Drag Race has featured its first cisgender female contestant, Ekaterina Bushueva, better known as Felicia Heals. She recently appeared on the second season of Drag Race Thailand, a sister series to RuPaul’s Drag Race.

According to Gay Star News, Bushueva has only been doing drag for 12 months, but her drag mother, Pangina Heals, is a co-host of the international competition series.

At first Bushueva was going to be a drag king, but, she said, “It just didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel like myself.” After she saw Pangina talking about cisgender women doing drag, Bushueva reached out to her, and “Felicia was born.”





“We have always had a very good understanding and connection. It was a very natural thing,” she explained. “Pangina is a drag mother who lets you develop yourself. She asked me first to see if I was ready to perform before I did perform for the first time. When I have questions she is always happy to advice and suggest or give a hint of what I might want to try, but in the end the decision is up to me.”

Felicia admits she was hesitant to send in an audition tape for Drag Race Thailand since she was still a “baby drag queen,” but she ultimately decided to—leading to a on-air live audition on the second season. She only advanced to the top 40 but is considering auditioning again next season.

“It is a big controversy for many but I hope my feature will open doors to bio queens and drag kings around the world to be more accepted and loved.”

Drag Race Thailand Season 2 premiered last week and will hopefully be available stateside in the coming months.