James Lee Williams, the inaugural “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” winner and known globally by their stage name The Vivienne, has died. The British performer was 32.
The Vivienne’s death was confirmed Sunday by their manager, Simon Jones. As of Monday, a cause of death had not been publicly confirmed.
“It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved James Lee Williams – The Vivienne, has passed this weekend,” Jones wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “James was an incredibly loved, warm-hearted and amazing person. Their family are heartbroken at the loss of their son, brother and uncle. They are so proud of the wonderful things James achieved in their life and career.”
In a follow-up statement, Jones said he was “heartbroken and devastated” by Williams’ death, adding: “No one has made me laugh in my life as much as Viv did. Their comic genius and quick wit was like no other.”
Among those also paying tribute was Williams’ former husband, David Ludford.
“My heart is literally shattered, I feel so out of place I feel lost, I feel numb,” Ludford wrote on Instagram alongside a carousel of images.
By Monday, RuPaul acknowledged Williams’ death early Monday by sharing a throwback photo on Instagram.
“With a broken heart, I join the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne—an incredibly talented queen and a lovely human being,” he wrote.
A native of Colwyn Bay, Wales, Williams rose to prominence in 2015 when they were appointed the U.K. ambassador for “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which was then in its seventh season. They would later acknowledge that their drag name was intended as a tribute to late fashion designer Vivienne Westwood.
In 2019, Williams competed on the premiere season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK,” ultimately winning the competition series. Though they were based in England, they endeared themselves to American viewers in 2022 as a contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” where they came in seventh.
“I came out quite early. Humor was my defense at school,” Williams recalled of their early years in a 2023 interview with The Mirror, a U.K. publication. “I wasn’t bullied, because I was the funny kid. I’d turn up with a Louis Vuitton bag. Often my accessories would be confiscated. It wasn’t all bad. I was outside the headmaster’s office and another teacher told me I looked fabulous.”
In recent years, Williams began carving out a career in musical theater, starring in British productions of “The Wizard of Oz” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” In 2022, they made history when they became the first drag performer to appear on the British competition series “Dancing on Ice,” where they came in third.
As for the recent rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment worldwide, particularly toward the drag community, Williams said, “It comes from nowhere.”
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“There’s this whole rhetoric now about drag queens grooming children, and [it all comes from] these crazy politicians with no one else to point the finger at but ― yet again ― the LGBTQ+ community,” they told HuffPost UK in 2023. “People have taken their children to see drag queens for years ― whether they know it or not. At panto, or you’ve been sat watching ‘Mrs Doubtfire,’ and it’s all OK then.”