Buckwheat

Buckwheat is one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most pioneering drag queens, performing since the late 1980s out of Auckland. She fell into drag out of necessity — when a hostess at Staircase nightclub on Fort Street left for Wellington, she simply stepped in herself. "I fell into it, but I came to understand the power of it over time," she says. Identifying as fa'afafine, Buckwheat and her performance partner Bertha helped spark a wave of Pacific drag performers that made the scene 70 percent Pacific at its height. Over nearly four decades, Buckwheat has performed across the globe — including opening the Dance Biennale in Venice — and has been recognised with an exhibit at Auckland Museum, where her "Golden Goddess" dress is on permanent display. Offstage, she splits her time as a health and wellbeing advocate, including work with the NZ AIDS Foundation. "As an entertainer you have the power to create joyous interactions that stay with people and can make them feel special."