26 Facts About Kia LaBeija

Kia LaBeija's most well known series, 24, is a sociopolitical commentary on the effects of growing up as a young woman of color with HIV.

Kia LaBeija is a former Mother of the House of LaBeija.

Kia LaBeija was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen, New York.

Kia LaBeija's mother, Kwan Bennett, was born in Subic Bay, Philippines and is Filipino American.

Kia LaBeija's father, drummer Warren Benbow, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and is African American.

Kia LaBeija has one brother, actor, producer, and artist Kenn Michael.

Kia LaBeija grew up in Manhattan Plaza and was in the dance program at Alvin Ailey.

In 1993, LaBeija was diagnosed with HIV at the age of three, having contracted the virus through perinatal transmission.

Kia LaBeija studied the arts at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School in Manhattan.

Kia LaBeija's works have been included in group exhibitions, performances, and screenings at dozens of museums around the world including The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Tate Modern, The Brooklyn Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Museum of The City of New York, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The International Center for Photography and The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.

Kia LaBeija's work was featured as part of Art AIDS America, a touring group exhibition looking at 30 years of art making around HIV and AIDS.

Kia LaBeija achieved this without gallery representation, major art collectors, or a solo show.

Kia LaBeija is the 4th black woman to make the cover.

Kia LaBeija is a recipient of a 2019 Creative Capital Award with her partner Taina Larot, and was commissioned by Performa for its 2019 Performa Biennial.

Kia LaBeija came in the house and ballroom scene at the age of 19 in 2009 through a co-worker at Webster Hall.

Kia LaBeija began walking balls officially in 2012 and walked as a LaBeija for the first time at the last Latex Ball at Roseland Ballroom.

Kia LaBeija received the Hector Xtravaganza Xellence Award, named after her late gay father Hector Xtravaganza.

Kia LaBeija appeared in the pilot episode of Ryan Murphy's Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated ballroom drama Pose as a principal dancer, and was featured in Wu Tsang's film Into a Space for Love for Gucci and Frieze magazine.

In 2017, she was made Overall Mother of the Royal House of Kia LaBeija, and stepped down officially in 2019.

Kia LaBeija has been invited to speak at Harvard, MIT, The New School, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Cooper Union, The MoMa, New York University, the New York Public Library, and Stanford University.

Kia LaBeija has been featured on HIV Plus Magazines 20 Most Amazing HIV Positive Women list.

In 2019, Kia LaBeija was honored by Performance Space New York.

Kia LaBeija was listed in Dazeds 20 best photos of 2018 and PAPER Predictions: 100 People Taking Over 2019.

Kia LaBeija has been featured in W Magazine, Vogue Spain, Vanity Fair Italia, The New York Times, Numero, Ascent, SLEEK, Paper Magazine, and Time Out New York.

Kia LaBeija identifies herself as a queer cis-gender woman of color.

Kia LaBeija has been in a relationship with artist Taina Larot since 2014.