Hugo Bardin (born June 30, 1991), known professionally as Paloma, is a French drag performer, singer, director and screenwriter. She is best known for winning the first season of Drag Race France.

Paloma
Born
Hugo Jean Pierre Bardin

(1991-06-30) June 30, 1991 (age 33)
Occupations
TelevisionDrag Race France
Musical career
Genres
Instrument
  • Vocals

Early life

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Hugo Bardin was born on June 30, 1991.[1][2] He took his first theater lessons at the age of four, which gave rise to his desire to work in this field. After the baccalaureate, which he obtained in Clermont-Ferrand, his hometown, he continued his studies at Cours Florent, in Paris. During this time, he exercised several professions in the field of theatre, in particular an actor, but also a director or a wigmaker.[3]

Career

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Bardin's first experience as a drag queen dates back to 2008, in a staging of the play titled Nur eine Scheibe Brot by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, performed at the Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand.[4] However, Bardin did not immediately continue in the field of drag performance professionally, instead favoring his career as an actor. During this period, Bardin felt compelled to "be more masculine," to obtain better success in his auditions.[5] Conversely, performing in drag offered him an opportunity to "be whoever I want, kind of like a superhero," which ultimately inspired Bardin to pursue drag more seriously.

In 2018, Bardin debuted the character of Paloma. The Spanish-sounding first name was inspired by the cinema of Pedro Almodóvar and recalls Paloma Picasso.[5]

In 2022, Paloma's eponymous short film, directed by herself, and was released at festivals.[6] On June 2, 2022, it was announced that she was one of the ten candidates participating in the first season of Drag Race France. At the end of the finale, she won against Soa de Muse and La Grande Dame.[7]

In 2024, Bardin served on the jury for the Queer Palm award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.[8]

Discography

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Singles

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As a lead artist

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Title Year Album Ref.
"Love, l'artère"
(with Marc Bret-Vittoz)
2022 [9]
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Title Year Album Ref.
"Boom Boom (Les Sœurs Jacquettes)"
with Drag Race France Cast (season 1) (La Big Bertha and La Grande Dame)
2022 [10]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2022–23 Drag Race France Herself/Contestant Winner (Season 1)
Special guest (Season 2)
[11]
Une si longue nuit Stéphanie TV series (1 episode)
La boîte à secrets Herself Performer with Soa de Muse and Elips [12]
C l'hebdo Herself Guest [13]
Quotidien Herself Guest [14]
2023 Balthazar Paloma TV series (4 episodes)
The Drag Race France Phenomenon: One Year with the Queens Herself France 2 documentary [15]
Drama queen chez Paloma Herself Host [16]
2023–24 The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Coco TV series (2 episodes) [17]

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2022 Le Parisien Herself Guest, Digital popcast [18]
2022 Tea Time Herself Guest with La Briochée by Tinder France [19]
2022 La Boîte à Questions Herself Guest [20]
2022 France Inter Herself Guest; podcast [21]
2023 Drag & The City Herself Guest [22]

Short film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 14 Septembre Foxy
2013 Seul ensemble
2015 Tohu Bohu Stan
2022 Paloma Paloma Self-directed and written [23]

References

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  1. ^ "Paloma". Twitter (in French). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Drag Queen, il représente Clermont-Ferrand dans l'émission Drag Race : " Je suis fier de faire partie des pionniers"". France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (in French). 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Paloma de Drag Race : " Comment le métier de drag queen m'a ouvert des portes professionnelles "". Les Echos Start (in French). 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  4. ^ France, Centre (25 June 2022). "Inédit - Le Clermontois Hugo Bardin fait le show en drag queen sur France 2". www.lamontagne.fr. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b Monsoon, Patsy (14 May 2021). "Paloma, la Drag Queen cinéphile - Interviews Drags" (in French). Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  6. ^ Lanney, Tessa (10 May 2022). ""Paloma", a surprising romance between a drag queen and a trucker". Tetu (in French). Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  7. ^ Randane, Fabien (6 February 2022). "Drag Race France: Broadcast, candidate drag queens... What we know about season 1". 20 Minutes (in French). Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  8. ^ Justine Carbon, "Queer Palm 2024 : Lukas Dhont tient son jury". Trois Couleurs, 29 April 2024.
  9. ^ Love, l'artère - Single by Paloma & Marc Bret-Vittoz, 15 August 2022, archived from the original on 30 August 2022, retrieved 30 August 2022
  10. ^ Boom Boom (Les soeurs Jacquettes) - Single by Drag Race France, 21 July 2022, archived from the original on 12 August 2022, retrieved 12 August 2022
  11. ^ Guerra, Joey (16 August 2022). "Video: 'Drag Race France' winner Paloma says she's 'not used to love like that'". Houston Arts & Entertainment Guide. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Soa de Muse, Paloma & Elips sur "J'me voyais déjà" de Charles Aznavour". www.france.tv (in French). 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  13. ^ "La reine Paloma". www.france.tv (in French). 3 September 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  14. ^ Galtier, Ludovic (4 March 2023). ""Quotidien" : Paloma, gagnante de "Drag Race France", intègre l'émission de TMC chaque vendredi". www.ozap.com (in French). Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  15. ^ Pownall, Jack (7 June 2023). "Drag Race France is back!". Vogue.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  16. ^ Berno, Anaïs (1 June 2023). "Nouveau casting, retour de Paloma, diffusion... Ce que l'on sait de " Drag Race France " saison 2". Ouest-france.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  17. ^ "@The_Paloma_ talks about her experience with the upcoming #TheWalkingDead spin-off #DarylDixon starring @wwwbigbaldhead". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  18. ^ "[PODCAST] Paloma, reine de Drag Race France". YouTube (in French). 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Tea Time par Tinder x Drag Race - Episode 4 - Paloma et La Briochée". YouTube (in French). 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Paloma, la queen de " Drag Race France "". YouTube (in French). 22 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Paloma : "Être drag-queen, c'est comme un costume de super-héros"". France Inter (in French). 14 August 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Paloma juge mes look de DRAG RACE FRANCE 👑 | Drag & The City 1". YouTube (in French). 15 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Drag Race France: who will be the big winner of the first edition of the show broadcast on France.tv Slash?". West Observer. 11 August 2022. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2022.