Jackie Cox Talks About Middle Eastern Representation On RuPaul's Drag Race With Q26
Jackie Cox is the stage name of a Canadian drag queen based in New York City who was a competitor on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She ultimately placed 4th on the show. Jasmine D. Lowe, the Managing Editor at Q26, got the chance to interview her via email.
Jackie Cox
Jasmine D. Lowe: I used to work in Irvine and live in Fullerton. I heard you went to school in Irvine and performed at the Theatre Out at the Empire Theater, in Santa Ana (I used to work at Segerstrom Center for the Arts). Did living in Orange County drive you to New York as it pushed me to LA?
Jackie Cox: Orange County is such an interesting place that is (thankfully) becoming bluer with each election. Back in 2009, when I left, it was still quite conservative, so pushing the boundaries by doing queer theater was definitely something that helped open my eyes to a whole wide queer world, and made me want to find more of "my kind" which led me to NYC.
Jasmine: I’ve heard the drag name, Jackie Cox, was created by you and your best friend in college as a character that you made up who is in musical theatre. Is this true?
Jackie: Yes, it is true! The idea of Jackie Cox was that she was almost this Rachel Berry type character (this was before the show Glee actually was on the air), just a musical theater diva who thinks they are the biggest star. Of course in the 10 years, I've been performing as Jackie Cox, she has evolved quite a bit!
Jasmine: You have mentioned your background on the show. RuPaul’s Drag Race has broken boundaries, has always been popular, and has been on the air for years. Has anyone from the Persian community reached out to you about the representation you give by being a part of this huge piece of culture?
Jackie: Oh my goodness, so, so many Persian folks have reached out, and non-Persian Middle Eastern and Muslim folks have also reached out thanking me for my representation on the show. Many young people have told me they have shown me to their parents to help them understand drag, or being queer in general. I am constantly humbled hearing their stories, and so grateful that Drag Race gave me this platform and opportunity.
Jackie Cox
Jasmine: Where do you see Jackie Cox heading to in the future? Will we see more of her?
Jackie: Well, now that I'm out of my proverbial genie bottle, there's no way to put me back! I hope to keep learning, growing, and performing. And I'm looking forward to the future and showing people even more sides of Jackie than what they saw on TV.
Jasmine: This is a question that I ask everyone. What advice do you have for young queer people, especially those of color, who want to become artists and share their creative passions in the world as you do?
Jackie: The most important thing, and I say this to anyone who is passionate about the arts, is to find your "WHY"- Why is your art important to you? Why do you want to share it with the world? For me, I knew how amazing it would have been to see a queer Persian person on my TV as a young boy, and I wanted to give kids today that same opportunity of representation.
Jasmine: Is there a project that you are working on that you would like to share with our readers or anything else that you would like me to include?
Jackie: Yes! I'm starting a new talk show on YouTube as part of the Broadway Talk Live network that will highlight artists from the theater community and beyond who have been affected by the closures due to the Pandemic. I want to help get their stories out there while at the same time raising money and awareness for amazing organizations like BCEFA, The Actor's Fund, and the new "Be an Arts Hero" campaign. The show will broadcast live Tuesdays at 7 pm ET at BroadwayTalkLive.com.
Be sure to check out Jackie’s new talk show on YouTube by visiting BroadwayTalkLive.com. You can listen to Jackie Cox’s song, You Wish by visiting the following link https://ffm.to/jackiecoxnyc. You can also follow Jackie Cox on Instagram @jackiecoxnyc, and on Twitter @JackieCoxNYC.
Read the full interview and other stories by downloading a copy of QTYPE’s summer issue!