Jimbo
Jimbo atRuPaul's DragCon LA in 2023
Born	James Insell (1982-11-10)November 10, 1982 (age 42)[1][non-primary source needed] London, Ontario, Canada
Education	University of Western Ontario (BS)
Occupation(s)	Drag queen, designer
Years active	2000s–present
Known for	Canada's Drag Race (season 1) RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (series 1) RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 8)
Website	houseofjimbo.com

James Insell (born November 10, 1982), better known by the stage nameJimbo, is a Canadian designer anddrag queen who competed in thefirst season ofCanada's Drag Race (2020),^[2] was in thefirst series ofRuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022),^[3] and won theeighth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2023).^[4]

FromLondon, Ontario, Insell, his brother Jeff, as well as sisters Samantha and Jennifer,^[5] were born to Mary Insell^[6] and James Peter Insell (1947–2018),^[5] both boys being interested in creative pursuits from childhood, including early drag play.^[7] His father received his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from theUniversity of Western Ontario in 1983.^[8] Respecting his father's wishes that he pursue a career-oriented education, he studied biology at theUniversity of Western Ontario; following graduation, however, he opted not to pursue employment in the field and instead moved toVictoria, British Columbia, where he began working as a costume and production designer.^[7] He is married to Brady Taylor.^[9]

Insell has worked predominantly in local theatre, including productions ofJames and the Giant Peach^[10]The Rocky Horror Show,^[11] andRide the Cyclone but has also had credits on a number of television films produced by Front Street Pictures for theHallmark Channel,^[7] and on the children's television seriesPup Academy. He appeared in the music video for Victoria musician Adrian Chalifour's single "Open Heart".^[12] He also appeared as thedrag mother to British Columbian rapperbbno$ for the music video for his song "imma".^[13]

He appeared on thefirst season ofCanada's Drag Race in 2020, emerging as a popular fan favourite^[14] and winning the keySnatch Game challenge for his performance asJoan Rivers,^[15] but was eliminated from the competition in fourth place behind finalistsPriyanka,Scarlett BoBo andRita Baga.^[16] ForFierté Montréal's special online edition of its annual Drag Superstars show, which featured all of theCanada's Drag Race queens in prerecorded video performances, Jimbo performed a drag recreation ofThe Buggles' 1979 hit "Video Killed the Radio Star".^{[citation needed]}

FollowingCanada's Drag Race he toured the United Kingdom as part of the Klub Kids show withRock M Sakura and Erika Klash,^[17] and was the only queen from the season not to appear at any dates on the Canada's Drag Race Live at the Drive-In tour;^[18] however, he did participate alongside Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo and Rita Baga in an online panel discussion as part of theJust for Laughs festival.^[19]

During theCOVID-19 pandemic in Canada, he also created a line offace masks through his design studio, with every purchase matched by a donation of a free mask to a homeless or low-income person,^[2] and launched aKickstarter campaign to fund the production ofHouse of Jimbo, a comedy and variety series he hopes to launch in the future.^[20] Insell has describedHouse of Jimbo as "the framework of a kids show, but really made for adults", comparable toPee-wee's Playhouse orThe Hilarious House of Frightenstein,^[21] and the show reached its Kickstarter goal by the end of October 2020. At the same time theChemainus-based Riot Brewing Company introduced Jimbo, aboysenberry-flavoured craft beer whose profits will go in part to fundingHouse of Jimbo.^[20]

In 2021, he made a return appearance in thesecond season ofCanada's Drag Race, appearing in the third episode as the killer in theslasher film-themed acting challenge "Screech".^[22] He returned in thethird season ofCanada's Drag Race in 2022, appearing as a guest judge in the episode "Bitch Stole My Look".^[23]

In January 2022, he was announced as one of the nine contestants on thefirst series ofRuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World.^[24] After winning the first two episodes of the season,^[3] Jimbo landed in the bottom in the third episode and was eliminated byPangina Heals, after Pangina Heals won a lipsync against Dutch contestantJaney Jacké to "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" byVengaboys.^[25] Jimbo's early elimination was dubbed one of the most "controversial" in the history of the franchise.^[26]

Jimbo returned to theDrag Race franchise to compete on theeighth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2023). After winning a record-tying 4 challenges over the course of the season, Jimbo was crowned the winner of the season and earned a cash prize of $200,000 plus $20,000 for the 4 challenges he won, totalling $220,000.^[4] After the airing of the season, Jimbo was announced to host her ownWOW Presents Plus series,It's my Special Show!, which premiered on August 7, 2023.^[27] In November 2023, Jimbo signed with talent agenciesWME andProducer Entertainment Group.^[28]

In February 2024 Jimbo competed onFamily Feud Canada, with a team consisting of his siblings Jeff and Rebecca, and Jimbo's and Jeff's husbands.

All credits adapted fromSpotify andApple Music.^[46][47]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJimbo (drag queen).

• House of Jimbo
• Jimbo atIMDb

• 1982 births
• 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people
• Canada's Drag Race contestants
• Canadian costume designers
• Canadian drag queens
• Canadian gay actors
• Canadian production designers
• Canadian theatre designers
• Drag performers from Victoria, British Columbia
• Living people
• Male actors from London, Ontario
• Male actors from Victoria, British Columbia
• RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars winners
• University of Western Ontario alumni

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from September 2024
• All pages needing factual verification
• Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from February 2024
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2022
• Commons category link is on Wikidata