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Venus D-Lite

This article is about the American drag queen. For the Canadian drag queen, see Venus (drag queen).
Venus D-Lite
D-Lite in 2017
Born
Adam Daniel Guerra

(1983-09-05) September 5, 1983 (age 41)[1]
Rosemead, California, U.S.
EducationOrange Coast College
Los Angeles Community College
Occupations
Years active2002–present

Adam Daniel Guerra (born September 5, 1983),[2][3] known by his stage name Venus D-Lite, is an American drag performer, television personality and Madonna impersonator. He gained recognition for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and went viral with his appearance in a My Strange Addiction episode called "Addicted To Being Madonna" (2015).[4]

Early life and education

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Guerra was raised in Rosemead, California.[5] He attended San Gabriel High School and then Orange Coast College, where he majored in business.[6] He was also pursuing a degree in film from Los Angeles Community College, but dropped out in order to pursue a career in drag full-time.[7]

Career

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Guerra started performing as D-Lite (in a Marilyn Monroe impersonation) on August 5, 2002[8] and made his first television appearance on The Ricki Lake Show in 2003.[9] His drag name came from a combination of “Venus” (taken from “Venus Was Her Name”, a song by Shocking Blue), and “D-Lite”, a name thought of by Guerra's then-boyfriend and makeup artist of three years.[10] A fan of Madonna, he spent over $175,000 on 19 surgeries to look like her for his performances.[11] He was announced as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race season 3 on January 24, 2011.[12] He was eliminated in the first episode, after losing a lip sync to "The Right Stuff" by Vanessa Williams against Shangela, and placed thirteenth.[13] He did however make a guest appearance on the first episode of the fourth season.

In 2014, he made an appearance on Botched to get rhinoplasty surgery.[14] He was in an episode of My Strange Addiction in 2015 to discuss his Madonna obsession.[15][16] He was also with fellow Drag Race alumni in an episode of Skin Wars.[17]

On February 5, 2015, Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio featured Venus in an episode of her WOWPresents web series "Really Queen?" where she made jokes about her.[18] Venus appeared in a reaction video on February 25 by WOW making jokes back at Del Rio.[19]

Aside from Madonna, he has previously impersonated Marilyn Monroe, Paris Hilton, Cher, Gwen Stefani, Judy Garland, and Barbra Streisand.[7]

Music

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Guerra released his first single "I'm Not Madonna" featuring singer Jenn Cuneta on July 7, 2014, on a remix EP.[20] He collaborated with fellow Botched guests Toby Sheldon and Kitty Jay for the single "The Plastics", credited as a band of the same name.[21]

Personal life

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Guerra is gay.[22] In 2021, he came out as HIV-positive in an interview with Joseph Shepherd.[23]

In June 2022, Venus made an Instagram post admitting that he was raped by a fellow Drag Race alum in 2013, one described as a “popular queen”, but refused to name the rapist.[24]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 The Ricki Lake Show Himself
2011, 2012 RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 – 13th, Season 4 – Guest
2011 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
2014 Botched Season 1 – Episode 5: "Like a Surgeon"
2015 My Strange Addiction Season 6 – Episode 6: "Grandma Lover / Addicted to Being Madonna"
Skin Wars[25] Season 2 – Episode 4: "Queens or Divas?"

Web series

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Year Title Role
2018 Hey Qween![26] Herself

Discography

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Singles

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Year Title
2014 "I'm Not Madonna"
2014 "The Plastics"

References

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  1. ^ "Adam Guerra". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. ^ Beale, Margherita (27 April 2017). "'Drag Race' ex-contestant hung up on playing Madonna now has a business plan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  3. ^ Wichelmann, Kai (April 3, 2015). "Männlicher Madonna-Fan wird zum Geht-so-Double". Rolling Stone Germany (in German). Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Guerra, Joey (April 20, 2016). "Madonna a profession for Venus D'Lite". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  5. ^ Ohanesian, Liz (2011-02-01). "Venus D-Lite on RuPaul's Drag Race, Madonna Impersonations and L.A. Nightclubs". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
  6. ^ Beale, Margherita (April 27, 2017). "'Drag Race' ex-contestant hung up on playing Madonna now has a business plan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Christine (18 April 2019). "Venus D'Lite – The Socialite Life Interview". Socialite Life. MJP Content Labs, LLC. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "On Point With: Venus D'Lite". Thotyssey. Tumblr. August 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "Venus D'Lite - WEHOville". WEHOville. 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  10. ^ Holland, Scott (27 January 2011). "Venus D Lite Interview". Hotspot Magazine. Hotspots Media Group. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  11. ^ MacRae, Dan (2015-03-25). "Adam Guerra (a.k.a. Venus D'Lite) Has Spent $175,000 On Surgeries To Look Like Madonna". ET Canada. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  12. ^ "Alexis Mateo: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 Contestant - RuPaul's Drag Race | LOGOtv". Logo TV. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  13. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' season premiere: Can you believe RuPaul brought [spoiler] back?!?". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  14. ^ "Botched Before and After: Reality Star Gets a Boob Job, Madonna Impersonator Wants a Nose Job and Much More—See the Pics! on Botched". E! Online. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  15. ^ "Madonna a profession for Venus D'Lite". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  16. ^ ""Drag Race" Alum Venus D'Lite Hangs Up Madonna Obsession On "My Strange Addiction"". NewNowNext. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
  17. ^ "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  18. ^ WOWPresents (2015-02-05), Bianca Del Rio's Really Queen? - Venus D'Lite, retrieved 2018-10-13
  19. ^ WOWPresents (2015-02-25), Venus D'Lite Reacts to Bianca Del Rio's Really Queen? feat. JujuBee, retrieved 2018-10-13
  20. ^ I'm Not Madonna by Venus D Lite featuring Jenn Cuneta on Apple Music, 2014-07-07, retrieved 2018-02-20
  21. ^ "Plastic surgery enhanced celebrity look-alike group release music video". starcasm.net. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  22. ^ "This gay man was so obsessed he spent $175k to look like Madonna". Gay Star News. 2015-01-30. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
  23. ^ Venus D-Lite: Exposed (The Full Interview), 12 August 2021, retrieved 2021-08-14
  24. ^ Cornell, Ashley (3 August 2022). "RuPaul's Venus D'Lite Says She Was Raped By Another Reality Queen". Spam Chronicles. S Chronicles. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  25. ^ Boulet, Ruth (2015-07-08). "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: The Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  26. ^ Hey Qween (2018-05-14), VENUS D'LITE on Hey Qween! with Jonny McGovern | Hey Qween, retrieved 2019-05-08
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