Monet X Change

Monét X Change, the stage name of Kevin Akeem Bertin, is an American drag performer, singer, podcaster, and reality television personality. She gained broad recognition through her appearances on the reality competition franchise RuPaul's Drag Race, winning an All Stars title and building a prominent career in digital and broadcast media.

Bertin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent part of his childhood in Castries, Saint Lucia, raised by an aunt and uncle before returning to Brooklyn at age ten. He grew up in East Flatbush, attended the Professional Performing Arts School, and later resided in the Bronx. He pursued classical vocal training in opera performance at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. In 2012, he began performing in drag in New York City. Representing Saint Lucia, she won the Gay Caribbean USA Pageant in 2014. She belongs to the Davenport drag family, with Honey Davenport as her drag mother and Bob the Drag Queen as her drag sister.

In 2018, Monét X Change competed on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, finishing sixth and earning the Miss Congeniality title as the first recipient selected by fellow contestants. A dress she created from kitchen sponges became a prominent running joke and online meme during her season. She subsequently won the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars alongside Trinity the Tuck, becoming the first Black winner of the spin-off series. She later returned for the all-winners seventh season of All Stars, finishing as runner-up, and served as a mentor on RuPaul's Celebrity Drag Race.

Outside of competition shows, she hosts several digital projects. She co-hosts the podcast Sibling Rivalry with Bob the Drag Queen and previously co-hosted Ebony and Irony with Lady Bunny. Her hosting projects include the talk show The X Change Rate and the Dropout variety show Monét's Slumber Party. She has appeared on Dropout's Dungeons and Drag Queens, guest-starred on shows such as What Would You Do, After Midnight, Dirty Laundry, and Um, Actually, and was cast in the web series Jeopardy! YouTube Edition.

As a trained bass opera vocalist, Bertin incorporates music into her artistic output. She released her debut single Soak It Up in 2018, followed by her EP Unapologetically in 2019. In 2022, she provided vocals as Goldie Vandersnatch for the studio recording of Alaska's Drag: The Musical, and in 2023, she portrayed the Duchess of Krakenthorp in the Minnesota Opera's production of The Daughter of the Regiment.

Her wider activities include commercial endorsements, cosmetic ventures, and political advocacy. She appeared in a Pepsi commercial alongside Cardi B, co-created the cosmetics line BOMO Beauty, and co-founded Drag PAC, a political action committee promoting voter turnout for LGBTQ+ rights. She was featured on the cover of New York magazine and helped inspire Marvel's superhero character Shade. Out of drag, Bertin is non-binary and uses she/her and he/him pronouns.