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Asttina Mandella

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Asttina Mandella
Born
Aston Joshua

(1993-02-11) 11 February 1993 (age 31)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Drag queen, dancer
Years active2012–present
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 2)

Aston Joshua (born 11 February 1993), better known by the stage name Asttina Mandella, is a British drag queen and dancer from East London.[1] She is best known for competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, where she came eleventh on the series.[2]

Career

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Mandella has been a drag queen since 2012, but before 2020 she was mostly known for being a dancer. Asttina is trained in ballet, tap dance, jazz, voguing, hip-hop dance, waacking and street dance.[3] She has also performed as a backup dancer alongside prestigious performers such as: Hercules & Love Affair, The Pussycat Dolls, Little Mix and Kanye West.[3] Her drag name derives from a hybrid of her birth name, American singer Tina Turner and former President of South Africa and philanthropist Nelson Mandela.[4] In December 2020, Asttina was announced as one of twelve contestants competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, and placed eleventh overall in the competition.[2] Mandella was the eleventh contestant to enter the Werk Room and penned the now synonymous catchphrase 'Rude!",[5] and also won the first episode of the series,[6] and performed well in episode two, however shortly after in episode three she placed in the bottom, and was eliminated in a lip sync challenge against contestant Tia Kofi to the song "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa.[7] In February 2022 Asttina will embark on RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour alongside the entire cast of the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, in association with World of Wonder and promoter Voss Events.[8] In August 2021, she will be a featured performer in Klub Kids London Presents: NOIR: The Tour, where 25% of the proceeds from the production will be donated to the Black Lives Matter movement.[9]

Personal life

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Mandella currently resides in East London. [citation needed] She also drew media attention when discussing the representation of Black Queer icons within the United Kingdom, alongside fellow contestant Tayce, as it was a conversation that "opened up to so many people" according to Digital Spy.[5]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref
2019 Drag S.O.S. Dance Instructor Series 1
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race UK Contestant Series 2, 11th place [2]
2022 Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud Herself BBC documentary [10]
2022 Queens for the Night Herself One-off special [11]

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Ref
2020 "Baby" Madison Beer [12]
2021 "Good Ones" (Drag Performance Video) Charli XCX [13]

Discography

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Title Year Album
"A Little Bit of Love"[14]
(among The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Season 2) 		2021 Non-album single

Stage

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Year Title Promoter Locations Ref
2021 Squirrel Friends Klub Kids London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle [15]
2021 Noir: The Tour Klub Kids Glasgow, Manchester, London, Cardiff, Brighton and Birmingham [16][9]
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour Voss Events / World Of Wonder Ipswich, Oxford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bournemouth, Southend, Manchester, Sheffield, Blackpool, Llandudno, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Basingstoke, Portsmouth, Plymouth, London, Derby, Bristol, Bradford, Aberdeen, Southampton, Stockton, Brighton and Newport [8]

References

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  1. ^ "Drag Race UK star Asttina Mandella reveals her 'controversial and taboo' pick for Snatch Game". Gay Times. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "RuPaul's Drag Race UK series two". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Meet Asttina Mandella | RuPaul's Drag Race UK Series 2, retrieved 5 May 2021
  4. ^ "Who is Asttina Mandella? Meet the RuPaul's Drag Race UK star who comes with pyrotechnics and extravagance". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b Opie, David (29 January 2021). "Drag Race UK star Asttina Mandella talks online controversy and Black queer icons". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  6. ^ RuPaul's Drag Race UK - Series 2: Episode 1, retrieved 6 May 2021
  7. ^ RuPaul's Drag Race UK - Series 2: Episode 3, retrieved 6 May 2021
  8. ^ a b "RuPaul's Drag Race UK Tour". Voss Events. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b Damshenas, Sam (8 June 2021). "17 incredible LGBTQ+ friendly events you can attend in the UK this year". Gay Times. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  10. ^ Brocklehurst, Harrison (25 January 2022). "We spoke to Drag Race UK's Cherry Valentine about her 'emotional' new documentary". The Tab. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  11. ^ Robledo, Jordan (8 June 2022). "Drag Race UK stars Blu Hydrangea and Asttina Mandella join ITV special Queens For The Night". Gay Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Premiere: Madison Beer recruits drag queens Crystal, Asttina, Bimini and Tayce for new Baby video". GAY TIMES. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  13. ^ Will Lavin (1 November 2021). "'RuPaul's Drag Race UK' stars share Halloween performance of Charli XCX's 'Good Ones'". NME. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  14. ^ A Little Bit of Love (Cast Version) [feat. The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Season 2] by RuPaul, retrieved 20 March 2021
  15. ^ "Klub Kids London presents SQUIRREL FRIENDS (ages 14+)". Eventbrite. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Noir: The Tour". Klub Kids. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
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