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Venus D-Lite
D-Lite in 2017
Born	Adam Daniel Guerra (1983-09-05) September 5, 1983 (age 41) Rosemead, California, U.S.
Education	Orange Coast College Los Angeles Community College
Occupations	Drag artist Madonna impersonator
Years active	2002–present

Adam Daniel Guerra (born September 5, 1983), known by his stage name Venus D-Lite, is an American drag performer, television personality and Madonna impersonator. He gained recognition for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and went viral with his appearance in a My Strange Addiction episode called "Addicted To Being Madonna" (2015).

Early life and education

Guerra was raised in Rosemead, California. He attended San Gabriel High School and then Orange Coast College, where he majored in business. He was also pursuing a degree in film from Los Angeles Community College, but dropped out in order to pursue a career in drag full-time.

Career

Guerra started performing as D-Lite (in a Marilyn Monroe impersonation) on August 5, 2002 and made his first television appearance on The Ricki Lake Show in 2003. His drag name came from a combination of “Venus” (taken from “Venus Was Her Name”, a song by Shocking Blue), and “D-Lite”, a name thought of by Guerra's then-boyfriend and makeup artist of three years. A fan of Madonna, he spent over $175,000 on 19 surgeries to look like her for his performances. He was announced as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race season 3 on January 24, 2011. He was eliminated in the first episode, after losing a lip sync to "The Right Stuff" by Vanessa Williams against Shangela, and placed thirteenth. He did however make a guest appearance on the first episode of the fourth season.

In 2014, he made an appearance on Botched to get rhinoplasty surgery. He was in an episode of My Strange Addiction in 2015 to discuss his Madonna obsession. He was also with fellow Drag Race alumni in an episode of Skin Wars.

On February 5, 2015, Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio featured Venus in an episode of her WOWPresents web series "Really Queen?" where she made jokes about her. Venus appeared in a reaction video on February 25 by WOW making jokes back at Del Rio.

Aside from Madonna, he has previously impersonated Marilyn Monroe, Paris Hilton, Cher, Gwen Stefani, Judy Garland, and Barbra Streisand.

Music

Guerra released his first single "I'm Not Madonna" featuring singer Jenn Cuneta on July 7, 2014, on a remix EP. He collaborated with fellow Botched guests Toby Sheldon and Kitty Jay for the single "The Plastics", credited as a band of the same name.

Personal life

Guerra is gay. In 2021, he came out as HIV-positive in an interview with Joseph Shepherd.

In June 2022, Venus made an Instagram post admitting that he was raped by a fellow Drag Race alum in 2013, one described as a “popular queen”, but refused to name the rapist.

Filmography

Television

Web series

Discography

Singles

References

1. "Adam Guerra". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
2. Beale, Margherita (27 April 2017). "'Drag Race' ex-contestant hung up on playing Madonna now has a business plan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
3. Wichelmann, Kai (April 3, 2015). "Männlicher Madonna-Fan wird zum Geht-so-Double". Rolling Stone Germany (in German). Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
4. Guerra, Joey (April 20, 2016). "Madonna a profession for Venus D'Lite". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
5. Ohanesian, Liz (2011-02-01). "Venus D-Lite on RuPaul's Drag Race, Madonna Impersonations and L.A. Nightclubs". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
6. Beale, Margherita (April 27, 2017). "'Drag Race' ex-contestant hung up on playing Madonna now has a business plan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
7. ^ Fitzgerald, Christine (18 April 2019). "Venus D'Lite – The Socialite Life Interview". Socialite Life. MJP Content Labs, LLC. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
8. "On Point With: Venus D'Lite". Thotyssey. Tumblr. August 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
9. "Venus D'Lite - WEHOville". WEHOville. 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
10. Holland, Scott (27 January 2011). "Venus D Lite Interview". Hotspot Magazine. Hotspots Media Group. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
11. MacRae, Dan (2015-03-25). "Adam Guerra (a.k.a. Venus D'Lite) Has Spent $175,000 On Surgeries To Look Like Madonna". ET Canada. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
12. "Alexis Mateo: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 Contestant - RuPaul's Drag Race | LOGOtv". Logo TV. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
13. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' season premiere: Can you believe RuPaul brought [spoiler] back?!?". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
14. "Botched Before and After: Reality Star Gets a Boob Job, Madonna Impersonator Wants a Nose Job and Much More—See the Pics! on Botched". E! Online. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
15. "Madonna a profession for Venus D'Lite". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
16. ""Drag Race" Alum Venus D'Lite Hangs Up Madonna Obsession On "My Strange Addiction"". NewNowNext. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
17. "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
18. WOWPresents (2015-02-05), Bianca Del Rio's Really Queen? - Venus D'Lite, retrieved 2018-10-13
19. WOWPresents (2015-02-25), Venus D'Lite Reacts to Bianca Del Rio's Really Queen? feat. JujuBee, retrieved 2018-10-13
20. I'm Not Madonna by Venus D Lite featuring Jenn Cuneta on Apple Music, 2014-07-07, retrieved 2018-02-20
21. "Plastic surgery enhanced celebrity look-alike group release music video". starcasm.net. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2018-06-25.
22. "This gay man was so obsessed he spent $175k to look like Madonna". Gay Star News. 2015-01-30. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
23. Venus D-Lite: Exposed (The Full Interview), 12 August 2021, retrieved 2021-08-14
24. Cornell, Ashley (3 August 2022). "RuPaul's Venus D'Lite Says She Was Raped By Another Reality Queen". Spam Chronicles. S Chronicles. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
25. Boulet, Ruth (2015-07-08). "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: The Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
26. Hey Qween (2018-05-14), VENUS D'LITE on Hey Qween! with Jonny McGovern | Hey Qween, retrieved 2019-05-08

External links

• Venus D-Lite at IMDb

• 1983 births
• Living people
• American drag queens
• American gay entertainers
• LGBTQ people from California
• Orange Coast College alumni
• RuPaul's Drag Race season 3 contestants
• People with HIV/AIDS
• Drag performers from Los Angeles
• 20th-century American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• Celebrity impersonators