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Nymphia Wind was named the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race season 16, making her the first Taiwanese-American drag queen. She defeated fellow finalists Plane Jane and Sapphira Cristál on Friday, April 19, 2024. Addressing the audience after the win, Nymphia asked fans to have the "courage to live your truth" before dedicating the win to Taiwan.
"To those who don’t feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and have courage to live your truth. Taiwan, this is for you," the winner said.
Sapphira Cristál was named the first runner-up while Plane Jane was given the third place. Both Jane and Sapphira also earned $25,000 each. Nymphia Wind took home the America's Next Drag Superstar title and a hefty sum of $200,000.
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RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 winner, Nymphia Wind wanted to showcase Asian culture
The American reality competition TV series named its season 16 winner on Friday, after Nymphia Wind left behind Plane Jane and Sapphira Cristál. She became the first Taiwanese and the third with API heritage to win the title.
The final battle took place between Sapphira and Wind where they lip-synced and danced to Kylie Minogue's Padam Padam. In an interview with Michelle Visage on Whatcha Packin, Wind stated that she felt it was important for her to do well so she could represent her culture.
"All I said to myself was, I’m here to break the Asian curse. I am not going to be out early on. So I just wanted to come here and show a rich, rich Asian culture in my drag," Nymphia added.
The drag queen loved the color yellow and called her fans the "Banana Believers." She said that she had always played with makeup and cross-dressing.
"I always played with makeup and cross-dressing. I felt like I could really change up how I look and I can escape my face in a sense," the drag queen noted.
Nymphia Wind is a 28-year-old drag queen who was born in LA but mostly grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Nymphia, whose real name is Leo Tsao, moved to Brooklyn in 2022 to pursue her career as a drag performer. She didn't lose touch with her Asian heritage even in the US and that often reflects in her art.
Nymphia Wind opened up about her insecurities on the show
In an episode of the competition, aired earlier this month, Wind spoke up about the difficulties she had while growing up in Taiwan. She noted that she was often overwhelmed by the Western beauty standards, which included features commonly seen in Caucasians.
Wind added that she felt that she wasn't attractive enough due to her Asian features. This, in a way, led her into the area of makeup and drag.
"I really hated to look in the mirror in general, growing up. Even until now, I don’t have the habit of staring at myself in the mirror unless I have to do makeup," Nymphia said.
In the show, Wind came up with self-made designs several times for the main stage. She once got a piece that was sewn using dried flowers that celebrated Butoh and another time, she had a red dress, that she associated with the Lunar New Year.
While Wind became the first Taiwanese-American winner of the show, RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 saw another first taking place. The season ended up having two Miss Congenialities - Xunami Muse and Sapphira Cristál.
There was a tie after both the contestants received 14 votes each. Both Muse and Cristál were given the prizes by Season 15's winner Malaysia Babydoll Foxx.
