RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11 crowned Yvie Oddly as the winner on Thursday night (May 30th).
Yvie went head-to-head with Silky Nutmeg, A’Keria and Brooke Lynn before scooping the crown in dramatic fashion.
However, her journey to the finals has been more complicated than many of the original 15 contestants. Suffering from a rare disease related to her scalp, here’s everything you need know about Yvie’s Ehler-Danlos Syndrome.
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Yvie Oddly, S11 E8.Who is Yvie Oddly?
Yvie Oddly, real name Jovan Bridges, is a 25-year-old from Denver, Colorado.
Describing herself as a conceptual artist, she certainly loves to draw upon the ‘odd’ in her performances.
On her Instagram @oddlyyvie, where she has over 400,000 followers, she describes herself as the “official oddball of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 11”.
What scalp condition does Yvie have?
When rehearsing for episode 4’s group routine, Yvie was nervous about a move which involved dropping to her knees.
She explained “I’m just a little worried about hitting my knees ’cause they come out of place a lot” and that it was an aspect of her disease.
It was then revealed that Yvie suffers from Ehler-Danlos Syndrome.
So, what is Ehler-Danlos Syndrome?
It is a rare condition, often abbreviated to EDS.
EDS can range from mild to severe but revolves around issues with the connective tissues in the skin, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, internal organs and bones.
Essentially, it’s much easier for an EDS-sufferer to dislocate joints so it’s best for Yvie Oddly to stay away from any dangerous dance moves!
But it also means that Yvie has lots of extra skin around her face and scalp due to a lack of collagen production.
What has Yvie said about the disease?
At first Yvie admitted she never wanted to mention she suffered from EDS, as she didn’t want the other contestants to know she “had any sort of weakness”.
But she doesn’t need to worry about the competition after her lipsync performance in episode 8 (Friday, April 19th), with some fans calling it legendary.
And although she never wanted to speak extensively about her condition, Yvie realised opening herself up has been really beneficial.
Speaking to Out Magazine, she said:
Speaking about it even just briefly has opened me up to the fact that there are so many people struggling with this or with other invisible disabilities, and I never realized there was such a major community of people.
YVIE ODDLY VS BROOKE LYNN HYTES
THE BEST LIPSYNC BATTLE THE SHOW HAS EVER HAD. PERIOD. https://t.co/NsgNYhWcJK
— Jake Updegraff (@OnAirJake) April 19, 2019
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