In 2020, Jackie Cox rose to superstardom when she became the first queen of Iranian descent to sashay into the RuPaul’s Drag Race werkroom, as well as the first contestant to slay the runway with a hijab.

She continued to make herstory this year as the first former alum to – and this might need fact checking – travel across the United States with a solo tour inspired by a critically-acclaimed superhero miniseries with an Emmy-nominated Olsen sister. (Please correct us if we’re wrong!)

JackieVision, which kicked off in September, takes spectators on a “fun romp through the decades” and sees the star tackle classic and modern television tropes, while celebrating all-things queer and pop culture. (You can purchase tickets here.)

In celebration of the tour, Jackie caught up with GAY TIMES and shared a selection of her queer pop culture favourites, from the musical stylings of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and the US version of Russell T. Davies’ classic drama Queer As Folk. Oh, and if you’re eager to know how Jackie discovered the art of rimming, then this article is for you. Yes, for you!

Your fave queer film is…
This is a complex question because I feel there are a lot of films that aren’t queer films, but to me they’re queer films. Like, the queerest film is Mary Poppins because in my mind, she is a full gay uncle who has come to save this horrible straight family with her magic. So in my mind, that’s a queer film. Maybe I’m wrong, but that to me is a queer film but if you want an actual queer movie then I would say The Birdcage. It has drag, it has family. It was at a time when gay marriage was not remotely legal anywhere and it’s a family story. Of course, I love Too Wong Foo but that is completely beyond the realms of reality, so The Birdcage wins in terms of those 90s queer movies because it has a lot of heart and I think it’s a sweet story. It’s also based on a musical so I love that. The Birdcage wins for me, just for Robin Williams calling out the choreographers alone.

Your fave queer show is…
I was the same age as the Justin character in the American version of Queer as Folk. I remember identifying with that character because his prom was the same year as my prom, and I was an out gay student in high school and I was really nervous to go. I remember in his episode, he was gay-bashed at his prom. So, that was a fear of mine but the happy ending of my story is I ended up being the prom king, which I wasn’t expecting! I remember that show being really formative in my understanding of what my adult life was going to be like. And it’s such a product of its time, it gave me a little guide book. I was living in conservative Orange County at the time, and I didn’t know what gay life was like, so it taught me a lot which was really important at that age because I didn’t know anything. No one teaches you how to be gay. It taught me about rimming!