I got off the phone and I just remember crying and I looked at my boyfriend and I said, 'They just called me to be Ru's makeup artist.'' We hung up and then he called back, and I could hear Ru in the background. So many things were going through my head. And they said, well, we need to know if you can come in tomorrow to do Ru's makeup. 'I was leaving for Louisville, Kentucky, on a three-city tour. 'One of the producers called me and asked me what I was doing tomorrow,' she recalls. Although she didn't win her season, Raven won something arguably better - an Emmy!Īfter working as RuPaul's makeup artist for several years, Raven became the first contestant to win an Emmy in 2020 when she won for Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety or Nonfiction Reality Program.Īs she reveals in the book, she was first approached to do RuPaul's makeup while 'going through a drive-thru with my boyfriend.' Raven made her debut on the show's popular second season and quickly became of favorite of RuPaul, who was amazed by her makeup skills. VH1 How Raven became RuPaul's makeup artist It felt like she had a spiritual awakening.' Ongina wasn't planning on dropping that bomb. The revelation surprised and touched her fellow contestants, including Rebecca Glasscock, who says in the book, 'We had no idea she was HIV-positive. But this was a chance for me to show I live my life being HIV-positive.' 'I told them I didn't want anyone to know. 'Nobody knew on set, with the exception of two main producers because I had to write in my application what medications I was taking,' Ongina says in the book.

When Ongina was declared the winner of a challenge where she wrote a commercial for MAC's Viva Glam public charity campaign for AIDS/HIV, she courageously revealed her own diagnosis. Ongina made herstory on season 1 as the first ever queen to share that she had been living with HIV. Related: 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Star Sasha Colby on Her Historic Win and How Hawaii Influences Her Style (Exclusive) How season 1 cast reacted to Ongina's unplanned reveal that she has HIV

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