Widow Von'Du

Widow Von'Du
Von'Du at RuPaul's DragCon, 2018
Born	Ray Anthony Fry[1] (1989-04-17) April 17, 1989 (age 35) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Television	RuPaul's Drag Race (season 12)

Ray Anthony Fry (born April 17, 1989),^[2] better known under the stage name Widow Von'Du (or Widow Von Du), is an American drag performer known for competing on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.^[3][4][5][6] He has since released an album.^[7]

Career

Fry has won the title of Queen of KC at Kansas City Pridefest and Princess of Gay Pride 2008.^[8] He created the local "Drag Survivor" competition at Hamburger Mary's KC.^[8]

After unsuccessfully auditioning for season 11,^[9] Widow Von'Du was announced as a cast member on season 12 of RuPaul's Drag Race on January 23, 2020.^[10][11]

In September 2020, he was featured alongside many other Black RuPaul's Drag Race alum in a "Stop the Racism" PSA, speaking out against toxic, racist fans within the Drag Race community.^[12]

Personal life

Fry took capoeira for six years prior to doing drag.^[8] He was homeless for a year.^[8]

On May 31, 2021, Fry was arrested in Jackson County, Missouri, for assaulting his partner. Reports said Fry punched his partner and knocked him out. Fry was charged with one count of domestic assault in the first degree and three counts of domestic assault in the second degree. Fry is currently serving probation of three years per Missouri court database records.^[13]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2020	RuPaul's Drag Race (season 12)	Herself	Contestant
	RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked	Herself	Contestant
	Let's Be Real	Herself	Guest appearance	[14]

Music videos

Featured and cameo roles

Year	Title	Artist	Role	Ref(s)
2020	"Nerves of Steel"	Erasure	Cameo	[15][16]
2021	"G.A.P."	Heidi N Closet feat. Widow Von Du	Feature	[17]

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2020	Whatcha Packin'	Herself	Guest	[18]
2020	The X Change Rate	Herself	Guest	[19]
2020	Bring Back My Ghouls	Herself	Guest	[20]
2022	Bring Back My Girls	Herself	Guest	[21]

Discography

Albums

Title	Details	Ref
The	Released: October 31, 2020 Label: self-released Formats: digital download	[9]

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Album
"Yes Bitch! She Might Be!"	2020	The
"Keep That Same Energy"
"WDGAF"	2021	non-album single

As featured artist

Title	Year	Album
"I'm That Bitch"[22] (with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12)	2020	non-album singles
"Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical"[23] (with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12)
"The Shady Bunch" (with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12)
"G.A.P." (with Heidi N Closet)	2021

Guest appearances

Title	Year	Album
"Black Ariel" (Aja featuring Widow Von'Du, Amira Wang and Kezra Leon)	2021	Crown

References

1. "Ray Anthony Fry". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
2. @TheWidowVonDu (April 17, 2021). "🎶It's my birthday 🥳 Venmo me if you want to 🎶 cashapp me if you want to 🎶 PayPal me if you want to 🎶 on this day I turned 32 🎁🎊🎉🥳🎶" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. "Widow Von'Du departed 'Drag Race,' but her spirit (and kitten heels) ain't dead". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
4. "Drag Race's Widow Von'Du Has a Message for Survivors of Abuse". The Advocate. April 30, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
5. "'Drag Race's Widow Von'Du To Take a Break After 'Fandom' Hate". Out. August 31, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
6. "Drag Race star Widow Von'Du receives outpouring of love after 'toxic' fans push her to the brink of quitting drag". PinkNews. September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
7. "RuPaul's Drag Race: What Happened To The Season 12 Cast After The Show". Screen Rant. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
8. Mackie, Michael (February 26, 2020). "Five Things You Don't Know About Me: RuPaul's Drag Race's Widow Von'Du". In Kansas City. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
9. Bailey, Bryce (June 26, 2020). "Kansas City's Widow Von'Du on growing up in Kansas City and her season of RuPaul's Drag Race". Kansas City. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
10. Amanda Mitchell (January 23, 2020). "See the "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 12 Queens Competing to Take Home the Crown". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
11. Kacala, Alexander (January 23, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' reveals season 12's new queens". NBC News. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
12. Reynolds, Daniel (September 22, 2020). "Black Drag Race Stars Urge Fans to 'Stop the Racism' in PSA". The Advocate. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
13. Kiefer, Halle (June 1, 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race Star Widow Von'Du Arrested for Alleged Domestic Assault". Vulture. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
14. Schneider, Michael (October 1, 2020). "Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose Resurface to Host a Small-Market Florida Talk Show on Fox's 'Let's Be Real'". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
15. Shaffer, Claire (August 11, 2020). "Erasure Team Up With Drag Stars for 'Nerves of Steel' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
16. Erasure (August 11, 2020). "Erasure – Nerves of Steel (Official Video)" (YouTube video). Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
17. Robledo, Jordan. "Heidi N Closet features fellow Drag Race alum in new video for G.A.P." Gay Times. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
18. Whatcha Packin': Widow Von'Du | S12 E9 | RuPaul's Drag Race. YouTube. April 24, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
19. The X Change Rate: Adam Rippon & Widow Von'Du. BUILD Series. April 30, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via YouTube.
20. Bring Back My Ghouls: RuPauls Drag Race Season 12 Queens. YouTube. May 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
21. "RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs. the World".
22. "I'm That Bitch – Single". iTunes.
23. "Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical – EP". iTunes.

External links

• Media related to Widow Von'Du at Wikimedia Commons