Who was Jan before "Drag Race," though? Actually, Jan was Jan Sport, a name that parodies the brand JanSport due to Jan's love of, well, sports (via the Huffington Post). JanSport's brand name is trademarked, making Jan's use of it on national television a little risky. Instead, RuPaul referred to the budding star as "Simply Jan" throughout the season as a reference to the name change.
Jan, whose birth name out of drag is Charlie Mantione, has also appeared on other national television series, including "The Voice" and "America's Got Talent" (via NBC News). However, Jan got her start doing drag by getting late night gigs that afforded her no sleep before her early morning workdays. She told NBC, "I wasn't getting any sleep, and I wasn't going to many auditions for musical theater — I was focusing on drag and trying to do everything right to make it work," before saying that this dedication later proved to herself that drag was important to her and that she should pursue it fully.
Jan is from New Jersey but currently lives and works in New York City, where she's part of a girl group called Stephanie's Child (via NBC News). The group consists of Jan, fellow "Drag Race" alum Rosé, and recording artist Lagoona Blue, with the first two boasting their singing abilities on the reality television series. You can catch Jan in live solo and Stephanie's Child shows in NYC and on "Drag Race All Stars," which premieres on Paramount+ on June 24.
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