Kendall Gender
Canadian drag performer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kendall Gender is the stage name of Kenneth Wyse (born July 16, 1990), a Canadian drag performer most known for competing on the second season of Canada's Drag Race in 2021. She returned to compete in the first season of Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World in 2022.[3]
July 16, 1990[1][2]
Kendall Gender | |
|---|---|
Kendall Gender at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2023 | |
| Born | Kenneth Wyse July 16, 1990[1][2] Richmond, British Columbia, Canada |
| Education | Kwantlen Polytechnic University |
| Occupation | Drag queen |
| Television | Canada's Drag Race (season 2) Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World (season 1) |
| Website | kendallgender |
Early life
Wyse was raised in Richmond, British Columbia.[4] He graduated from Henry James Cambie Secondary School in 2008 before attending Kwantlen Polytechnic University.[citation needed]
Career
Wyse chose the drag name Kendall Gender as a reference to reality television personality Kendall Jenner,[5] although for the Snatch Game episode of Canada's Drag Race, she chose to impersonate Kris Jenner.[6]
Her first time in drag was in 2014, where she performed Beyonce's "Ring the Alarm".[7]
Kendall Gender won the Vancouver's Next Drag Superstar competition in 2017.[4] In 2020, she became the first drag performer to perform the halftime show at the Rugby Sevens tournament.[8] She also recreated four albums by Black artists: Beyoncé's Dangerously in Love, Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas, Rihanna's Unapologetic, and Whitney Houston's Whitney.[4] She was a finalist on season 2 of Canada's Drag Race.[9] She won the show's roast challenge.[10]
Following her run on Canada's Drag Race, she was named to Vancouver Magazine's annual Power 50 list of influential Vancouverites.[8] She has appeared in a campaign for Canadian swim and loungewear brand Londre and is the face of Annabelle cosmetics' Proud Out Loud collection.[7]
Personal life
Wyse is biracial (half black and half white).[4] He is based in Vancouver,[11] where he has regularly performed as part of the "Brat Pack" drag troupe alongside his Canada's Drag Race castmates Synthia Kiss and Gia Metric.[12]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Genre | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Canada's Drag Race | TV | Contestant | Season 2, 10 episodes (Runner-up) |
| 2022 | Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World | TV | Contestant | Season 1, 1 episode (9th Place) |
| 2023 | Stay | Short Film | Ivy Diamonds / Kaleb | Premiere in the 18th Vancouver International Women in Film Festival[13][14] |
| 2024 | Alert: Missing Persons Unit | TV | Canary / Drag Queen | Season 2, Episode 4 & 10 |
Web series
- Bring Back My Girls (2024)