Palao was born in the Philippines in 1982. He and his family relocated to Seattle, Washington, in 1994. His original drag name, before Ongina, was Peck-Peck Galore. He started performing in drag in 2003 at an Asian restaurant called Lucky Cheng's, where he worked alongside then-unknown Laverne Cox.
''Drag Race'' and career
Ongina was selected as one of nine contestants for the inaugural season of RuPaul's Drag Race and was officially announced on February 2, 2009. She revealed her HIV status in the fourth episode, where she won her second challenge. She was eliminated in the next episode after losing a lip sync to "Stronger", by Britney Spears, against eventual winner BeBe Zahara Benet, placing her in fifth. Outside of season 1, she made a cameo appearance on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. She also made five appearances in the first and second seasons of RuPaul's Drag U. She appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere of season 11 of Drag Race. Ongina was in the 2009 music video for "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas. An animated version of her appeared in the RuPaul's Drag Race: Dragopolis 2.0 mobile app. She appeared in three episodes of the WOW Presents web series Fashion Photo RuView with Mayhem Miller, filling in for Raja and Ravenin September and October 2018. She was a backup dancer for Nico Tortorella on an episode of Lip Sync Battle in 2019. In June 2019, Ongina performed at Motor City Pride. Later that year, she performed at Virginia Pridefest, headlined by Betty Who. On May 8, 2020, Ongina was announced as one of the ten queens competing on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. She was the second queen eliminated from the show, ultimately placing 9th.
Impact
Since coming out as HIV-positive, Ongina has become an HIV activist. She was the host for the online web show HIV and Me, a talk show featuring interviews with different individuals on how they live with HIV/AIDS. Ongina also was a spokesperson for OraQuick, one of the first at-home HIV testing kits, in 2013. She won the NewNowNext Award for Most Addictive Reality Star in 2009. RuPaul's 2009 song "LadyBoy" was inspired by Ongina. In an interview with amFAR, Ongina said that she used her drag persona to advocate for awareness for HIV, trans rights, equality, and basic human rights.
Personal life
Palao is openly gay. He was diagnosed as HIV-positive on April 13, 2006. He currently lives in Los Angeles. Palao is involved in an amFAR campaign called Epic Voices, whose mission is to find a cure for AIDS by 2030 and to reengage the conversation about the virus.
