Brita Filter Explained

Brita Filter
Birth Name:Jesse Carl Havea[1]
Birth Date:16 September 1985
Birth Place:Anthem, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation:Drag queen
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Brita Filter, the stage name of Jesse Carl Havea, is an American drag queen who has appeared on and the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, ultimately placing 9th.

Early life and career

Havea was born in Anthem, Arizona before moving to Dover-Foxcroft, Maine as a kid. She is of Tongan descent.[2] Havea was born and raised Mormon.[3] Havea grew up as a child performer, and later went on to book national tours with theater companies and eventually studied acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.[4] He later became a stage actor and performed in various regional and national productions. He landed the role of a stepsister in the musical production of Cinderella. On the last night of his tenure with this production, Havea met a girl named "Brita" and decided to make "Brita Filter" his stage name that night.[5] He then returned to Manhattan and started his business performing as Brita Filter, a drag queen,[6] stating, "So after that finished, I came back to New York that day, and I decided I was going to take over New York!"[5]

In 2016, Havea won the 2016 Glam Awards for Best Duo alongside fellow drag artist Terra Hyman.[7] In 2018, she won the Best Host and the NYC Entertainer of the Year Award at the Annual Glam Awards.[8] In 2020, Havea co-hosted the 21st annual GLAM Awards, alongside Bob the Drag Queen.[9]

Havea performed alongside Katy Perry on Saturday Night Live, performing her song "Swish Swish".[10] [11] [12]

Havea starred in a segment called "How Drag Queens Are Getting Out the Vote" on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, along with RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12 co-stars Jaida Essence Hall, Heidi N. Closet and Jackie Cox.

Havea is a co-chair of Drag Out The Vote, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with drag performers to promote participation in democracy.

Havea joined the cast of at its inception in October 2017, as Brita Filter. The series documents the daily reality of lives as Manhattan drag queens.

On January 23, 2020, Havea was announced as one of the thirteen contestants on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming the first Pasifika queen to appear on the show.[13] To protect copyright, his stage name on the show is shortened from "Brita Filter" to simply "Brita".[14] In the fourth episode, "The Ball Ball", Havea lipsynced for her life against Rock M Sakura, sending them home to "S&M" by Rihanna.[15] She later found herself again in the bottom two in episode six, where she lipsynced for her life against Aiden Zhane, to "Let It Go" by Caissie Levy, where Brita also sent Aiden home.[16] She was in the bottom two again on episode seven, where she lipsynced for her life against Heidi N. Closet, to "Burning Up" by Madonna, Havea lost the lipsync and went home.[17]

Brita placed 8th overall in the competition.

Personal life

Havea is pansexual, and their preferred pronouns are "anything respectful".[18]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012City of DreamsSVU ActorEpisode: "Pilot"
2017HerselfLead role
Saturday Night LiveBackground dancer
2019Broad CityGuest[20]
2020RuPaul's Drag RaceContestant (8th Place)
Kal Penn Approves This MessageHerselfEpisode "Kal Penn Approves Education"
The Daily Show with Trevor NoahHerselfEpisode 3457, August 21, 2020

Web series

YearTitleRoleNotes
2017Daniel's DeskHimselfEpisode 1[21]
2019Cosmo QueensHimselfCosmopolitan Series[22]
2020Drag NewsHimselfGuest[23]
2020The X Change RateHimselfSegment: Brita Unfiltered[24]
2020Whatcha PackinHimselfGuest[25]
2020Review with a JewHimselfGuest[26]
2020Da FuqHimselfGuest[27]
2020Out of the ClosetHimselfGuest[28]
2020Bring Back My GhoulsHerselfGuest[29]
2022Bring Back My GirlsHerselfGuest

Theatre

YearProductionRoleVenueNotes
2014Forever PlaidSmudgeFine Arts Center Theatre CompanyCredited as Jesse Havea[30]
Cinderella: A New Telling of an Old TaleStepsisterPenobscot Theatre Company[31]
2017The Shards of an Honor Code JunkieStarr LyteMetro Baptist ChurchCredited as Jesse Havea & Brita Filter[32]
2021Hard On LoveSteveThe Blank Theater (digital)Credited as Jesse Havea[33]

Discography

Featured singles

TitleYearAlbum
"I'm That Bitch"[34]
(with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12)
2020rowspan="3"
""
(with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12)
"The Shady Bunch"[35]
(with The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12)
"You Brita Vote, Kay?(with Bryce Quartz and KayKay Lavelle)non-albumsingle

