- Bonjour!
It's Michelle Visage and it's time
for another episode of Whatcha Packin'.
(upbeat music)
Joining me today, I'm gonna call her a Jersey girl,
'cause that's what she is.
It is, Olivia Lux, hey Olivia!
- Hi Michelle, good to see you.
- I know you're a New York queen
and I'm a New York city girl.
But really, we go back to Jersey.
You got to trace the roots.
Now, what town are you from?
You're from the Philly side, aren't you?
- Yes, specifically Buena, New Jersey.
Not a lot of people know of it,
but it's a very small farm town. (laughs)
- What's it called?
- Buena, Buena Vista.
- You mean like, Buena?
- Everybody pronounces it buena
and we always used to say, "Oh, we call it Buena."
But I'm pretty sure it's Buena.
- Is it spelled B-U-E-N-A?
- That's what we said on the football field.
- Girl, it's Buena!
That is so New Jersey to jack it up and call it Buena.
(Olivia laughs)
Anyway, top five in RuPaul's drag race.
(Olivia exclaims silently)
And you've been doing drag
for just a little bit over a year?
- Yeah. When I applied, I just celebrated my one year.
- So you're a performer.
You're a piano player.
You're kind of theater kid.
How did the switch come to drag?
Was there always something in you
or were you seeing kind of an opening saying,
"You know what, I'm missing a beat here.
"I should be doing this."
- I definitely started seeing that switch in college.
I would get cast for roles.
I played angel and rent like three times in college.
- Right.
- And then started to play around with like,
gender expression.
And one day I remember in like a jazz dance class,
I was like, "You know what?
"I'm gonna do like the 'girls' dance number today."
- And I remember that
being just like - (laughs) Ooh.
a controversial day in the jazz class.
(Michelle laughs)
And I think that's when I just was like,
"You know what?
"I really want to explore this a little further."
Put makeup, put all that stuff together.
And bam, Olivia Lux!
- Olivia Lux is fantastic,
fell in love with you from the moment I saw you.
- Ooh.
- You're so bouncy and light and fun and sweet and lovable.
But you seemed like your whole head was in the game.
If I said something to you, you wanted to hear what it was.
You wanted to take it back and you wanted to put it to use.
And that is the best part of RuPaul's drag race.
When people listen and they're ready to make the effort.
Especially being a drag baby.
(Olivia laughs)
So, it's quite impressive.
And episode one, you beat Rose in the lip sync.
Who is a very seasoned queen, as you know.
What was that like for you?
- That was wild. Yeah.
I'd seen her around in New York city
and like drag royalty.
I had been to her shows even before I even started drag.
So, just to be in the same room
and on the same stage as her
was kind of just like crazy. (giggles)
- Ooh. - But yeah,
drag fetus and I think you hit the head on the nail like--
- I love that you just said hit the head on the nail.
Absolutely an Olivia Lux saying,
(Olivia exclaims) "He hit the nail at that."
(both laughs)
That is so cute.
- It isn't a head on the nail?
- Hit the nail on the head.
Do you think that you were underestimated
by the rest of the girls
because you are a little drag fetus?
- I definitely think early on, the girls were like,
"What does she have to bring."
That really gave me the fuel on fire
I needed in the competition to just continue to do me.
Once I started to get some wins under my belt
I feel like the girls were like, "She's like here, okay.
"She's a competitor."
And that really felt great.
- It should feel great because you killed it up there.
The fact that you are so new at it
just tells me that you have a gift.
This is what you are meant to be doing.
You came here to slay and you absolutely did.
You have remained really sweet
and really approachable and really likable.
Is it an act you put on?
Were you raised that way?
- I'm really close with my grandmom and my,
my aunts and my mom.
They all raised me.
And I really like to think
that I took pieces of like each and every one of them.
And they're so part of Olivia lux
that like feminine energy just combines like, created her.
- Do you have siblings?
- I do. I have little, little siblings.
I'm the oldest. (laughs)
We're 10 and 15 years apart so, huge age gap.
Actually just last night I was talking to my mom
and she said, "You're really making drag
"and art normal, in the family."
And I said, "What do you mean?"
And she was like, "They look at you
"and they look at all your videos on YouTube and stuff.
"And they see someone being really fabulous
"and going on to their dreams."
They don't think, "Oh, that's a person in a dress or--"
- Ooh.
- Well, how beautiful to have a mom
that could say something like that to her child.
That in and of itself, mom is a big change.
Because just 10 years ago I would go to gigs
and I would see kids saying,
"My parents threw me out or they don't like me."
Or "They don't love me because I'm gay
"or I do drag or I'm trans", whatever the situation is.
Now to hear these beautiful stories of parents,
not only standing by their gay, queer or different child
but also encouraging them to do their craft.
To do their art.
So that's a really beautiful thing.
And your mom and your grandma, your auntie,
they all deserve credit for that.
But something I want to give you credit for
is this weight loss journey of yours.
