Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, a drag superstar, has captivated audiences across two seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and the latest season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” cementing her status as a standout performer through her magnetic charisma and refreshing candor. With over 1.5 million Instagram followers and a devoted fanbase, Miss Vanjie has rightfully established herself as a drag icon.

CP: We all got to know you with your iconic season 10 exit, and then you competed again on season 11 and now in All Stars 9. How do you think you’ve grown, both personally and in your drag, from when you first competed in season 10 to now?

VVM: In the beginning, I was young. I was like a deer in the headlights. I feel like as an entertainer and as a person, I’ve kind of grown basically on TV. And Drag Race has helped me to build self-confidence in and out of drag. And I’m just more sure. And I know who I am as a person. So I think it spills over with my drag and with everything I do and how I carry myself and perform. I’m grown now. I just feel like, you know, a grown person. She’s grown. She’s grown up. With grown people problems.

CP: So have you gone into this season with a different approach than you have previously?

VVM: Yeah. Just being a little bit more focused. I was just more excited to do All Stars and to be a part of such a great cast and be able to do the show and raise money for charities and all of us coming together to do something good and put on a good show. So it was like me coming back to kind of show how much growth I’ve had, but also kind of just felt natural and almost not even stress, kind of stress-free the whole time.

CP: Do you have a favorite challenge that you’ve done?

VVM: I liked doing the makeover. It was fun when I got paired with Roxxxy because we both come from pageants, and I’m from Florida, she’s from Florida. So I feel like when you come from pageants, you always are putting somebody in drag and helping somebody out. And it’s kind of like a little family. So to me, that was a challenge that I really enjoyed.

CP: Stepping a bit away from the season and more just focusing on you and your drag and your journey with it. I’m curious to know, do you see drag as an extension of yourself or is it something that’s separate from your personal life? Where do those lines meet?

VVM: I think it’s an extension of me. It’s definitely a huge part of me. It’s basically who I am, but now that I’m getting older, I do value the time of being at home and spending time with my family and my pets. And I’m young, so I ain’t trying to like, you know, ‘Oh, I need to go sit at the house.’ But I feel like now, I feel like you have to take care of the family. I feel like you need to take care of your personal self as well as your on-stage persona, especially mine. When you come to a Vangie experience, you’re going to get 110% energy. It’s a lot and it’s chaos and fun and I like to have a good time. So I think learning to shut it off and lay down for a second is okay as well. 

CP: What does your self-care look like, then?

VVM: My self-care? Sit at the house. Play with my cats. Watch Love Island. Order pizza. Go to the movies. You know, go see my mom. The likes.

CP: When you’re performing, what are you hoping that the audience is receiving from you?

VVM: To me, it’s a 50-50. It’s like a relationship. What y’all give me, I give them. And I just like to have a good time. I like to connect with the people. You never know what you’re going to get with me. And I feel like when people come to my show, it’s almost like an inside joke. I feel like they know who I am and I get to like come up with the friends and the folk and catch up. So yeah, I just like to have a good time. Of course, I’m going to be twirling and spitting and falling and taking shots. I’m going to make sure everybody gets their money’s worth.

CP: Drag has always been astronomically important. But especially now with the polarization and kind of extremist moral ideologies and political noise surrounding drag culture and self-expression in general, has that changed the way that you view drag or the way that you embody drag at all?

VVM: I feel like me doing what I love to do and me being a representation of so many people and people seeing themselves in me and me being blessed enough to like have the platform that I have, I choose to always put a smile on, so people don’t get distracted with the stuff that they’re trying to do, which is to distract us from what the real stuff that is going on. I feel like my obligation is to uplift and carry the torch of happiness because it’s easy to go down a rabbit hole of depression and all that. So that’s what I try to do for the community and for my people and for people that I get to interact and encounter. Yeah. You know, being able to do this amazing job I get to do. So that’s how I try to better the world, so to say. You know, it’s important for us to smile and have a good time.

CP: Having that discussion in this season I thought was poignant and necessary. And I live in Seattle. So I’m definitely fortunate to kind of live in a bubble where those things can seem far away, but they are so much closer than we believe. And I very much admire what you do. And I think being able to acknowledge what’s going on politically and socially while also knowing that this is an art that you do for yourself and your audience is a great way to kind of combine both awarenesses. 

VVM: Oh, for sure. You know, we’re sharing our stories and they ain’t going to take us down, honey. We ain’t the problem.

CP: Period. Far from the problem. What are you looking forward to both in your personal life and with drag following the All Stars Live tour?

VVM: I’m excited. I have a few projects coming out. And I’m excited to just embrace all the opportunities and, you know, full steam ahead, honey, because, you know, we have to get it while it’s hot. I try not to plan too much and like to just let it go. Just let the work and things come to me as they come. That way I don’t stress myself. But all the opportunities, honey, they come knocking at the door. They know I’m going to be there. And I’m excited to see what’s going to come with this year. I feel like a lot of good things will be coming. Can’t say too much, but, you know, who knows, Miss Kia? I’m excited.