Ongina

Groundbreaking reality star Ryan Ong Palao is better known to his many fans as Ongina, an internationally-renowned drag performer and one of the stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race. He was a contestant on the very first season of the show back in 2009 and has returned as a guest many times since, most recently as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in 2020. During his initial run on the show, Palao revealed that he is HIV-positive, making him one of the first reality stars to publicly announce their HIV status. He has been a prominent activist for HIV awareness ever since.

Palao’s impact on American culture was immediate: He won the 2009 NewNowNext Award for Most Addictive Reality Star, appeared in a Black Eyed Peas video, and was the inspiration for ‘LadyBoy’, a track from RuPaul’s 2009 album Champion. His popularity has never waned, as his 600,000+ social media fans will attest. He is a frequent headliner at drag and pride events around the world and, as well as his frequent guest appearances for the Drag Race franchise, has appeared on many other shows, including Hey Qween and Ring My Bell. In 2014, he hosted an online talk show called HIV and Me, interviewing AIDS sufferers and fellow HIV-positive people about how the disease affects their everyday life.

Palao is originally from the Phillippines, but his family relocated to San Francisco during the 1990s. He began his career as a drag artist in his early 20s, performing at a local Asian restaurant. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is firmly established as one of the most influential drag queens of his generation.