my first scenes. It is also there that I had the chance to meet drag queens who taught me about the art of drag.
FD: What was your first show?
In the years that followed, I began to be requested all over Europe in various legendary cabarets. Some time later, I was spotted on social media by a team of Chilean casters to participate in the TV show, “The Switch Drag Race”. In 2016, I flew to Chile and won the show. It was very hard for me and my partner because I stayed 5 months in Chile, alone at 21, but it shaped my character.
“I didn’t feel legitimate as a drag queen”
FD: How does it feel to be the first drag queen to appear on such a popular show as The Voice in 2019?
I still can’t believe it (laughs). It opened up the possibility of singing to many other artists, although I wasn’t the first drag queen to appear on TV. It still contributed a little to democratize the art of drag. The Voice contacted me for the first time in 2018 but I said no because I did not feel legitimate as a drag queen to do this show at that time, I was afraid that my character was a drag. I’ve always had this impostor syndrome, I always grope about it because I never feel very legitimate, but that’s why I do things with sincerity.
FD: Why did you do Les Anges 12 after The Voice (season 8)?
It’s a show I’m very proud of. With the production team, we managed to show that being a drag queen isn’t about being “crazy” on a daily basis, it’s an art we do for the stage, we sell dreams. Thanks to the show, I recorded my first single. I am one of the only French drag queens to have performed on stages in Hong Kong, Tokyo and all over the world!
FD: Are you still in contact with Jenifer?
No, we are no longer really in contact, especially since the periods of confinement. But we still follow each other on social networks and we like our stories. I still feel his kindness!
FD: What are the clichés that come up most often about drag queens and that bother you?
It is still necessary to remove this image of hypersexualization of the drag-queen, they are considered as “travelos”, creatures of the night for sex when it is not that. Being a drag queen is a complete art: make-up, hairstyle, humor… We are not yet taken seriously, sometimes we are taken for clowns when we are artists. A drag queen is a melting pot of talent!
FD: Drag queens seem to be more and more highlighted in France, especially with the Drag Race France show. Paloma, a drag queen, joined the Quotidien show recently, do you think there is a fashion effect around drag queens?
I don’t think there is a fad. Before, we were a little afraid of shocking the housewife under 50 years old. We didn’t dare to do real television subjects with a drag queen, but mentalities are changing, even if there is still a lot of work to be done.
FD: Where can we find you on stage?
I have a new single “Another story”, which will be released on June 21, it’s a project I had with Gérard Blanc’s wife. We created a “disco-queen” version of her title. And I joined the cast of Camping Paradis events, which travels throughout the summer to campsites in France. So I will be on tour this summer all over France but also in Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium… with 55 dates!
FD: What are your wishes for the future?
Even though I’ve already done a lot of things, it doesn’t stop there for me. I still have a lot of things to do with my character. I still have many dreams to achieve. I can see a drag-queen character in Mask Singer, for example, and I would love to do a show like Dancing with the Stars. My ultimate dream would be to do Eurovision!
Interview by Jeanette Atme Daou
Find Leona Winter on tour throughout France this summer.