Kendall Gender | |
---|---|
Born | Kenneth Wyse July 16, 1990[1][2] Richmond, British Columbia, Canada |
Nationality | Canadian |
Education | Kwantlen Polytechnic University |
Occupation | Drag queen |
Television | Canada's Drag Race (season 2) Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World |
Website | kendallgender |
Kendall Gender is the stage name of Kenneth Wyse (born 16 July 1990), a Canadian drag performer most known for competing on season 2 of Canada's Drag Race in 2021. She returned to compete in Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World in 2022.[3]
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]
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]
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]
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 | 1 episode (9th Place) |
2023 | Stay | Short Film | Ivy Diamonds / Kaleb | Premiere in the 18th Vancouver International Women in Film Festival[13][14] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Meet the Queens: Canada's Drag Race Season 2 | Herself | Stand-alone special | [15] |
2021 | eTalk | Herself | Guest | [16] |
2022 | It Gets Better Canada | Herself | Guest with Patch Donaghy | [17] |
2022 | Meet the Queens: Canada's Drag Race vs The World | Herself | Stand-alone special | [18] |