Jump to content

Nikita Dragun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Grimothy29 (talk | contribs) at 21:32, 19 February 2021 (→Early life and education). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Nikita Dragun
Dragun in 2019
Personal information
Born
Belgium
YouTube information
Years active2014–present
Genre(s)Beauty, drama, vlog, makeup
Subscribers3.64M (as of September 2020)
Total views172,009,216 (as of April 2020)
1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: September 28, 2020

Nikita Dragun is a Belgian-born American YouTuber, make-up artist, and model.[1]

Early life and education

Nikita Dragun was born in Belgium and attended high school in Virginia. She is of Vietnamese and Mexican descent, and came out as a trans woman when she entered college. In several of Dragun's YouTube videos, she has spoken openly about her transition.[2] When in college, Dragun reported getting a fake ID with the name Nicole, and was recognized as female.

Later, Dragun decided to move to Los Angeles, and got accepted to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, where she obtained her business degree. She said, “I was very Hannah Montana at the time. I would be in class, and we’d talk about influencers and brand deals, and my face would pop up on the screen and they’d start talking about me! They had no idea that I was sitting in the class. I never wanted anyone to know.”[3]

Career

Dragun joined YouTube in February 2013. She stated, “I started to get little brand deals around that time… That was also when I decided to start taking Instagram and YouTube seriously.” In 2015, by which time she was living in Los Angeles, she came out as a transgender woman.[1] As of February 2021, she has over 3.71 million subscribers on YouTube, 9 million followers on Instagram, and 12.7 million followers on TikTok.[4]

In response to comments by L Brands chief marketing officer Ed Razek that trans women should not be included in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show because "the show is a fantasy", Dragun tweeted a video of herself modeling lingerie. In the tweet, Dragun argues that trans women were indeed able to convey fantasy.[5]

In March 2019, she announced a make-up line, Dragun Beauty.[6] Aside from the mainstream market, the cosmetic line is also targeted towards the transgender community. All products are vegan and cruelty-free, this is cited as a reason why Nikita decided to launch her brand independently.[7] In June 2019, Dragun was interviewed about her make-up brand on the LGBT radio network Channel Q, where she credited her journey as a transgender woman building her brand as the inspiration behind Dragun Beauty and its products.[8]

In September 2019, it was announced Nikita would be starring in her own docuseries on Snapchat, "Nikita Unfiltered". The series follows Dragun as she searches for love, "a different path" in her career, and navigates fame as a trans woman. The series premiered on 21 March 2020.[9][10]

On July 21, 2020, Dragun held a surprise birthday party for YouTuber Larray during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Hype House mansion.[11] The party included internet celebrities such as James Charles, Charli D'Amelio, Dixie D'Amelio, and others.[12] At the time of the party, California's COVID-19 cases had just surpassed New York's cases.[13] There was an estimated 67 people in attendance,[14] many of whom were seen without face masks[12] despite local health recommendations.[15] Photos and videos of the event appeared on social media sites such as Instagram. These posts drew criticism from the public, including other influencers like Elijah Daniel and Tyler Oakley.[11][16] Merritt, and some of the other attendees, later apologized.[14] Residents of the Hype House later tested negative for COVID-19.[17]

Awards

Year Award Category Result
2019 Streamy Awards Beauty Won[18]
2019 E! People's Choice Awards The Beauty Influencer of 2019 Nominated[19]
2020 The 12th Annual Shorty Awards Best in Beauty Won[20]

Filmography

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018–2019 Escape the Night The Troublemaker Main cast; 14 episodes [21]
2020 Nikita Unfiltered Herself 10 episodes [9]
Instant Influencer with James Charles Herself Episode: "I Have to Apologize for This..."

TV series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2019 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Herself Episode: "The Show Must Go On" [21]

Music videos

Year Title Performer(s) Ref.
2018 "Heart to Break" Kim Petras [22]
"That Bih" Qveen Herby [23]
2019 "Best Friend's Ass" Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Paris Hilton [24]
"Fuck It Up" Iggy Azalea, Kash Doll [25]
2020 "Malibu" (At Home Edition) Kim Petras
"Baby, I'm Jealous" Bebe Rexha, Doja Cat

References

  1. ^ a b "YouTube Star Nikita Dragun on Authenticity, Inclusivity, and Why the Trolls Don't Scare Her". Elle. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  2. ^ Lamare, Amy (17 May 2019). "Who Is Nikita Dragun? New Details On The YouTube Makeup Artist Who Defended James Charles In The Tati Westbrook scandal". YourTango. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  3. ^ Ward, Tom (17 April 2019). "Nikita Dragun Is Transforming The Face Of Beauty". Forbes. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Here's What's Going On With All The Drama Between Popular Beauty YouTubers Accusing One Another Of Being Racist". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. ^ "In a company first, Victoria's Secret hires openly transgender model". 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  6. ^ Tietjen, Alexa (11 March 2019). "Exclusive: Nikita Dragun Debuts Cosmetics Brand Dragun Beauty". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  7. ^ Sharma, Jeena (8 April 2019). "Nikita Dragun Wants You to Live Your Fantasy". PAPER. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Nikita Dragon Exclusive Interview". We Are Channel Q. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Nikita Dragun's new docuseries is arriving on Snapchat, and she's hoping it provides 'a little bit of fantasy and escape' from the coronavirus". Insider.com.
  10. ^ Boren, Jade (21 March 2020). "Nikita Dragun Is Ready To Show Fans 'Everything' In New Snapchat Docuseries: 'It's Completely Unfiltered'".
  11. ^ a b Williams, Janice (28 July 2020). "Influencers Face Backlash After Attending Party for TikTok Star Larray As Coronavirus Surges. Newsweek". Newsweek. Retrieved 26 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ a b Lustig, Hanna. "Dozens of top influencers gathered for a massive Hype House birthday party despite record COVID-19 numbers in California". Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  13. ^ McGreevy, Patrick (22 July 2020). "California to obtain more masks, gear as it becomes state with most COVID-19 cases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ a b Tenbarge, Kat (27 July 2020). "Party-goers were subjected to strong online backlash, but that hasn't stopped them from continuing to go out". Insider. Retrieved 26 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ Llyod, Jonathan (19 June 2020). "If You Have Questions About California's Face Mask Rules, This List Has Them Covered". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 30 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Henry, Ben (23 July 2020). "Tyler Oakley Called Out James Charles, Charli D'Amelio And More For Attending An "Insane Surprise Party" During Lockdown". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 26 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Roantree, Megab (4 August 2020). "Nikita Dragun Got The Hype House Tested For Coronavirus". Kiss. Retrieved 26 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Winners Announced for the 9th Annual Streamy Awards". 14 December 2019.
  19. ^ Entertainment, E!. "E! People's Choice Awards 2019". pca.eonline.com.
  20. ^ Street, Mikelle (5 May 2020). "LGBTQ+ Stars Swept the Shorty Awards 2020". Out.
  21. ^ a b "Nikita Dragun". IMDb.com.
  22. ^ "Video". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Video". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Video". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  25. ^ "Video". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.


YouTube icon

This biographical article about a YouTuber is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Nikita_Dragun&oldid=1007773897"