Carmen Ramon is an American reality TV personality, model, and burlesque dancer who is vivacious and bright. Her stage name, Carmen Carrera, is more well-known. She began her career as a showgirl in New Jersey and rose to notoriety as a contestant on Logo TV’s ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ in the third season. She was brought back in episode 12 after being eliminated in episode 10, only to be eliminated again in the same episode. Carmen, who was born as a man, immediately underwent gender reassignment surgery to turn into a woman once the show ended. Despite her brief appearance on television, her innate beauty and charisma shone through, and she won her first modeling contract with ‘W’ fashion magazine. She later collaborated with RuPaul as a drag professor on his spin-off show, ‘RuPaul’s Drag U.’ She went on to model for some of the biggest names in the fashion world, perform on the big and small screens, and star in music videos in the years that followed. Carrera is also a supporter of several AIDS-related organizations and charities, as well as the LGBTQ community.
Childhood and Adolescence
Carmen Carrera was born Christopher Ramon in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, on April 13, 1985. She is of Peruvian and Puerto Rican ancestry. She used to identify as a gay male before and during her time on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’
Career of Carmen
Carmen Carrera began her career as a showgirl long before she debuted on the reality show ‘Drag Race.’ She fought against 12 other drag queens for the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar,” a headline place on the Absolut Tour, a lifetime supply of Kryolan cosmetics, and a cash prize of $75,000 in the third season of the show “Drag Race” (2011).
She became only the second participant in the show’s history to be recalled after being eliminated earlier in the season (the first was Shangela, a fellow contestant from the same season). She performed on episode 10 by lip-syncing to RuPaul’s ‘Superstar.’ She was eliminated after the judges had a poor reaction to it. She was ousted again on episode 12, titled ‘Jocks in Socks,’ where she styled a heavily-muscular male athlete in her typical “nude” drag. In the overall competition, she came in fifth place.
She most likely made the most important decision of her life shortly after her elimination, choosing gender transformation. She maintained an exceptional level of transparency and honesty throughout the gender reassignment process. It was because of this mentality, as well as her personality, that she became an LGBTQ icon.
In the second season of Drag Race’s spin-off show, ‘Drag U,’ she was asked to play a drag professor (2011). She appeared in two episodes, one of which was ’80s Ladies,’ in which she gave singer Stacy Q a makeover.
In ABC’s ‘Primetime: What Would You Do?’ in 2012, Carmen played a transgender waitress who was subjected to a homophobic diatribe from a customer (played by an actor). The episode, which aired on May 4, 2012, marked her public coming out as a transgender woman.
She became a vocal opponent of RuPaul’s use of the derogatory term “she-male” during an episode of ‘Drag Race’ in 2014. She has been accused of being ungrateful in return. She appeared in numerous episodes of the soap series ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ in 2015 as Karlie. In Jonathan Demme’s musical drama film ‘Ricki and the Flash,’ she played a hair stylist.
Major Projects of Carmen
‘W’ magazine expressed interest in working with Carmen Carrera following her transformation. She was the face of the imaginary fragrance La Femme in their November 2011 edition, as part of a series of realistic commercials for fictional items. Manila Luzon and Shangela Laquifa Wadley, two third-season Drag Race contestants, were also featured in the issue. This presence not only helped her attain mainstream prominence, but it also led to her signing with the elite Elite modeling agency.
Achievements & Rewards
Carmen Carrera has worked tirelessly for years to raise AIDS awareness and has donated both time and money to the cause. In the Gilead Sciences marketing campaign, ‘Red Ribbon Runway,’ she appeared alongside ‘Drag Race’ co-stars Manila Luzon, Delta Work, Shangela Laquifa Wadley, and Alexis Mateo. The dress she wore for the shoot was later auctioned off by Logo TV to raise money for the National Association of People with AIDS in honor of World AIDS Day.
She has long been an outspoken supporter of LGBTQ rights. She not only represents the transgender community as one of its foremost spokespersons, but she also actively attempts to preserve an image that can inspire others as the first transgender model to attain mainstream success. In 2017, she teamed up with History UnErased (HUE) to use education to promote understanding of the LGBTQ community.
Personal Experiences of Carmen
Carmen Carrera has been married to Adrian Torres, her domestic partner, since 2009. They split up in 2013, but later reunited for relationship counseling on Dr. Jenn Mann’s reality show “Couple’s Therapy.” The pair married on June 10, 2015, during the production of an episode that aired on VH1 as the season six finale on December 9, 2015, following a passionate reunion. She is currently residing in the city of Los Angeles, California.
Estimated Net Worth
Carmen Carrera has a net worth of $2 million as an American model, actress, and reality television star. She is well recognized for her roles in the hit VH1 reality series Couples Therapy, as well as RuPaul’s Drag Race and its well-known spinoff, RuPaul’s Drag U.