Candis Cayne
Candis Cayne[2] (born August 29, 1971) is an American actress and performance artist.
Candis Cayne | |
---|---|
![]() Cayne in 2010 | |
Born | |
Occupation | Actress, performance artist |
Years active | 1995–present |
Partner(s) | Marco McDermott (2002–2010) |
Website | www |
Cayne performed in New York City nightclubs in drag since the 1990s,[3] and came out as transgender in 1996; Cayne came to national attention in 2007 for portraying transgender mistress Carmelita on ABC's prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money.[4][5][6] The role makes Cayne the first transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character in primetime.[4][5][6][7]
Early life
She has a fraternal twin brother named Dylan. Their parents taught at a Waldorf School, and the family lived on campus.[8] She graduated from Henry Perrine Baldwin High School in Hawaii in 1989[2] and then spent a year in Los Angeles, where she trained as a dancer.[3]
Career
Cayne then moved to New York in the early 1990s, making a name for herself as a choreographer and drag performer.[3] About three years after her arrival in NYC, Cayne realized that the term transgender described how she felt about herself.[3] Already performing as "Candis Cayne" at New York gay bar Boy Bar and as a featured performer at Tour in New York's Chelsea, the entertainer also participated in Wigstock, the annual drag festival in Manhattan's East Village. In 1995 Cayne appeared in the related documentary film Wigstock: The Movie, the comedy-drama film Stonewall, and the Universal Studios comedy feature film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, for which she also did choreography.[9]
In 1996, she had a supporting role in the comedy-drama film Always Something Better (a.k.a. Never Look Back).[10] In 1997 Cayne was in a documentary called Drag Time on HBO along with many other famous New York nightlife performers. Candis also co-starred in the music video for RuPaul's "A Little Bit of Love" with female impersonator Jazzmun. Cayne also starred as the title character in the 1998 independent film Mob Queen, and won the 2001 Miss Continental pageant.[11][12] In 2007 Cayne was cast as Annaka Manners in the 2007 RuPaul film Starrbooty.
From 2007 to 2008 Cayne played Carmelita Rainer, a trans woman having an affair with married New York Attorney General Patrick Darling (played by William Baldwin), on the ABC prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money.[4][5][6] She had a recurring role as the transgender character Alexis Stone in season six of Nip/Tuck.[13] Cayne has appeared as a judge and Dean of Dance on RuPaul's Drag U. As a dance teacher, she taught contestants original choreography to "No Scrubs" by TLC and Kelis's song "Milkshake". In 2011, she guest-starred on the TV show Necessary Roughness as Geraldine.
In 2015, Cayne started making appearances in seasons 1 and 2 of Caitlyn Jenner's reality show I Am Cait.[14]
Since 2017 to the present day Cayne has been playing the role of The Fairy Queen in the Syfy series The Magicians.
Activism and personal life
Cayne began transitioning circa 1996.[2]
Cayne has stated, "I'm not trying to be a spokeswoman for the transgender community; I just want to be looked at as a living, breathing, happy human being."[5] She calls the LGBT community "the last great minority" and supports the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.[5]
In August 2015 Candis Cayne teamed up with the global LGBT social network MOOVZ as the new global creative director.[15]
For over eight years, ending in 2010, Cayne was in a relationship with DJ Marco McDermott, to whom she referred as her husband.[16][17] During that time, she helped raise McDermott's daughter, Satori, from a previous relationship.
