BenDeLaCreme | |
|---|---|
.jpg) BenDeLaCreme performing in 2014 | |
| Born | Benjamin Brock Hamlet Putnam (1981-09-24)September 24, 1981 (age 44) Litchfield, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Education | School of the Art Institute of Chicago |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | |
| Title | Miss Congeniality |
| Predecessor | Ivy Winters |
| Successor | Katya Zamolodchikova |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
Musical artist | |
| Website | bendelacreme |
BenDeLaCreme (born September 24, 1981)[1] is the stage persona ofBenjamin Brock Hamlet Putnam,[2][3] an Americandrag queen,burlesque performer, and actor based inSeattle, Washington. He is known for being a contestant on thesixth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race and thethird season ofRuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. He is also known for his solo shows Ready To Be Committed,Terminally Delightful,Inferno A-Go-Go andCosmos, and as co-creator and host of burlesquerevuesFreedom Fantasia andHomo for the Holidays.
Putnam grew up inLitchfield, Connecticut, attendingLitchfield High School andWalnut Hill School, from which he graduated in 2000.[4][5][6] During his performance onDrag Race, Putnam revealed that he was bullied as a child for being overweight, "weird", and gay. His mother, who had been the positive voice to counteract this, died of cancer when he was 13 years old. Putnam was also open about his struggles with depression, revealing that his "terminally delightful" drag persona helped him overcome this.[7]
Putnam'sstage name is a play off the French termcrème de la crème, which, translated, means "cream of the cream" or "best of the best", as well as a play off of his given first name.[8] He commonly refers to himself as either "Ben" or "DeLa" to distinguish between the private, malepersona (Ben) and public, female one (DeLa).[8] He is also sometimes referred to as "Bendela", a take on the name Vendela. In an interview withArtes Magazine, he explained "I consider BenDeLaCreme to be the very best of Ben which is the name of the gentleman that I share a body with. DeLa is how I refer to the lady part of me. If you say Ben you're talking to that guy. If you say DeLa you are talking to me."[7]
Putnam credits his interest indrag and burlesque to seeingVarla Jean Merman'sHoliday Ham in Boston in 2001. He was inspired by Merman's theatrical, character-driven approach to drag performance.[4] DeLa considers drag to be "an inherently political act", an opportunity to encourage people to think about complex issues related to gender and sexuality through humor and theatre.[2] Her solo shows combine comedy, song, burlesque, dance, and video clips (often DeLa herself in other roles).[7] DeLa's costume style is reminiscent of iconic 1950spin-up girls. She cites dancer and actressAnn Miller as an early influence.[9]
Putnam's career began in Chicago in 2002, while he was pursuing a BFA degree at theSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2001 to 2003.[10] Although his course of study focused on painting, he found himself more interested in performance art.[11][12]
Her first opportunities to perform came at drag revues at Chicago-area gay bars. Early on, she was exposed to a more explicitly feminist, message-driven side of drag culture by theChicago Kings, adrag king troupe with which she frequently performed as the token "queen".[11] At the same time, DeLa made a conscious decision to present a more positive, cheerful persona during her shows, even when addressing serious subject matter such as prejudice, death, and depression.[7]
Since the mid-2000s, she has been based in Seattle, Washington. She is the hostess forThe Atomic Bombshells burlesque troupe and teaches at Seattle's Academy of Burlesque.[13] DeLa has collaborated with many members of the Seattle burlesque community, includingDrag RaceSeason 5 winnerJinkx Monsoon.[14] She runs the theatrical production company DeLouRue Presents, creating and performing in popular holiday revue showsFreedom Fantasia andHomo for the Holidays, with burlesque duo Kitten La Rue and Lou Henry Hoover, her friends and frequent collaborators.[9]
BenDeLaCreme's touring solo shows includeTerminally Delightful, Cosmos, and Inferno A-Go-Go. She has also appeared in several films by filmmakerWes Hurley, including the documentaryWaxie Moon,Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel, and as a narrator of the seriesCapitol Hill.[15]
At the 2019MAC Awards, BenDeLaCreme was presented with an award in the category "Major Impersonation/Characterization/Drag Artist" for her show Inferno A-Go-Go.[16]
In December 2020, BenDeLaCreme's collaboration film with Jinkx Monsoon,The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Special was released, and can be streamed on Hulu.[17]
In 2023, BenDeLaCreme was announced to be a part ofUnilever’s "United We Stand" program.[18]
She has been dating Gus Lanza since 2015.[19] She owns two cats, Wayne and Garth, and a dog, Reggie.[20]
In 2014, BenDeLaCreme appeared in thesixth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed fifth and was voted Miss Congeniality by viewers. In 2018, she appeared in thethird season ofRuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, where, after a record-breaking fifth challenge win in episode 6, she chose to eliminate herself, claiming she had already proven herself and that she felt the other remaining contestants wanted the crown more than she did. Many fans were shocked at this decision, as her track record heavily favored her to win the entire competition. DeLa is the onlyDrag Race contestant so far to win five challenges in a single season, win four episodes consecutively and, at the time, win the "Snatch Game" challenge on more than one season (later joined byseason 7 andAll Stars 6 contestantGinger Minj, as well asSeason 5 andAll Stars 7 contestantJinkx Monsoon), and used to have both the best statistics of any queen to have ever competed inDrag Race and any version ofDrag Race All Stars or any version of aVersus The World season, only recently beaten byLemon andDrag Sethlas.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Drag Becomes Her | Herself |
| 2015 | Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel | |
| 2019 | Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts | |
| 2020 | The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special | |
| Happiest Season | Miss L'Teau |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Contestant | Season 6; 5th place, Miss Congeniality |
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | Season 6 | ||
| 2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Season 3; 6th place after self elimination | |
| 2021 | Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch[21] | Greg Brady | |
| 2022 | Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror | Herself | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | The Daily Show | Guest | |
| Drag Me to Dinner[22] | Hulu original reality series | ||
| Celebrity Family Feud | Guest[23] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Capitol Hill | Herself | Presenter | [24] |
| Transformations | Guest | [25] | ||
| Ring My Bell | [26] | |||
| 2018 | Whatcha Packin' | [27] | ||
| How To Makeup | Episode: "Unclockable Hairline" | [28] | ||
| 2022 | Binge Queens | Recurring | [29] | |
| 2023, 2025 | The Pit Stop | Guest withJinkx Monsoon in 2023 | [30][31] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Minor Revelations (withDrew Droege) | Herself | Guest | [32] |
| Hello Isaac (withIsaac Mizrahi) | [33] | |||
| The Fire UpStairs | [34] |
| Song | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Internationolidays" (withJinkx Monsoon) | 2021 | Non-album singles |
| "Looking at the Lights" (with Jinkx Monsoon) | 2022 |
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "The Nativity Twist" | Christmas Queens 2 |
| 2018 | "Drag Up Your Life" (RuPaul featuringBeBe Zahara Benet, BenDeLaCreme,Kennedy Davenport,Shangela, &Trixie Mattel) | Non-album single |
| Year | Award giving body | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Queerty Awards | Drag Royalty | Herself | Nominated | [35] |
| 2021 | Lockdown LOL | The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special | Won | [36] | |
2024 | Live Theater | The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show | Won |
Media related toBenDeLaCreme at Wikimedia Commons
