Loosey LaDuca
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Short description|American drag performer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Loosey LaDuca
| image = DragCon 2023 @ DVSROSS Photgraphy -153 (cropped).jpg
| alt = Photograph of someone on a pink runway, wearing an outfit which is black on the bottom half and has an animal print on the top half; she has multiple tattoos and is holding a small stuffed dog in one of her hands
| caption = Loosey LaDuca at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2023
| birth_name = Timothy P. Rinaldi
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|32|2022|12|26}}
| birth_place = Ansonia, Connecticut, U.S.
| education =
| occupation = {{Flatlist|
| television = RuPaul's Drag Race (season 15)
}}
Loosey LaDuca is the stage name of Timothy P. Rinaldi,{{Cite journal |date=January 2023 |title=RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15 Cast Ru-Vue Part 4 |url=https://issuu.com/hapdigmag/docs/hapdigmag011323issue9 |journal=Happening Digital |volume=1 |issue=9 |pages=69 |access-date=2023-05-17 |archive-date=2023-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517191520/https://issuu.com/hapdigmag/docs/hapdigmag011323issue9 |url-status=live }} an American drag performer who is best known for competing on the fifteenth season of the television series RuPaul's Drag Race. Rinaldi is from Ansonia, Connecticut, and was a construction worker before appearing on Drag Race. Loosey LaDuca's original song "Let Loose", which debuted on the show, went viral and received a remix featuring Jan Sport and Lemon.
Early life, education, and early career
Timothy Rinaldi is from Ansonia, Connecticut, and was born in 1989 or 1990. He attended Ansonia Middle School and high school, where he participated in musical theater.{{Cite news |last=Martinez |first=Eddy |date=2022-12-26 |title=Ansonia drag queen set to appear on RuPaul's Drag Race |url=https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Always-changing-always-learning-always-going-17671756.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125022130/https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Always-changing-always-learning-always-going-17671756.php |archive-date=2023-01-25 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Connecticut Post |publisher=Hearst Communications |language=en-US}} Rinaldi worked as a construction worker in Ansonia. After portraying one of Cinderella's sisters in a production of Cinderella at Downtown Cabaret Theater in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Rinaldi realized he "had what it took to be a drag queen". He has since performed in many drag brunch shows.
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and "Let Loose"
File:Loosey LaDuca at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2024.jpg in 2024]]
Rinaldi competed as Loosey LaDuca on the fifteenth season of the American television show RuPaul's Drag Race. She debuted the original song "Let Loose" during the variety show.{{Cite web |title=5 Surprising Things Loosey LaDuca Revealed Post-'Drag Race' Exit |url=https://www.pride.com/drag-queens/drag-race-loosey-laduca-comments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404125739/https://www.pride.com/drag-queens/drag-race-loosey-laduca-comments |archive-date=2023-04-04 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Pride.com |publisher=Here Media |language=en}} According to Stephan Daw of Billboard, "Let Loose" went "ultra-viral" following Loosey LaDuca's talent-show performance.{{Cite magazine |last=Daw |first=Stephen |date=2023-03-28 |title='RuPaul's Drag Race': Loosey LaDuca Still Isn't Over the 'Actually Crazy' Virality of 'Let Loose' |url=https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/rupauls-drag-race-loosey-laduca-elimination-interview-1235293783/ |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404161026/https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/rupauls-drag-race-loosey-laduca-elimination-interview-1235293783/ |archive-date=2023-04-04 |access-date=2023-04-08}} Bernardo Sim of Out said the song became "a huge viral hit". Loosey LaDuca released a remix of the song that features Jan Sport and Lemon.
Loosey LaDuca also impersonated Dolly Parton and Joan Rivers on Drag Race; she was declared a winner in the fourth ("Supersized Snatch Game") and eleventh ("Two Queens, One Joke") episodes, and placed in the bottom two in the twelfth and thirteenth episodes.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-27 |title=Last CT drag queen standing, Loosey LaDuca, sashays away on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' |url=https://www.courant.com/2023/03/27/last-ct-drag-queen-standing-loosey-laduca-sashays-away-on-rupauls-drag-race |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403171937/https://www.courant.com/2023/03/27/last-ct-drag-queen-standing-loosey-laduca-sashays-away-on-rupauls-drag-race/ |archive-date=2023-04-03 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Hartford Courant |publisher=Tribune Publishing |language=en-US |issn=1047-4153 |oclc=8807834}} Kevin Bacon praised Loosey LaDuca for her performance in Wigloose: The Rusical!, a parody of the 1984 film Footloose.{{Cite magazine |last=Nolfi |first=Joey |date=March 20, 2023 |title='Footloose' star Kevin Bacon praises 'Drag Race' Rusical 'Wigloose,' slams anti-drag politics |url=https://ew.com/tv/footloose-star-kevin-bacon-praises-rupauls-drag-race-rusical-wigloose/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en |archive-date=2023-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322041716/https://ew.com/tv/footloose-star-kevin-bacon-praises-rupauls-drag-race-rusical-wigloose/ |url-status=live }} In her first lip-sync, she defeated Salina EsTitties to Kate Bush's song "Running Up That Hill" (1985).{{Cite web |last=Duncan |first=Charlie |date=2023-03-28 |title=Loosey LaDuca speaks out on 'devastating' Drag Race exit: 'I did feel robbed' |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/03/28/loosey-laduca-drag-race-season-15-elimination-robbed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404153349/https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/03/28/loosey-laduca-drag-race-season-15-elimination-robbed/ |archive-date=2023-04-04 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=PinkNews |language=en-US}} She was eliminated from the competition after losing a lip-sync to "For the Girls" by Hayley Kiyoko against Luxx Noir London.
