Candis Cayne Explained

Candis Cayne
Birth Date:29 August 1971
Birth Place:Maui, Hawaii, U.S.[1]
Occupation:Actress, performance artist
Years Active:1995 - present
Partner:Marco McDermott (2002–2010)

Candis Cayne[2] (born August 29, 1971) is an American actress and performance artist. Cayne performed in New York City nightclubs in drag since the 1990s,[3] and came out as transgender in 1996; Cayne came to national attention in 2007 for portraying transgender mistress Carmelita on ABC's prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money.[4] [5] [6] The role makes Cayne the first transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character in primetime.[7] [8] She is perhaps best known for her recurring role as the Fairy Queen on the fantasy series The Magicians.

Early life

Cayne has a fraternal twin brother named Dylan. Their parents taught at a Waldorf School, and the family lived on campus.[9] She graduated from Henry Perrine Baldwin High School in Hawaii in 1989 and then spent a year in Los Angeles, where she trained as a dancer.[3]

Career

Cayne then moved to New York in the early 1990s, making a name for herself as a choreographer and drag performer.[3] About three years after her arrival in NYC, Cayne realized that the term transgender described how she felt about herself.[3] Already performing as "Candis Cayne" at New York gay bar Boy Bar and as a featured performer at Tour in New York's Chelsea, the entertainer also participated in Wigstock, the annual drag festival in Manhattan's East Village. In 1995 Cayne appeared in the related documentary film , the comedy-drama film Stonewall, and the Universal Studios comedy feature film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, for which she also did choreography.[10]

In 1996, she had a supporting role in the comedy-drama film Always Something Better (a.k.a. Never Look Back).[11] In 1997 Cayne was in a documentary called Drag Time on HBO along with many other famous New York nightlife performers. Candis also co-starred in the music video for RuPaul's "A Little Bit of Love" with female impersonator Jazzmun. Cayne also starred as the title character in the 1998 independent film Mob Queen, and won the 2001 Miss Continental pageant.[12] [13] In 2007 Cayne was cast as Annaka Manners in the 2007 RuPaul film Starrbooty.

From 2007 to 2008 Cayne played Carmelita Rainer, a trans woman having an affair with married New York Attorney General Patrick Darling (played by William Baldwin), on the ABC prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money.[4] [5] [6] She had a recurring role as the transgender character Alexis Stone in season six of Nip/Tuck.[14] Cayne has appeared as a judge and Dean of Dance on RuPaul's Drag U. As a dance teacher, she taught contestants original choreography to "No Scrubs" by TLC and Kelis's song "Milkshake". In 2011, she guest-starred on the TV show Necessary Roughness as Geraldine.

In 2015, Cayne started making appearances in seasons 1 and 2 of Caitlyn Jenner's reality show I Am Cait.[15]

From 2017 to 2018, Cayne played the role of The Fairy Queen in the Syfy series The Magicians. Cayne appeared in the 2020 documentary .[16] She also hosted the third edition of Werq the World's livestreamed series.[17]

Activism and personal life

Cayne began transitioning circa 1996. Cayne has stated, "I'm not trying to be a spokeswoman for the transgender community; I just want to be looked at as a living, breathing, happy human being." She calls the LGBT community "the last great minority" and supports LGBT+ rights charity GLAAD.

In August 2015, Candis Cayne teamed up with the global LGBT social network MOOVZ as the new global creative director.[18]

For over eight years, ending in 2010, Cayne was in a relationship with DJ Marco McDermott, to whom she referred as her husband.[19] [20] During that time, she helped raise McDermott's daughter, Satori, from a previous relationship.

In 2016, during season 2 of the reality show I Am Cait, Cayne explored the possibility of adopting as a single mom.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1995HerselfCredited as Brendan McDaniel
StonewallDiva
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie NewmarCandis CayneCredited as Brendan McDaniel
1996Always Something BetterBillee
1997 Drag TimeCandis Cayne
1998Mob QueenGlorice Kalsheim
1999Charlie!Short film
In the Closet
2006My Heart Belongs to DataCandisShort film
2007StarrbootyAnnaka Manners
2008Libanesa LoiraLibanesaPortuguese language
2011Making The BoysHerself
2012Meth HeadPinkie
Groom's CakeCandisShort film
2014Crazy BitchesVivianna
2020HerselfDocumentary film
I Hate New Year'sZelena / Marley

