After competing on the beauty pageant circuit, Naysha Lopez won the 2013 Miss Continental competition.[2][3]
Naysha Lopez competed on the eighth seasonofRuPaul's Drag Race in 2016,[4][5] after building a drag career in Puerto Rico and Chicago.[6] She was the first queen eliminated, losing the lip sync battle to "Applause" by Lady Gaga against Laila McQueen.[7] Naysha was quickly brought back to the show for ep. 3 after a lackluster performance on ep. 2 by McQueen and Dax ExclamationPoint resulted in their dual-elimination;[8] Naysha subsequently placed in the bottom two again and lost another lipsync, this time against Chi Chi DeVaynetoBlondie's "Call Me", and became the second queen on the show to be eliminated twice (after season 7’s Trixie Mattel).[9][10]Queerty's Timothy Allen said she was "one of the most beautiful queens to ever compete on the show".[11] Similarly, Michael Cook of South Florida Gay News said she was "arguably one of the most stunningly gorgeous queens to ever stomp the runway" on the series, to date.[12]
AtRuPaul's DragCon LA convention in 2018, Naysha Lopez and Tempest DuJour tied for "fan favorite" in the “RuPaul's DragCon Pageant”, an event where "queens who were eliminated first on their seasons battled it out for the crowd", according to Patrick Crowley of Billboard magazine.[13]
In 2021, Rodriguez was first runner-up in the Mr. Continental competition,[14] winning in the swimsuit category.[15]
In 2022, Naysha Lopez was among a group of drag queens who performed on-stage with Jennifer Lopez at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.[16] The performance was a "full-circle" moment for Naysha, as she has repeatedly expressed admiration for Lopez as an artist, performer and businesswoman on many occasions, posting on Instagram in 2019: "Jennifer Lopez will always be a huge inspiration for me and my drag. Her take on Fashion and work ethic is like no other."[17] In 2023, she returned and competed on the eighth seasonofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars,[18] ultimately being eliminated on episode 2 after she placed in the bottom two contestants, alongside Kahanna Montrese. The surprise lip-sync "assassin" of the episode, Thai drag performer Pangina Heals, won in a lip-sync against challenge winner JimbotoCyndi Lauper's "She Bop", and, as she received the majority of the votes to be eliminated from the safe queens, Naysha was sent home, placing eleventh out of twelve queens.
As Naysha Lopez, Rodriguez hosts a popular weekly viewing party for RuPaul’s Drag Race, live-streamed from Chicago gay bar Roscoe's Tavern on YouTube. Along with co-hosts Kara Mel and Batty Davis, the event features anywhere from 2-4 guests, usually other queens from the show, as well as occasional judges from the series or other media personalities. Other guests at Roscoe's have included contestants and winners from Canada's Drag Race and RuPaul'sDrag Race UK. The group gives intermittent commentary during and after the episode, with behind-the-scenes gossip and information often being revealed, hence there is a strict no-filming policy at the bar.[22][23][24][25][26]
As of 2024, Rodriguez is currently residing in Los Angeles, explaining in a podcast interview with fellow DragRace alum Delta Work that he values the position hosting the viewing parties at Roscoe's Tavern (in Chicago) so much that he travels weekly between California and Illinois, stating: "I do my thing every week, and I have one of the best jobs, ever…Roscoe's has really stepped-up and shown appreciation for their talent."[29] Rodriguez is currently dating Jason Hughes.[30]
^Forman, Ross (19 April 2014). "Lady Tajma Hall dies". Windy City Times. Tajma Hall, a Chicago-based entertainer who shined worldwide, died Saturday morning, April 19, of cardiac arrest at Evanston Hospital. She was 44.
