Shequida Hall (Gary Hall) never intended to be a drag queen. The original goal was to become an opera singer. Alas, after being tricked into drag and performing, Hall fell in love with the gig and alas almost 30 years later, she is still respected as one of the baddest to do it. Shequida is a playwright, singer, songwriter and performer with a five-octave range. Today, she is considered the cream of the crop when it comes to drag performers.

Shequida was born in Jamaica and was destined to be a performer. As a child, Shequida trained her voice and that hard work would later help her land a spot at Juilliard, studying under the critically acclaimed bass-baritone Simon Estes. Career highlights include playing the character Wendi Mercury on the daytime television show One Life to Live and starring in Daron Hagen’s Vera of Las Vegas for it’s 2003 world premiere. She’s also written, directed and starred in her own Off-Broadway show Opera for Dummies, which took her around the world and earned her a GLAAD award nomination.

Currently, Shequida hosts at Pieces (Monday), Hardware Bar (Thursday) and Bartschland Follies (Friday) in New York. In addition to hosting, Shequida also sporadically performs / tours her self-written and directed shows. Learn more about Shequida Hall’s incredible journey in the latest episode of Uncensored Visionary: A LGBTQ Podcast.

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