The legend herself Miss Vanjiiieee was introduced to us in season 10 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ Sadly Vanjie was sent home the first episode due to her runway design. Even though she was sent home she made damn sure to leave the show with a name for herself. She walked backward off the stage doing a cute dance saying “Miss Vanjie.” It was legendary and became an inside joke all season long.
Season 11 started this spring of 2019, where we were all blessed with Vanjie’s presence once more as she was welcomed back for a second season to redeem herself. She came back looking better than ever and with a bigger personality than ever. From the very first episode, you find yourself rooting for Vanjie and want to see her redeem herself and to show everyone the potential and talent she contains. Everyone familiar with Vanessa Vanjie knows of her energetic charismatic personality that draws people into her.
In the second episode of the season, there was an iconic zodiac inspired fashion runway, where each of the contestants had to create a runway look based on their sign. This episode is where we see Vanjie as the Libra queen she is. She came out in a beautiful red rose gown with the balance scales on her head, representing the symbol of Libra. The gown was very romantic and elegant, just like a Libra, as they (we) are ruled by Venus planet of love and beauty. Why she didn’t win this challenge is beyond me!
Knowing Vanjie is a Libra helped me to notice many typical Libra qualities she had that only made me love her more! Just like a typical Libra, Vanjie flourishes in social environments and loves being social. She always makes herself known in a room full of people with her loud and funny personality. A typical Libra quality that Vanjie possesses is she is the mediator, she hates conflict and wants everyone to get along. Typically she sees both sides of an argument so has a hard time picking sides and is rarely involved in conflicts. But because Vanjie is a loyal friend she will defend those she loves and that’s when a libra will get into confrontations.
Libra’s are known for their hopeless romanticness and need for connection. For the first time in Drag Race herstory, there was an onset romance between Vanjie herself and Brooklyn Hytes, another drag queen. If anyone was to have an on-set romance you can bet one of those people would be a Libra! We saw this romance unfold with minor onset kisses that unraveled to be more. A real connection was made between the two that contributed to them dated after the show for a few months. In the season 11 reunion Vanjie and Brooklyn confirmed they had broken up due to differences and traveling but still had love for each other. Vanjie confessed in the reunion that she had wanted a ‘notebook type of love’ but was getting more of a ‘post-it.’ If that doesn’t scream the epitome of Libra and their hopeless romanticness than I don’t know what does!
Another typical Libra quality is we love aesthetically pleasing things, I mean we are ruled by the planet of beauty. Vanjie very much fits that, as she has worked in makeup previously, she’s an artist when it comes to makeup. She also loves glamour and beautiful runway looks, as most of her runway pieces from the season have something floral or glittery to show off her love for aesthetics.
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo is not only a Drag Race icon but a Libra queen! Vanjie holds all the good qualities of a Libra and we love her for that. She is kind-hearted and loyal to the people she cares about. Vanjie prefers not to be in the middle of conflict but will step in if she sees her loved ones being attacked. Since Vanjie is a Libra she has the beautiful quality of being able to see both sides of things. She can see each person’s side in a disagreement which makes her a great mediator. Vanjie possesses the lively and captivating personality a Libra needs to thrive in the social environments they yearn for and thrive in! Having Vanessa Vanjie on the show was such a privilege and even though she didn’t make it to the finale (but damn well should be there because that lip-sync was fire!) I know she will go on to do great things with her drag career and am so excited for her to become more of the Libra queen she is!