Nikita Dragun


Nikita Dragun is a Belgian-born American YouTuber, make-up artist, and model.

Early life and education

Nikita Dragun was born in Belgium and attended high school in Virginia. She is of Vietnamese and Mexican descent, and came out as a trans woman when she reached college. In several of Dragun's YouTube videos, she has spoken openly about her transition. When in college, Dragun reported getting a fake ID with the name Nicole, and was recognized as female.
Later, Dragun decided to move to Los Angeles, and got accepted to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, where she obtained her business degree. She said, “I was very Hannah Montana at the time. I would be in class, and we’d talk about influencers and brand deals, and my face would pop up on the screen and they’d start talking about me! They had no idea that I was sitting in the class. I never wanted anyone to know.”

Career

Dragun joined YouTube in February 2013. She stated, “I started to get little brand deals around that time That was also when I decided to start taking Instagram and YouTube seriously.” In 2015, by which time she was living in Los Angeles, she came out as transgender. As of April 2020, she has over 2.69 million subscribers on YouTube.
In response to comments by L Brands chief marketing officer Ed Razek that trans women should not be included in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show because "the show is a fantasy", Dragun tweeted a video of herself modeling lingerie. In the tweet, Dragun argues that trans women were indeed able to convey fantasy.
In March 2019, she announced a make-up line, Dragun Beauty. Aside from the mainstream market, the cosmetic line is also targeted towards the transgender community. All products are vegan and cruelty-free, this is cited as a reason why Nikita decided to launch her brand independently. In June 2019, Dragun was interviewed about her make-up brand on the LGBT radio network Channel Q, where she credited her journey as a transgender woman building her brand as the inspiration behind Dragun Beauty and its products.
In September 2019, it was announced Nikita would be starring in her own docuseries on Snapchat, "Nikita Unfiltered". The series follows Dragun as she searches for love, "a different path" in her career, and navigates fame as a trans woman. The series premiered on March 21, 2020.

Awards

Filmography

Web series

YearTitleRoleNotes
2018–2019Escape the NightThe TroublemakerMain cast; 14 episodes
2020Nikita UnfilteredHerself10 episodes
2020Instant Influencer with James CharlesHerselfEpisode: "I Have to Apologize for This..."

TV series

YearTitleRoleNotes
2019The Real Housewives of Beverly HillsHerselfEpisode: "The Show Must Go On"

Music videos

YearTitlePerformer
2018"Heart to Break"Kim Petras
2018"That Bih"Qveen Herby
2019"Best Friend's Ass"Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Paris Hilton
2019"Fuck It Up"Iggy Azalea, Kash Doll
2020"Malibu" Kim Petras