Willow Pill

Willow Patterson, known by the stage name Willow Pill, is an American drag performer. She is best known as the winner of season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2022. She is the drag sister of Yvie Oddly, who was the winner of season 11 of Drag Race, making them the first drag sisters to both win regular seasons of the series.

Willow Pill
Born
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationDrag queen
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race

Early life

Patterson was raised in Denver, Colorado and attended Colorado State University.[1]

Career

In an interview with KGNU in 2016, Willow Pill explained her drag persona was "a mix of 41 and 14... I'm kind of obsessed with little stoner girls as well as older women, like moms, that can't catch a break."[2] Her first performance was at a Colorado State University drag show, where she wore "a pink '90s housewife tracksuit, complete with glasses and a pearl necklace." She performed a comedy routine and danced to a mix of Missy Elliott and Gwen Stefani songs.[3]

In 2022, Willow Pill gained wider prominence as a contestant on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she won the main challenge on the third episode, earning a cash price of $5,000. On episode seven, her Snatch Game performance placed her in the bottom seven,[4] and had to participate in a lip-sync tournament on episode eight.[5] She won the first round against Bosco.[5] She placed in the bottom two a second time during episode 14, and was required to “lip sync for her life” against Angeria Paris VanMicheals. Following their performance of "Telephone" by Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé, neither was eliminated, resulting in five contestants advancing to the finale, a first for the series.

On the April 22, 2022, season finale, Willow Pill was declared the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14, earning a cash prize of $150,000, the highest amount awarded to date in a regular season so far.[6] Willow Pill is also the first transgender contestant to win a regular season of the U.S. series and the fourth openly transgender contestant to win a season of the Drag Race franchise at the time of their crowning.[lower-alpha 1]

Personal life

Patterson has had cystinosis her whole life and identifies as trans femme, as one of the five transgender contestants of Season 14.[lower-alpha 2][7] She came out via social media: “It's taken me a long time to come to terms with my transness because so much space has been taken up by my illness," Patterson wrote in one of her posts. She uses she/they pronouns.[8]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Place Ref
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14) Contestant Winner [9]
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked

Notes
  1. The three other transgender contestants to win a Drag Race season were Angele Anang, Kylie Sonique Love, and Vanessa Van Cartier. Trinity the Tuck, who won the fourth season of All Stars, came out as trans non-binary following her season victory.
  2. The four other transgender contestants of season 14 were Kerri Colby, Kornbread Jeté, Bosco, and Jasmine Kennedie.

References
  1. Alvarez, Alayna (2022-04-22). "Denver drag queen Willow Pill competes to win "RuPaul's Drag Race"". Axios. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  2. "Outsources: A New Voice in Drag – Conversation with Will Patterson". KGNU. November 21, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  3. Pinherio, Brooklyn (July 11, 2017). "Becoming a Drag Queen: behind the garters and glitter". The Plaid Zebra. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  4. Ehrman-Dupre, Joe; Ehrman-Dupre, Joe (April 15, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 7, Episode 7: 'Snatch Game!'". Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  5. "It's March Madness on RuPaul's Drag Race with a LaLaPaRuZa lip sync tournament". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  6. Rosario, Alexandra Del (2022-04-23). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': [SPOILER] Crowned Season 14 Winner In Milestone Finale For Franchise". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  7. Dave, Quinn (April 22, 2022). "RuPaul's Drag Race Star Willow Pill Details Life with Cystinosis: 'Nothing Is Unaffected By It'". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  8. Daw, Stephen (2022-03-04). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Star Willow Pill Comes Out as Trans Femme: 'I'm Starting to Feel Bits of Happiness'". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  9. Christopher, Rudolph. ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 14 Queens to Be RuVealed in VH1 Special". NewNowNext.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
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