I mean, 300 pounds?
- Yeah. In high school it was rough, Michelle,
it was a rough.
- Right.
- I was in marching band and I played the Piccolo
which is the smallest instrument.
- This big?
- And I was the largest kid. (chuckles)
- I was the woodwind girl in the marching band,
I played the clarinet, then bass clarinet.
Then I played the bassoon, which was ridiculous.
(Olivia laughs)
So then I switched to the saxophone.
But then I gave it all up for pompoms,
'cause I wasn't getting laid in the marching band.
- I mean, it's the curse of the woodwinds. Yes.
(Michelle laughs) I'm very familiar.
Yes. (laughs)
- I had to get my own woodwind, honey.
- (laughs) Right.
- So how did that journey start for you?
Because weight loss, gosh, it's so individual
and it's such a difficult thing
to just blatantly talk about it.
'Cause there's one side that's like, "Stop eating,
"just stop putting crap in your mouth."
And the other side, it's like,
"You don't understand this is an addiction."
So where did you fall in that?
And how did you rescue yourself?
- I mean, one day I came home from the doctors
and my mom was in the car
and she just said, "We got to do something."
I was classified as obese at the time
and I wasn't doing any physical activity.
I feel like I found theater
and I found dance all at the same time.
And I just remember just being really excited to move
and get up and I think my mom also really helps a lot.
She was cooking healthier
and she was also going through
a weight loss journey herself.
We kind of together, came out on the other side,
which was a really cool experience in high school.
Then I went off to college and everything was go, go go!
And chasing my dream of someday being, you know,
on a stage somewhere under lights.
(welcoming music)
- Well, for somebody who's struggled with their weight
for many years, it doesn't sound like you tried very hard.
(both laughs)
It sounds like your mama cooked for you,
you did a little fast walking in the marching band
and that you started dancing.
- Well I'd say, Okay.
So, my mom said in the car, you're doing a sport.
And I was like, "What?" (chuckles)
She said, "Pick one, this year in high school
"you're gonna do a sport."
And I was terrified.
- What'd you pick? - Tennis.
- Right. (chuckles)
- I was like, "Let me get a cute little racket, you know,
"maybe I can put some stones - Right. (chuckles)
"that are some, some glitter whatever."
- Tennis, it isn't easy, Olivia.
There's a lot of running back and forth.
- I found out the first day of practice, Michelle.
I found out the first day.
My coach, coach Danna, if you're out there watching,
he made me run up and down and up and down.
That got me moving
and it motivated to be a little bit more like,
"Maybe I should do something more
"than just like sit on the couch
"and watch videos of Britney Spears."
- Well, that's fun too, but losing over 300 pounds
and keeping it off is no small feat.
So you should be commended,
obviously nobody's judging the way you were before.
Except maybe kids in high school, but they all suck anyway.
- (chuckles) Absolutely.
- This is your own personal journey.
So, I'm happy for you that you're healthy
and you feel strong about it and you did it with your mom.
That's kind of really special.
- Definitely.
And I like to think about the future too, you know.
- Yeah.
- I'm a drag artist
and I want to be doing this for a really long time.
I gotta be good to myself and my body and my soul, so.
- That's not easy to do, especially in a lockdown
and going through all this there was a lot of banana bread,
a lot of sour doughs a lot of--
(Olivia laughs) What else am I going to do?
I wanna cook. I'm gonna bake.
Let's talk about this gorgeous finale dress
that you weren't just this short of wearing, I know.
Who made this lovely piece Olivia?
- This was made by a fabulous designer in Chicago,
his name's Eddie couture.
He did a, a bunch of other pageants E-type,
sequen-y outfits of the yellow gown, he did.
And my show girl alpha that I did for the music video,
first challenge that we did, so.
Yeah, I really, really love this piece.
Classic Olivia Lux glamor
but definitely like tightening it with all the flowiness
and goddess S-ness.
- If there was a challenge that you said, "Okay,
"I wish I can do that one over again."
Which one would it be?
- I loved my journey.
You know, I got eliminated on a challenge
that I could have chosen another character.
I could have acted a different way.
But in a small way I like to think
that me choosing that character
and then getting to see it back
and getting to experience that role,
the way I did it, showed me a lot more
than if I were to do something another way.
And perhaps getting the top four.
Well, actually, you know what
let me take that back snatch game.
Let's just totally erase that, let's erase that.
That's my final answer, Regis.
(Michelle laughs)
- Well, Olivia, I am so proud of all the work
that you've done in your human life, in your drag life,
your piano playing, your Piccolo playing.
I can't wait to see you and give you a big hug.
I'm so proud of you, Olivia.
Thank you, Michelle, I really appreciate it.
Love you. (giggles silently)
I love you too, honey.
See you soon.
Thanks for watching another episode of Watcha Packin'.
I'll see you next time.
Byiee!
♪ All I want, all I want, is to stay up ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