Paper magazine's Sanda Song said Loosey LaDuca is "one of season 15's most memorable contestants—and for good reason",{{Cite journal |last=Song |first=Sandra |date=March 28, 2023 |title=Loosey LaDuca Wants To Build Bridges |url=https://www.papermag.com/loosey-laduca-drag-race-2659667589.html#rebelltitem17 |url-status=live |journal=Paper |issn=1073-9122 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330203239/https://www.papermag.com/loosey-laduca-drag-race-2659667589.html#rebelltitem17 |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |access-date=April 8, 2023}} and Cameron Scheetz of Queerty said she "gave us nothing but real: Real emotion, real drama, real star-power, and real good reality television".{{Cite web |last=Scheetz |first=Cameron |title=Loosey LaDuca on memes, tools, and why letting loose with emotion on 'Drag Race' paid off |url=https://www.queerty.com/loosey-laduca-on-memes-tools-and-why-letting-loose-with-emotion-on-drag-race-paid-off-20230328 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408010434/https://www.queerty.com/loosey-laduca-on-memes-tools-and-why-letting-loose-with-emotion-on-drag-race-paid-off-20230328 |archive-date=2023-04-08 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Queerty|date=28 March 2023 }} Sim included LaDuca in a 2023 list of ten contestants who received a "delusional" edit on Drag Race and wrote, "Throughout the edit of the show, LaDuca was shown passionately disagreeing with the judges, arguing with other queens over who got second and third top placements, and seemingly not understanding when her costars were just kidding around."{{Cite web |title=10 'Drag Race' Queens Who Got a 'Delusional' Edit On the Show |url=https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/rupauls-drag-race-delusional-edit |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329145842/https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/rupauls-drag-race-delusional-edit |archive-date=2023-03-29 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Out |language=en |issn=1062-7928}} Writing for Pride.com, Sim said, "There's absolutely no way that someone can walk away from watching season 15 without remembering how LaDuca was portrayed on the show."{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Bernardo |date=April 18, 2023 |title=Every 'Drag Race' Season 15 Controversy & Yes, There Were A Lot! |url=https://www.pride.com/gay-tv/drag-race-season-15-controversy-list |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Pride.com |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510111716/https://www.pride.com/gay-tv/drag-race-season-15-controversy-list |url-status=live }} Loosey LaDuca has said she felt "robbed" and had earned a spot as a finalist.{{Cite magazine |last=Nolfi |first=Joey |date=March 27, 2023 |title='Drag Race' star Loosey LaDuca opens up about 'devastating' exit |url=https://ew.com/tv/rupauls-drag-race-season-15-loosey-laduca-elimination-interview/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en |archive-date=2023-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405205309/https://ew.com/tv/rupauls-drag-race-season-15-loosey-laduca-elimination-interview/ |url-status=live }}
Personal life
Loosey LaDuca uses the pronouns she/her while in drag; her persona is based on Lucille Ball and the LaDuca dance shoes worn by members of the precision dance company The Rockettes. In addition to her characterizations on Drag Race, Loosey LaDuca has impersonated Cyndi Lauper and Madonna.
Discography
= Singles =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles, showing the year released, and album name ! class="unsortable" scope="col" | Title ! class="unsortable" scope="col" | Year ! class="unsortable" scope="col" | Album |
| scope="row" | "Let Loose"
| rowspan="2" |2023 | {{N/A}} |
|---|
| scope="row" | "Let Loose (remix)" (featuring Jan & Lemon)
| {{N/A}} |
= As a featured artist =
Filmography
= Television =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of television credits ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" style="width: 15em; class="unsortable" | Title ! scope="col" style="width: 10em; class="unsortable" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2022
| RuPaul's Drag Race (season 15) | rowspan="2" | Herself/Contestant | rowspan="2" | {{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Harriet |title=RuPaul's Drag Race makes history with cast announcement for season 15 |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a42230362/rupauls-drag-race-season-15-twins/ |date=December 13, 2022 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-UK |archive-date=March 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315211837/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a42230362/rupauls-drag-race-season-15-twins/ |url-status=live }} |
|---|
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked |
=Web series=
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Loosey LaDuca}}
- {{IMDb name|nm14340297|Loosey LaDuca}}
{{RuPaul's Drag Race}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loosey LaDuca}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people
Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people
Category:American gay musicians
Category:American LGBTQ singers
Category:Drag performers from Connecticut
Category:LGBTQ people from Connecticut