Nina West is the stage name of Andrew Robert Levitt,[2] who is an American
drag queen, queer activist,[3] actor, and singer-songwriter based in
Columbus, Ohio.[4] She rose to national prominence with her appearance on the
eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed sixth and won Miss Congeniality. She was named the Top Local Artist of 2019 by Columbus Underground.[5] Levitt has also created three
EPs—Drag Is Magic, John Goodman, and The West Christmas Ever, which were all released in 2019.
Levitt began dabbling in drag in 2001.[2] Nina West is the name of his drag persona. Her drag mother is Virginia West.[3] Nina West hosts the annual "Heels of Horror" show at
Axis Nightclub,[8] and has also hosted the competition "So You Think You Can Drag?"[9] In 2008, she won the Entertainer of the Year award;[10] her ensemble later inspired the singer
Sia's outfit at the 2016
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[11]
Nina West competed in the
eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[12] She had previously auditioned for the show nine times, but failed to make the final cast selection. She won the
third episode for his performance in the 'Diva Worship' challenge, and impersonated
Sarah Sanders on the fourth episode, "
Trump: The Rusical".[13] In the "
Snatch Game" challenge, she became the first queen in the show's history to impersonate someone from the actual original
Match Game, with her impersonation of
Jo Anne Worley.[14] She then won the "
Dragracadabra" challenge in episode ten.[15][16] She was eliminated in the
following episode, losing a
lip-sync to
Silky Nutmeg Ganache.[17][18] She was subsequently crowned Miss Congeniality in the series finale. After her elimination, a number of celebrities and public figures took to social media to voice their support for Nina West, including
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez[19] and
Scott Hoying. Levitt reported that
Rihanna sent him a private message following her elimination.[20]
A street in Columbus was named after Levitt, called "The Nina West Way".[21][22] Nina West was interviewed with
Adore Delano and
Monet X Change for an episode of The View in June 2019.[23] She starred in Coaster, an animated short film directed and produced by Amos Sussigan and Dan Lund.[24] She attended the
71st Primetime Emmy Awards, where she became the first person to walk the purple carpet in full drag.[25] Nina West was announced as part of the cast for the first ever season of RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race, a spin-off where Drag Race alumni transform celebrities into drag queens, premiering in 2020.[26]
Since Drag Race, Levitt has starred in several commercials, with some of the brands including
Pantene,[27]Pepsi,[28] and OraQuick,[29] as well as being involved in campaigns for films such as Trolls World Tour[30] and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.[31] In 2019, World of Wonder announced that West was to host a children’s-oriented program featuring "songs and comedy bits inspired by youth programming of the ’90s" entitled Drag Is Magic. However, as of 2023, the series is yet to be released.[32] In May 2021, the children's television channel
Nickelodeon released an animated short on YouTube featuring an animated pride parade hosted by Levitt that showed a variety of diverse animal families, including those with same-sex parents and non-binary characters.[33][34] The next month, on June 5, 2021, Nickelodeon also released an
advertisement featuring Levitt to explain to children the meaning of
Pride as a part of their
Pride month celebration.[35][36]
Levitt was included in Columbus Business First's "40 Under 40" list in 2018.[37][38] He worked as a social media strategist for Axis Nightclub as of 2018 and has done social media and marketing for Union Cafe since 2013.[2][39] He plays Edna Turnblad in the musical
Hairspray for the 2021-2022 national tour.[40]
Music
After her elimination, Levitt announced that she would release a
children's music album, Drag Is Magic, and a comedy EP, John Goodman, by May 17, 2019.[41] She released a music video for her first single "Hucks" on May 10, 2019.[42]
Personal life and philanthropy
Levitt lives in
Columbus, Ohio.[2] He is
gay and an advocate and fundraiser for the
LGBTQIA community. His focuses have included HIV/AIDS testing and safe sex, marriage equality, trans rights, and childhood education. The Nina West Fund, established at The Columbus Foundation
c. 2015,[43] is thought to be the only "drag-queen-supported fund of its kind" in the U.S.[2] The fund has raised more than $2 million,[43][44] supporting charities such as the
ACLU of Ohio (fundamental rights), Dress for Success Columbus (career development for women), Equitas Health (focused on HIV/AIDS treatment),[45] and Kaleidoscope Youth Center (the largest LGBTQIA youth center in Ohio).[46]