Skip to main content

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ star Jiggly Caliente dead at 44 from infection

Bianca Castro-Arabejo, a drag performer who became a fan-favorite on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as Jiggly Caliente, died Sunday. She was 44.

Castro-Arabejo died days after she was hospitalized with an infection that required the amputation of her right leg, her family said in a statement.

“Her legacy is one of love, courage, and light,” the family wrote on Instagram. “Though her physical presence is gone, the joy she shared and the space she helped create for so many will remain forever.”

A veteran drag performer in New York, Castro-Arabejo rose to nationwide fame on season four of “Drag Race.” She delighted viewers with her bubbly personality — she took her name from the Pokemon Jigglypuff — and glamorous looks.

Drag performer Jiggly Caliente speaks during a press conference advocating for LGBTQ+ rights on Capitol Hill on June 25, 2024.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn
Jiggly Caliente speaks during a press conference advocating for LGBTQ+ rights on Capitol Hill on June 25, 2024. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)

Though she only finished in eighth place in her initial season, viewers loved Castro-Arabejo so much that she was invited back to “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” for its sixth season.

In addition to her “Drag Race” appearances, Castro-Arabejo also starred on the FX series “Pose.” In 2022, she was named as a judge for the spin-off “Drag Race Philippines.”

Born in Manila, Castro-Arabejo and her family moved to New York when she was young. However, her mother always encouraged her to honor her heritage.

“She really wanted me to remember where I come from,” Castro-Arabejo told Billboard in 2018. “She would say, ‘Just because you’re in America, this isn’t your culture. You’re Filipino.’”

Jiggly Caliente attends as Empire State Building hosts the cast of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" Season 6 on June 24, 2021.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.
Jiggly Caliente visits the Empire State Building with the cast of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" Season 6 in June 2021. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.)

In addition to proudly representing her home country, Castro-Arabejo came out as trans in 2016. She said that when she starred on “Drag Race” the first time, she was in the middle of her transition but didn’t want it to become a major storyline.

However, her thoughts changed as she received more fan mail from people struggling with their gender identities.

“I wanted to let them know that you’re not the only person that feels like your lines are being blurred because of what your life is,” she told Billboard. “I can be myself, and my fans know the true Jiggly without it getting … shuffled around and made into something else. Or made a joke, or a gimmick. It’s not a gimmick, it’s my life.”



from New York Daily News https://ift.tt/JxtebgP
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mobbed-up Long Island cop staged fake raid at rival ‘Sal the Shoemaker’ gambling parlor: feds

A mobbed-up Nassau cop working behind-the-scenes for the Bonanno crime family staged a fake raid to shut down a gambling parlor run by rival Genovese gangster Salvatore “Sal the Shoemaker” Rubino, federal prosecutors charge in new court filings. Now-fired Nassau County Police Department Detective Hector Rosario allegedly had a side gig working for the Bonanno crime family — and the Bonannos considered Rubino’s gambling den in his Merrick, L.I. shop, Sal’s Shoe Repair, the competition, the feds say. So in 2013 or 2014, two Bonanno members paid Rosario to shut the place down and Rosario got to work, according to a January filing by federal prosecutors. The two Bonannos who gave the order are expected to sing at Rosario’s trial in Brooklyn Federal Court next month. Neither are named in the court filings. One of the informants, a Bonanno associate, is expected to testify he was in the room when Rosario and his “associates” barged into Rubino’s shoe repair shop, broke one of the gamb...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Just Because Woman Below Average Intelligence...": Court Questions Abortion Request

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday questioned whether a woman with intellectual disability has no right to become a mother. http://dlvr.it/THDxR3
Post a Comment
Read more

Unclaimed Funds Archive

What are unclaimed property and unclaimed funds? Perhaps you forgot to cash a check, overpaid a bill, or didn’t know you were the beneficiary of a long-lost relative’s life insurance policy. There are many reasons why you may be owed money and not be aware of it. That is why banks, insurance companies, courts, corporations, and other organizations are required by law to attempt to notify you by mail and publish information regarding unclaimed property in the newspaper. What happens to unclaimed property? Organizations have between one and five years to try to reunite account holders with their property, depending on the state and industry. After that “dormancy period,” the funds are turned over to the state. The NY State Comptroller will hold on to unclaimed funds indefinitely, just waiting for you to file a claim. How to find lost money: Search for your name—and your family members’ names—in the unclaimed property and funds lists published in the New York Daily News, linked below...
Post a Comment
Read more