Charra Tea Explained

Charra Tea
Birth Name:James Martin
Birth Place:Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupation:Drag performer
Television:RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 6)

Charra Tea is the stage name of James Martin, a Northern Irish drag performer who competed on the sixth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Charra Tea was crowned Miss Congeniality and placed 5th.

Early life

Martin was born in Belfast.[1] She was first drawn to drag after portraying the role of Mr. Pinky in a production of Hairspray as a teenager while attending Grosvenor Grammar School. She was later inspired to pursue a drag career by the dresses and costumes she saw at the charity shop she volunteered at on Botanic Avenue, Belfast. The shop also provided inspiration for her stage name, as it is a pun on the word "charity". She began experimenting with makeup in October 2018, performed as Charra Tea for the first time in January 2019, and began performing regularly in April of that year. She left Belfast at age 19 to study graphic design at the University of Leeds.[1] [2] [3]

Career

Martin is a drag performer who competed as Charra Tea on the sixth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK.[4] [5] She is known as the "Primary Color Princess".[1] Charra Tea was the third contestant from Northern Ireland to compete in the show, following Blu Hydrangea and Jonbers Blonde.[6]

She has stated her drag inspirations to be Blu Hydrangea, Miz Cracker, Robyn Diamonds and Rusty Hinges.[2] Her drag is inspired by bold colors and her background as an "artsy kid", and enjoys incorporating references to British and Irish pop culture figures such as Gemma Collins, Kim Woodburn, and Nadine Coyle into her performances.[4]

Filmography

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Belfast drag queen hopes to make NI proud . 2024-09-29 . www.bbc.com . en-GB . 2024-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240927052536/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyvd9qr07lo . live .
  2. Web site: Spotlight: Charra Tea . Stu . Thotter . gurlglobal.com . 26 May 2020 . GURL Global . September 29, 2024.
  3. Web site: Uni can be a drag… literally! . Tea . Charra . universityofleeds.medium.com . 5 July 2023 . . September 29, 2024.
  4. Web site: McLaughlin . Sophie . 2024-09-03 . Belfast queen set to compete on Ru Paul's Drag Race UK . 2024-09-29 . Belfast Live . en . 2024-09-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240903221535/https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/tv/ru-pauls-drag-race-uk-29860635 . live .
  5. Web site: Linehan . Alice . 2024-09-04 . Belfast queen among fierce new cast of Drag Race UK Season 6 . 2024-09-29 . GCN . en . 2024-09-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904202710/https://gcn.ie/belfast-queen-drag-race-uk-season-6/ . live .
  6. News: 2024-09-26 . Belfast drag queen hoping to stand out in new series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK . 2024-09-29 . BelfastTelegraph.co.uk . en-GB . 0307-1235 . 2024-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240927174112/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/belfast-drag-queen-hoping-to-stand-out-in-new-series-of-rupauls-drag-race-uk/a1552042965.html . live .