Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams (sometimes simply Kalorie Karbdashian)[2] is the stage name of Daniel Hernandez, an American drag performer who competed on season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, Hernandez is based in Albuquerque.
Early life and education
Daniel Hernandez was born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico.[3] He has said he was bullied in high school because of his weight, which reached as high as 340 pounds (150 kg).[4]
I started doing drag because I was kind of going through this identity crisis where I thought I wanted to be a woman. Then I started playing with makeup and I started to see that I could create a whole different face. From then I knew I didn't want to be a woman, but I just wanted to play with makeup.[5]
Hernandez performed at the gay bar Albuquerque Social Club and was crowned Miss Duke City at the venue in 2016.[6] He competed as Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams on season 10 (2018) of RuPaul's Drag Race and has continued to perform in drag shows. In 2018, Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams was part of the line-up for the annual 'Out in the Park' event at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.[7] She is a resident performer at Effex Nightclub in Albuquerque, as of 2019.[8]
The Houston Chronicle's Joey Guerra said she "brought a gorgeous face and twerking skills".[15] Dennis Hinzmann of Out magazine said Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams showed "curvy, body-positive looks".[16] Paul Hagen of the LGBT magazine Metrosource wrote, "We especially got behind Kalorie's big-is-beautiful ethos, and her inspiring story of reshaping her life after reaching a weight well above 300 pounds in high school... And we have rarely seen any contestant on Drag Race twerk on the runway with such vigor."[17] In The Spinoff's 2019 "definitive ranking" of Drag Race lip-syncs to date, Sam Brooks ranked her battles against Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Eureka O'Hara at 116 and 112 out of 162, respectively.[18]
Personal life
Hernandez is gay.[2] On Drag Race, he recalled being bullied for his weight, not his sexual orientation.[4]
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