Priyanka (drag queen)

Mark Suknanan (born May 28, 1991)[1] is a Canadian television personality and drag queen. Competing under his drag name, Priyanka, Suknanan won the first season of the reality competition series Canada's Drag Race in 2020. He was previously a host of the YTV children's series The Zone and the YTV reality competition series The Next Star, where he went by Mark Suki.[2]

Priyanka
Born
Mark Suknanan

(1991-05-28) May 28, 1991
Whitby, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationNiagara College
Occupation
  • Television personality
  • drag queen
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Suknanan was born on May 28, 1991, in Whitby, Ontario.[3] He is of Indo-Guyanese descent.[4] Suknanan is an alumnus of Niagara College's broadcasting program.[5]

Career

Suknanan began his career as a host in children's television, most notably on YTV's The Zone[6] and as the web host of the YTV reality competition series The Next Star.[7]

Drag

Suknanan began performing as a drag queen in 2017, initially under the name Priyanka Love, in Toronto clubs.[1] Her first competition in drag was for a local contest at the suggestion of fellow drag queen Xtacy Love, where she placed fourth. She quickly found success in the local drag scene, winning numerous titles, including Miss Crews and Tangos (2018–2019) and Woody's Queen of Halloween (2018).[8] Priyanka was voted Toronto's best queen in Now's annual reader poll in 2019.[8] Speaking about her rise to fame, Suknanan said: “I went from zero to 100 ... I came into drag so hard and built up a name so quickly that it just kind of became routine.”[8] Priyanka has also performed as Mel B in a Spice Girls drag tribute act, alongside her Canada's Drag Race castmate Juice Boxx as Emma Bunton.[9]

In 2020, Priyanka earned wider recognition as a contestant on the inaugural season of the reality competition series Canada's Drag Race, ultimately winning the competition over finalists Scarlett Bobo and Rita Baga.[10] She became the first person of Indo-Caribbean descent to win in the franchise's global history.[11] Throughout the season, her narrative included a running gag that the contrast between personas, as both established television personality Mark Suki by day and drag queen Priyanka by night, made her Canada's Hannah Montana;[12] for Fierté Montréal's special online edition of its annual Drag Superstars show, which featured all of the Canada's Drag Race queens in prerecorded video performances, Priyanka performed to the Hannah Montana theme song "The Best of Both Worlds".[12]

Following the conclusion of the season, she headlined a cross-Canada tour with the other Canada's Drag Race contestants, which was performed at drive-in venues due to the ongoing social distancing restrictions remaining in place during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[13] In October, she participated alongside Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga and Jimbo in an online panel discussion as part of the Just for Laughs festival.[14] Priyanka was on the cover of Gay Times digital issue, her first magazine cover.[15]

In November and December 2020, Priyanka appeared as the celebrity spokesperson in a Canadian advertising campaign for SodaStream.[16] She has also starred in online advertising campaigns for Shoppers Drug Mart and the Bank of Montreal.[17]

Personal life

Suknanan is openly gay.[18]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2013–2014 The Next Star Himself Host
2013–2019 The Zone Himself Host
2015 Katie Chats Himself
2015 Kids Choice Awards Countdown Himself Host
2020 Canada's Drag Race Herself Winner

Music videos
Year Title Artist Ref.
2021 "Do Better" Anjulie [19]

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
2021 The Pit Stop Herself Guest [20]

Discography
Title Year Album Ref.
"Say My Name" 2018 Non-album single [3]
"You Look So Good" 2019
"Not Sorry Aboot It"
(with The Cast of Canada's Drag Race, Season 1)		 2020 [21]
"U Wear It Well" – Queens of the North Ru-Mix
(RuPaul featuring the Cast of Canada's Drag Race, Season 1)		 [22]

References
  1. Edwards, Eve (July 3, 2020). "Canada's Drag Race: How Priyanka went from kids TV host to superstar queen".
  2. Lapointe, Suzanne (September 3, 2020). "'Canada's Drag Race' makes herstory with its first ever Queen of the North". eTalk.
  3. "Home - Priyanka".
  4. George, Tom (August 28, 2020). "Drag Race's Priyanka is the queer South Asian representation I desperately needed". Metro.
  5. Mayer, T. (July 13, 2020). "NC alum stars on Canada's Drag Race". Inside NC.
  6. Donato, Al (July 21, 2016). "YTV Hosts And Stars: Where Are They Now?". Huffington Post Canada.
  7. "The Next Star: SuperGroup Premieres on YTV on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. ET/PT". Newswire. February 18, 2014.
  8. Ritchie, Kevin (October 31, 2019). "Meet our readers' favourite Toronto drag performer: Priyanka". Now.
  9. Andre Nevelling, "Who is drag queen Priyanka, the newly crowned Indian-Guyanese winner of Canada’s Drag Race, the latest RuPaul spin-off?". South China Morning Post, September 11, 2020.
  10. Suzanne Lapointe, "‘Canada’s Drag Race’ makes herstory with its first ever Queen of the North". eTalk, September 3, 2020.
  11. Nolfi, Joey (September 4, 2020). "You will remember Canada's Drag Race winner Priyanka's name forever". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  12. Russ Martin, "Priyanka Is Canada’s Drag Race's First Winner!". Flare, September 4, 2020.
  13. Peter Knegt, "All hail our queen: A conversation with Canada's Drag Race winner Priyanka". CBC Arts, September 10, 2020.
  14. Jenelle Riley, "For Montreal’s Just for Laughs, the Show Will Go On(line)". Variety, October 2, 2020.
  15. Dashenas, Sam (November 18, 2020). "Canada's Drag Race winner Priyanka is ready to rule". Gay Times. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  16. Chris Powell, "SodaStream enlists Snoop Dogg, Priyanka for holiday campaign". The Message, November 23, 2020.
  17. "Canada’s Drag Race Winner Priyanka Stars in New BMO Campaign". Glossy Inc., January 25, 2021.
  18. Sim, Bernardo (July 17, 2020). "Canada's Drag Race: Priyanka Comes Out As Gay To Dad By Being On TV". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  19. Anjulie - Do Better (Official Music Video Starring Priyanka). anjuliesmusic. January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  20. The Pit Stop S13 E3 | Trixie Mattel & Priyanka Go Off On ‘Phenomenon’ | RuPaul's Drag Race. RuPaul's Drag Race. January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  21. "Not Sorry Aboot It". iTunes Store. August 29, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  22. "U Wear It Well - Queens of the North Ru-Mix". iTunes Store. August 19, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
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