Tyra Sanchez

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Tyra Sanchez
File:Tyra Sanchez on a cruze.jpg
Born James William Ross IV
(1988-04-22) April 22, 1988 (age 36)
Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Residence Orlando, Florida U.S.
Other names James Ross
Occupation Drag queen
Known for RuPaul's Drag Race (season 2) winner
Predecessor BeBe Zahara Benet
Successor Raja
Children 1

James Ross IV, better known by his stage name Tyra Sanchez, is an American drag queen and reality television personality. A frequent drag impersonator of pop star Beyoncé, Ross is best known as the winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[1]

Career

A native of Gainesville, Florida, Ross moved to Orlando, where he resided for most of his life. During his time on RuPaul's Drag Race, Ross spoke candidly about his periods of homelessness and personal challenges prior to auditioning for and being selected to appear on the show. Ross' old-school drag style and glamor made him a favorite of the judges. Currently residing in Atlanta, Ross performs throughout the United States and Canada.

At the time he won the title, Ross was one of the youngest contestants to appear on RuPaul's Drag Race; he was also one of the few contestants on the show who never had to lip sync in order to avoid elimination prior to the season finale. After winning Drag Race, Ross served as a drag professor and mentor of beauty- and fashion-challenged women on the second season of RuPaul's Drag U.[2] In April 2011, Sanchez released his first dance single, "Look At Me Now."

Personal life

Ross is single and has one son whom he co-parents with the child's mother.

On August 10, 2015 Ross sent a tweet to a fan of the show who called him annoying, telling the fan, "kill yourself," which was met with backlash and outrage across Twitter and Facebook. He later stated that he would not apologize for his opinion, and went on to call victims of suicide "selfish cowards."[3] A petition[4] was made calling for RuPaul to revoke Ross' crown and title, or at least speak out against it. RuPaul broke silence in his podcast,[5] defending Ross' attitude, and stated: "Twitter is not the place for that. People don't get nuance on Twitter, you can't do irony on Twitter, people won't get it." During the podcast she added: "On Twitter, you don't hear inflection, you don't hear snark, you don't hear sarcasm." To further corroborate his stance on the matter he appealed to the audiences to take Sanchez's comments in jest.

References

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  2. Guest Judges Announced for RuPaul's Drag U from New York Press 9 March 2011
  3. '"Drag Race winner under fire for comments on suicide"'
  4. 'Activists create petition against Sanchez'
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Preceded by RuPaul's Drag Race winner
Season 2 (2010)
Succeeded by
Raja