In 2016, during season 2 of the reality show I Am Cait, Cayne explored the possibility of adopting as a single mom.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Wigstock: The Movie | Herself | Credited as Brendan McDaniel |
1995 | Stonewall | Diva | |
1995 | To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar | Candis Cayne | Credited as Brendan McDaniel |
1996 | Always Something Better | Billee | |
1997 | Drag Time | Candis Cayne | |
1998 | Mob Queen | Glorice Kalsheim | |
1999 | Charlie! | N/A | Short film |
1999 | In the Closet | N/A | |
2006 | My Heart Belongs to Data | Candis | Short film |
2007 | Starrbooty | Annaka Manners | |
2008 | Libanesa Loira | Libanesa | Portuguese language |
2011 | Making The Boys | Herself | |
2012 | Meth Head | Pinkie | |
2012 | Groom's Cake | Candis | Short film |
2014 | Crazy Bitches | Vivianna | |
2020 | Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen | Herself | Documentary film |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | CSI: NY | Quentin Conrad | Episode "The Lying Game" |
2008 | Sordid Lives: The Series' | Therapist #19 | Episode "An Audacious Affair" |
2007–08 | Dirty Sexy Money | Carmelita Rainer | 11 episodes |
2009 | Nip/Tuck | Alexis Stone | 2 episodes |
2010 | Drop Dead Diva | Allison Webb | Episode "Queen of Mean" |
2011 | Necessary Roughness | Geraldine | Episode "Dream On" |
2011 | RuPaul's Drag U | Herself | Episode: "Naughty Nurses" |
2012 | She's Living for This | Herself | Episode "The Candis Cayne Episode" |
2012–17 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself | 4 episodes |
2013–14 | Elementary | Ms. Hudson | 3 episodes |
2015–16 | I Am Cait | Herself | 15 episodes |
2016 | Heartbeat | Ava | Episode: "Permanent Glitter" |
2017–present | The Magicians | Fairy Queen | 10 episodes |
2017 | Transparent | Jolene | Episode: “Born Again” |
2018 | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Michelle Velez | 2 episodes |
Music videos
Year | Title | Performer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | "A Little Bit of Love" | RuPaul | Dancer |
1999 | "No Scrubs" | TLC | Dance teacher |
2003 | "Milkshake" | Kelis | Dance teacher |
2017 | "Faces" [18] | Mila Jam | Cameo |
2020 | "Nerves of Steel"[19] | Erasure | Cameo |
See also
- LGBT culture in New York City
- List of self-identified LGBTQ New Yorkers
References
- Wiseman, Eva. Candis Payne: This California girl is the first transsexual to star in a prime-time soap, The Guardian, March 9, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- "Sultry Blond On ABC Show Is Hawaii Transgender". KITV.com. November 15, 2007. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- Piepenburg, Eric (November 6, 2004). "Keep Your Eye on the Road (If You Can)". The New York Times.
- Brownworth, Victoria A. (October 18, 2007). "October Surprises". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
- "I Advocate ...". The Advocate. Issue #1024. March 2009. p. 80.
- "Transsexual beauty makes TV history". Metro.co.uk. March 13, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
- "21 Transgender People Who Influenced American Culture". Time.com. May 29, 2014.
- Venus, Michael (2002). Michael Venus Profiles: Candis Cayne. YouTube
- "Candis Cayne - IMDb". IMBd. 1998–2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.CS1 maint: date format (link)
- "Always Something Better (1996)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
- "Miss Continental 2001". TheBatonShowLounge.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2001. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
- "Miss Continental Pageant Throughout the Years". Vickirene.net. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
- Nip/Tuck, Season 6
- Christie D'Zurilla (August 3, 2015). "'I Am Cait' recap: It's all fun and games until someone calls you oblivious". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- "What Is Caitlyn Jenner's Friend Candis Cayne Working on Next?". Retrieved August 9, 2015.
- "Dirty Sexy Money's Candis Cayne – Vol. 68 No. 19". PEOPLE.com. November 5, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
- "Caitlyn Jenner Rumored To Be Dating Trans Actress Candis Cayne". Retrieved August 24, 2015.
- "Laverne Cox, Tituss Burgess & More Celebrate International Trans Day of Visibility in Mila Jam's 'Faces' Video". Billboard.
- 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.
External links
- Official website
- Candis Cayne on IMDb
- Candis Cayne profile at QueenMother.tv
- Candis Cayne hosts NewNowNext Awards for LOGO