Rent live premiered Sunday night on Fox, and fans of RuPaul's Drag Race saw a familiar face. Playing the heartwarming, eccentric character of Angel Dumott Schunard, Valentina took audiences breath away with her rendition of "Today 4 U."
Valentina first appeared on the people's radar during season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2017. Her time was cut short on the reality competition after failing to memorize the lyrics of Ariana Grande's "Greedy" during a lip-sync battle.
She made a return to RuPaul's stage in December for All-Stars; however, the fan-favorite contestant was eliminated during Friday night's episode.
Despite her shortcomings on the competition, it obviously didn't bring Valentina down too much, as she brought her fire-cracker spirit to the iconic role of Angel.
"I was called in because one of the casting directors was a fan of mine from 'Drag Race,'" Valentina told NBC News. "Without even knowing if I knew how to sing or if I had the experience or the potential for this, they invited me to come in and audition. They saw something in me."
"Is he going by 'he'? Is she going by 'she'? Is she a drag queen? Is she trans? Is she gender fluid? These kind of conversations are modern conversations of today that we can now explore through the work, and I hope that the LGBTQ community can really appreciate how far we have come along," she added.
As Angel's gender identity has been a subject of debate in the past–whether the character identifies as gay, trans or gender fluid–Valentina revealed in a promo clip posted to her Instagram that her own identity made her relate to the character even more.
"More than just the comic relief, he is a human being who came into these people's life like an angel does," Valentina said. "As someone who identifies as gender non-binary or non-conforming, I think that's where I connect with Angel the most."
While the RuPaul alum uses she/her pronouns, Valentina revealed her gender identity to her over 1 million followers earlier this month through an article with Out Magazine.
"I don't completely feel like a man, I don't completely feel like a woman. I feel like a goddess. I feel like I'm my own gender," Valentina said to Out. "I do take the responsibility of being a gay nonbinary drag queen person taking on a really important iconic role like Angel."
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