Vanessa Vanjie
Vanessa Vanjie atRuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018
Born	José Luis Cancel Puerto Rico
Occupation	Drag queen
Known for	Competing onRuPaul's Drag Race
Website	vanessavanjie.com

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, sometimes known asVanessa Vanjie,Miss Vanjie, or simplyVanjie, is the stage name ofJosé Luis Cancel,^[1] an Americandrag performer known for competing on thetenth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race and placing fifth on theeleventh season of the show. In addition to competing onDrag Race, she has also appeared in many of its spin-offs, includingRuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race,RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue,Canada's Drag Race, andRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, the latter of which she appeared as a contestant for itsninth season, where she placed runner-up along withseason five andAll Stars 2 contestantRoxxxy Andrews.

Vanjie Mateo was born inPuerto Rico and grew up inKissimmee, Florida^[2] andTexas, and is of Puerto Rican descent. He started doing drag whenDrag Raceseason three andAll Stars alumnaAlexis Mateo hired her as a backup dancer.^[3][4]

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was announced as one of the fourteen contestants competing for the crown on thetenth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered on March 22, 2018.^[5] She was eliminated in the first episode, afterlip syncing toChristina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" against competitorKalorie Karbdashian Williams, while Aguilera was the guest judge.^[6] As she walked backwards off the stage, her parting words were "Miss Vanjie... Miss Vanjie... Miss... Vanjie", which later became aninternet meme. "Miss Vanjie" was tweeted by many, including several byRuPaul, as well asMichelle Visage andKathy Griffin. The meme was also edited into clips of various movies, TV shows, and even on dating apps, with clips appearing inThe Simpsons,Pokémon,Grindr, andThe Shining.^[7]

The "Miss Vanjie" catchphrase was said byRylan Clark-Neal while commenting on theEurovision Song Contest 2018 first semi-final broadcast during the presentation ofEleni Foureira fromCyprus; he also said it in reference toMontenegro singerVanja Radovanović, whose name resembles Miss Vanjie's.^[8]RuPaul wore a "Vanjie" necklace during theTime 100 Gala red carpet.^[9] The catchphrase was also referenced in multiple further episodes ofDrag Race season ten. ASnapchat filter of Vanessa's runway look was made available the day after the season ten reunion.^[10]

On January 24, 2019, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was announced as one of the fifteen competitors ofseason 11 ofRuPaul's Drag Race.^[11] She was in the bottom two for episodesnine andten, and won both lip syncs againstPlastique Tiara andShuga Cain.^{[12][13][14][15]} She was eliminated byBrooke Lynn Hytes in the penultimate week inepisode twelve, and placed fifth.^[16][17][18] In Episode 5 ofAll Stars 5, she made a guest appearance as a "Lip Sync Assassin", where she lip-synced againstShea Couleé, but lost.

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was featured on the September 2018 issue cover ofGay Times.^[19] She appeared withNina Bo'nina Brown for two episodes of theWOWPresents internet series "Fashion Photo RuView" on November 3 and 17, 2018, filling in forRaja andRaven.^[20][21] She appeared withSilky Nutmeg Ganache andDerrick Barry for an episode of thefourteenth season ofGermany's Next Topmodel in 2019.^[22] On May 12, 2019, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was sponsored byChips Ahoy! for a social media post forMother's Day, which got homophobic backlash.^[23]

On April 23, 2024, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was announced as one of the eight contestants competing on theninth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.^[24]

She is one of the most followed queens fromDrag Race, and has accumulated over 1.5 millionInstagram followers as of October 2021.^[25]

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo released her first single, "I'm Vanjie", on June 21, 2018.^[26] She appeared in the music video forIggy Azalea's "Sally Walker" on March 14, 2019.^[27] She performed as a backup dancer to the song onJimmy Kimmel Live! in April 2019.^[28][29] Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was also in the video for Azalea's "Started" withTrixie Mattel.^[30][31][32]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toVanessa Vanjie Mateo.

• José Cancel onIMDb

• Living people
• 20th-century Puerto Rican LGBTQ people
• 21st-century Puerto Rican LGBTQ people
• American drag queens
• Drag performers from Florida
• Drag performers from Los Angeles
• Drag performers from Texas
• Hispanic and Latino American drag queens
• LGBTQ people from Florida
• People from Tampa, Florida
• Puerto Rican drag queens
• RuPaul's Drag Race contestants

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