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2007Quentin ConradEpisode "The Lying Game"
2008'Therapist #19Episode "An Audacious Affair"
2007–08Dirty Sexy MoneyCarmelita Rainer11 episodes
2009Nip/TuckAlexis Stone2 episodes
2010Drop Dead DivaAllison WebbEpisode "Queen of Mean"
2011Necessary RoughnessGeraldineEpisode "Dream On"
RuPaul's Drag UHerselfEpisode: "Naughty Nurses"
2012She's Living for ThisHerselfEpisode "The Candis Cayne Episode"
2012–17RuPaul's Drag RaceHerself4 episodes
2013–14ElementaryMrs. Hudson3 episodes
2015–16I Am CaitHerself15 episodes
2016HeartbeatAvaEpisode: "Permanent Glitter"
2017-2018The MagiciansFairy Queen10 episodes
2017TransparentJoleneEpisode: “Born Again”
2018Grey's AnatomyDr. Michelle Velez2 episodes
2021The Sherry Vine Show[21] HerselfGuest

Music videos

YearTitlePerformerNotes
1997"A Little Bit of Love"RuPaulDancer
2017"Faces" [22] Mila JamCameo
2020"Nerves of Steel"[23] Erasure

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Wiseman, Eva. Candis Payne: This California girl is the first transsexual to star in a prime-time soap, The Guardian, March 9, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  2. Web site: Sultry Blond On ABC Show Is Hawaii Transgender . KITV.com . November 15, 2007 . January 15, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723124439/http://www.kitv.com/news/14606991/detail.html . July 23, 2011 .
  3. News: Piepenburg . Eric . November 6, 2004 . Keep Your Eye on the Road (If You Can). The New York Times.
  4. Web site: Brownworth . Victoria A. . October Surprises . Bay Area Reporter. October 18, 2007 . October 20, 2007.
  5. News: I Advocate .... March 2009. The Advocate. Issue #1024. 80.
  6. Web site: Metro.co.uk. March 13, 2008. Transsexual beauty makes TV history. February 20, 2009.
  7. Candice Cayne: The First Transgender Woman With a Major Role on Primetime TV. 2020-09-02. Time. en-us.
  8. 21 Transgender People Who Influenced American Culture. Time.com . May 29, 2014.
  9. Venus, Michael (2002). Michael Venus Profiles: Candis Cayne. YouTube
  10. Web site: Candis Cayne - IMDb. 1998–2018. IMDb. January 17, 2018.
  11. Web site: Always Something Better (1996) . Internet Movie Database . June 17, 2012.
  12. Web site: Miss Continental 2001 . TheBatonShowLounge.com . February 20, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20011212062801/http://www.thebatonshowlounge.com/continental_20011.htm . December 12, 2001 . dead . mdy-all .
  13. Web site: Miss Continental Pageant Throughout the Years . Vickirene.net . February 20, 2009.
  14. [Nip/Tuck season 6|''Nip/Tuck'', Season 6]
  15. News: 'I Am Cait' recap: It's all fun and games until someone calls you oblivious. Christie D'Zurilla. August 3, 2015. Los Angeles Times. 2015-08-03.
  16. Web site: Ramos. Dino-Ray. 2020-08-24. 'Disclosure' Director Sam Feder Signs With Gersh And Luber Roklin Entertainment. 2020-09-02. Deadline. en.
  17. Web site: 2020-06-26. Candis Cayne, Yvie Oddly, Naomi Smalls in Event for Black LGBTQ Lives. 2020-09-02. www.advocate.com. en.
  18. News: What Is Caitlyn Jenner's Friend Candis Cayne Working on Next?. People . 2015-08-09.
  19. News: Dirty Sexy Money's Candis Cayne – Vol. 68 No. 19. 2007-11-05. PEOPLE.com. en-US. 2016-12-23.
  20. Web site: Caitlyn Jenner Rumored To Be Dating Trans Actress Candis Cayne. July 2, 2015 . 2015-08-24.
  21. Web site: OUTtv Media Group Teams With Producer Entertainment Group Launch First LGBTQ+ Apple TV Channel. Deadline. Ramos. Dino-Ray. March 29, 2021. March 29, 2021.
  22. Laverne Cox, Tituss Burgess & More Celebrate International Trans Day of Visibility in Mila Jam's 'Faces' Video. Billboard.
  23. News: Erasure Team Up With Drag Stars for 'Nerves of Steel' Video . August 11, 2020 . Shaffer . Claire . . August 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200811230622/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/erasure-nerves-of-steel-1042458/ . August 11, 2020 . live.