RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race star Daniel Franzese honoured his mum in most beautiful way
Kevin Franzese as Donna Bellisima (RuPaul’s Drag Race/YouTube)
RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race star Daniel Franzese honoured his late mother by wearing a piece of her jewellery every episode while performing as Donna Bellisima on the latest season, the actor has revealed.
Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, Franzese, who is best known for his role as Damien in the 2004 cult hit Mean Girls, explained his secret on the show.
“I didn’t tell anybody this, but Donna wore a piece of my mom’s jewellery every night,” he said.
“On the first episode, no one wore earrings but me because they didn’t have earrings ready, and I was wearing my mom’s earrings.”
Kevin Franzese as Donna Bellisima (RuPaul’s Drag Race/YouTube)
“It was nice because I brought a little part of home with me every night,” Franzese added.
“She’s such a big part of why I do what I do, so I love that she was up there with me in a way.”
Kevin Franzese finished fifth on this season as drag alter-ego Donna Bellisima.
He says Donna is “the best friend of Antonette”, referring to a different comedic character created by the actor, who was inspired by his Italian mother.
Franzese posts sketches of Antonette on Youtube, in a series called “S**T ITALIANS MOMS SAY”
RuPaul in the Secret Celebrity Drag Race Trailer .(WOW)
He also told the magazine that despite being a super-fan of the original series, the show was much more challenging than he initially expected.
“The part that I neglected to think about was the race part of Drag Race,” he says.
“It really is a race. Each ‘week’ on the show was only three days for us. Day one, you decide the theme of the number, learn the choreography, design the hair, makeup, outfit, etc. That’s all one day.
“Then day two, is dress rehearsal. And day three, you go in front of an audience and perform, get judged, maybe lip sync for your life, and start again at 6am the next day. It was exhausting.”
“I have such a new respect for the contestants on the main series, who do all that while being sequestered without cell phones in their hotels, and who show up using all their own money to design their outfits. I can’t even imagine the added pressure that adds to everything.”
Celebrity Drag Queen (YouTube/RuPaul’s Drag Race)
Secret Celeb Drag Race had a major facelift from its first season, taking on a Masked Singer-esque approach to the competition.
Celebrities, including Glee‘s Kevin McHale and Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s Tatyana Ali, underwent drag transformations that left them unrecognisable to the live studio audience, and putting on show-stopping numbers each episode.
