Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa better known by his stage name BeBe Zahara Benet, is a Cameroonian-American drag performer and television personality best known for winning the first season of the reality-televisiondrag competitionRuPaul's Drag Race in 2009. In 2018, he returned as a surprise contestant for the third season of , placing in the top four. As of 2019, he stars in the TLC transformational makeover television series Dragnificent, as the event planning expert.
Early life
Benet was born and raised in Cameroon. His family later moved to France where Benet lived until he settled in Minneapolis to complete his college studies and to be closer to family.
Career
Benet's first experience with drag was at a Paris fashion show, where he was asked to put on a dress to walk the runway as a female as a last-minute replacement for an absent model. His first drag performance was alongside Cyndi Lauper in The Gay 90s bar in Minneapolis.
''Ru Paul's Drag Race'' and other television
Benet was announced as one of the nine contestants for the first season of Logo's reality-TV drag-queen competition RuPaul's Drag Race in 2009. He was the inaugural winner of the series, having won two challenges during the competition. In 2011, Benet appeared in two episodes of RuPaul's Drag U, serving as a "drag professor". Benet was revealed as the surprise 10th contestant on the third season premiere of ., becoming the first ever winner in the show's history to return for an All-Stars season. He reached the season finale, having won two challenges, but was not chosen to advance to the final two by a jury of previously eliminated queens and subsequently finished in joint third place with Shangela. Benet appeared with Jujubee, Thorgy Thor, and Alexis Michelle in the TLC television specialDrag Me Down the Aisle which aired on March 9, 2019, and was later picked up as a series and re-titled Dragnificent.
Music
Benet's first dance single, "I'm the Sh*t", has been remixed by Felix Baumgartner, Ralphi Rosario and Mark Picchiotti. He released his second single, "Cameroon" in July 2010. Benet made a cameo appearance in the music video for Erasure's re-release of their song A Little Respect, in December 2010. He released his third single "Dirty Drums" on April 17, 2012 via iTunes. His fourth single, "Face," was released on March 3, 2014. Benet recorded a cover of "Little Drummer Boy" for the Drag RaceChristmas Queens 4 album.
Nubia
In 2020, Benet created, produced, and headlined the Nubia tour, a live Drag Show celebrating Black drag queens through original music, group choreography, video installations, live vocals, lip syncs, and narrative-driven performance art. On opening night, Vulture.com praised the cast, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum; Bob The Drag Queen, Peppermint, Shea Couleé, The Vixen, and Monique Heart, noting the “touching sincerity” and “joyous” celebration of black culture featured in the show. The tour began its run with sold-out shows in New York City, and has plans to visit Los Angeles, as well as other major cities across the United States.
