RuPaul’s Drag Race producers will pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late drag queen The Vivienne with a brand new documentary, Dear Viv.
“We want to celebrate The Vivienne’s extraordinary life and work so everyone can experience her incredible talent, sass and enormous heart,” Drag Race executive producers Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey said in a statement on Wednesday (March 5).
The Vivienne (whose given name was James Lee Williams) was found dead at age 32 in their Chester, England home on January 5. Cheshire Police later confirmed that there were “no suspicious circumstances” found in an initial investigation, but a formal inquest will take place in June. The drag artist used they/them pronouns.
Barbato and Bailey’s production company World of Wonder is producing the documentary Dear Viv in cooperation with The Vivienne’s family, and will trace their rise through the U.K. drag scene. They were named as the first-ever U.K. Drag Ambassador for RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2015, and would later win the debut season of Drag Race U.K. in 2019.
Dear Viv features in-depth interviews with Drag Race U.K. stars Baga Chipz, Michael Marouli and Danny Beard, as well as fan letters about The Vivienne’s immense impact and influence. The film will stream exclusively on WOW Presents Plus later in 2025.
“Although her stay here on Earth was far too brief, it is with tremendous admiration and affection that we share her legacy in Dear Viv,” Barbato and Bailey said in their statement.
When news first broke of The Vivienne’s death in January, Drag Race host RuPaul remembered the U.K. winner as “an incredibly talented queen and a lovely human being.”
“With a broken heart, I join the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne,” RuPaul wrote via Instagram on January 6.
Drag Race judge Michelle Visage called The Vivienne’s death “heartbreaking” in her own statement, writing via Instagram: “I don’t know how to say how I feel. My darling @thevivienne_ we go back to when I started coming over here to the UK. You were always there, always laughing, always giving, always on point. Your laughter, your wit, your talent, your drag. I loved all of it but I loved your friendship most of all. You were a beacon to so many.”
“You will always be the Velma to my Louise, and I’ll always talk to you before I go onstage for every single show I do because let’s face it you were a bloody powerhouse when you hit that stage,” Drag Race U.K. season 1 queen Baga Chipz added. “Always there for me when I needed you. You taught me the true meaning of sisterhood but more importantly you taught me how to do a cut crease.”
The Vivienne was one of the most successful queens to emerge from Drag Race U.K., having parlayed their success on the show into a starring role as the Wicked Witch of the West in a West End production of The Wizard of Oz.
They were picked to represent the U.K. in RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars‘ all-winners season in 2022, where they finished in joint seventh place with Jaida Essence Hall.
Away from the stage, The Vivienne wed wig designer David Ludford in December 2019 at London nightclub Heaven. The couple split in April 2023 but remained friends for the rest of The Vivienne’s life.
Following The Vivienne’s death, Ludford wrote on social media: “We literally went through and did so much together it was like a whirlwind and I wouldn’t have changed the time we spent together for anything In The world!!! I feel like a tit feeling this upset and hurt because we have been fully divorced for just over a year now but we was together 6 year and we loved each other so much and you can’t take away.”