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jesse Carl Havea . Ancestry Institute . Ancestry . November 12, 2022.
  2. Web site: 2020-03-06. RuPaul's Drag Race gets its first Pasifika contestant in Brita Filter — but she's 'anything but pure'. 2021-02-03. www.abc.net.au. en-AU.
  3. The X Change Rate: Brita Filter & Nikita Dragun. BUILD Series. April 16, 2020. April 16, 2020.
  4. News: Here's How Much It Costs to Dress Like a Drag Queen. Thomas. Jae. October 23, 2019. Bedfordandbowery.com. April 1, 2020. en.
  5. Web site: Brita Filter. Eileen Shapiro. Get Out!. March 21, 2017. March 24, 2019.
  6. Web site: DRAG QUEENS - Meet Brita Filter, the New York City Drag Queen Spending Thousands on Being Fabulous. Will Linendoll. Money. December 31, 2017. March 24, 2019.
  7. Web site: Meet 'Ru Paul's Drag Race' first Pacific Island contestant - BRITA. Coco Talanoa. Thecoconet.tv/. April 1, 2020.
  8. News: Brita Filter Appeared in 'Broad City' and 'Shade' Before Joining 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. Kozma. Leila. January 23, 2020. Distractify.com. January 26, 2020. en.
  9. News: Glam Awards 2020. Shapiro. Eileen. January 21, 2020. GetOutMag.com. April 2, 2020. en.
  10. Web site: How Katy Perry and her drag queens found themselves on the fake-news frontline. The Guardian. May 25, 2017. January 23, 2020.
  11. News: We identified the performers in Katy Perry's 'Swish Swish' on SNL. Queerty. 2018-12-10. en.
  12. Web site: Drag Queens and Club Kids "Swish Swish" with Katy Perry On "SNL". NewNowNext. 2019-01-28.
  13. News: RuPaul's Drag Race star Brita Filter says she will 'spread the Polynesian love' as first Pasifika queen. Aualiitia. Tahlea. March 6, 2020. abc.net.au. March 31, 2020. en.
  14. Exclusive: RuPaul, Drag Race season 12 cast give first interviews on 'twisted' new season. Nolfi. Joey. January 23, 2020. Entertainment Weekly. January 23, 2020. en.
  15. News: RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: It DO Take Balls!. McCallion. Paul. March 20, 2020. Vulture.com. March 20, 2020. en.
  16. News: RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Gigi's Drag Race. McCallion. Paul. April 3, 2020. Vulture.com. April 4, 2020. en.
  17. News: RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Get Into the GRuve. McCallion. Paul. April 10, 2020. Vulture.com. April 11, 2020. en.
  18. News: 20 Queer Q's with Brita Filter. Rodriguez. Joe. January 17, 2020. Pride.com. January 26, 2020. en.
  19. Web site: Jesse Havea Backstage.
  20. News: Sasha Velour, Shangela, and Jiggly Caliente Were All on 'Broad City'. Street. Mikelle. March 5, 2019. Out.com. January 26, 2020. en.
  21. Daniel's Desk- Episode 1: NYC Drag Queens. YouTube. April 6, 2017. October 19, 2019.
  22. Brita Filter's Stunning Sunset Beauty Look Will Make You Want to Take a Beach Vacay. Cosmopolitan. April 29, 2019. October 19, 2019.
  23. Queens Investigate Grocery Store Ghost Sighting Drag News LX. NBCLX. March 3, 2020. April 2, 2020.
  24. The X Change Rate: Yandy Smith. BUILD. March 5, 2020. March 5, 2020.
  25. Whatcha Packin': SPOILER ALERT S12 E7 RuPaul's Drag Race. WOWPresents. April 11, 2020. April 11, 2020.
  26. Miz Cracker's Review with a Jew - S12 E07 Feat. Special Guest!. Miz Cracker. April 12, 2020. April 12, 2020.
  27. Honey Davenport - DA FUQ S2 E2 feat. Brita. Honey Davenport Official. April 16, 2020. April 16, 2020.
  28. Welcome to Brita's Room S3 E2 RuPaul's Drag Race Out Of The Closet. RuPaul's Drag Race. May 26, 2020. May 26, 2020.
  29. Bring Back My Ghouls: RuPauls Drag Race Season 12 Queens. YouTube. May 30, 2020. October 30, 2020.
  30. News: Forever Plaid. Wheeler. Bill. May 10, 2014. Theatercolorado.blogspot.com. April 1, 2020. en.
  31. News: Maine native and former Penobscot Theatre actor part of season 12 of 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. Burnham. Emily. March 5, 2019. Bangordailynews.com. April 1, 2020. en.
  32. News: New Musical "Shards Of An Honor Code Junkie" Tackles Gay Mormons, Suicide. Voss. Brandon. April 16, 2020. NewNowNext.com. April 16, 2020. en.
  33. Web site: BWW News Desk. HARD ON LOVE Set For The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series. 2021-03-12. BroadwayWorld.com. en.
  34. Web site: I'm That Bitch - Single. iTunes.
  35. Web site: The Shady Bunch / Bring Back My Girls - Single. iTunes.
  36. Web site: World of Wonder's 2022 WOWIE Awards at DragCon: Cast Your Votes Now!. Nikki. Nguyen. World of Wonder. 2 May 2022 . May 7, 2022.
  37. Web site: Here Are World of Wonder's 2022 WOWIE Awards Winners . World of Wonder . 16 May 2022 . 16 May 2022.