# Kerri Colby

Kerri Colby is the stage name of Elyse Alessandra Anderson (born July 30, 1996), an American drag performer best known for competing on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed ninth overall. Kerri Colby is based in Los Angeles, California.

## Early life

Anderson was born in Dallas, Texas. She was raised in a Pentecostal household. She stated that she has never fit in with those beliefs, and after watching the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, she learned about drag. She left home at 15, and she has stated the reasoning for leaving is the toxic environment that her family created for her. She couch-surfed, mostly in Dallas's Oak Lawn neighborhood, which is the city's gayborhood, and found friends to take care of her after leaving home. She has stated that many of the people taking care of her were much older, and it led to abusive situations.
One day when Kerri was resting at a train station, a stranger named Manuel who was of El Salvadorian descent recognized her from her posts on both Instagram and online and offered to help. Kerri told them that unless they helped with her homelessness, they could not help. This person then took Kerri in until she was eighteen. Kerri has stated in an interview, "[My friend was] completely my angel... I would not have made it."
She moved to Los Angeles at 18 after someone hit her up on an app, ending up living in West Hollywood, California with a man who flew her to the city.

## Career

She competed on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race. On episode 4, she landed in the bottom and lip-synced against Alyssa Hunter to Jennifer Lopez's song, "Play". On episode 8, she landed in the bottom again with Jasmine Kennedie, and lost the lip-sync to "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton.
She was a featured performer during Jennifer Lopez's performance at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards. In May, her nomination was announced at the 2022 WOWIE Awards as part of RuPaul's DragCon in Los Angeles in the category Best Viral Moment (The America's Next Top Meme Award), shared with drag queens Daya Betty and Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté.
In 2022, Colby appeared in an advertising campaign for cannabis beverage brand Cann, alongside fellow season 14 contestants Willow Pill, Jorgeous, and Kornbread, as well as other LGBTQ+ celebrities including Hayley Kiyoko and Gus Kenworthy. During press for the Cann campaign, Colby shared that she worked at a dispensary before appearing on Drag Race.
In 2023, she appeared in a cameo during season 15 Untucked episode to give a video message to her drag mother and season 15 winner Sasha Colby.

## Personal life

Kerri Colby is a trans woman. Fellow Drag Race contestant and trans woman Kornbread Jeté credits Kerri Colby with helping her in her own transition. She has also helped inspire Jasmine Kennedie to come out as a trans woman on an episode of Untucked on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Bosco has also cited Kerri Colby as a source of "clarity" in her transition, which she announced after season 14 wrapped filming.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Genre | Role | Notes |
| 2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14) | TV | Contestant | 9th place (11 episodes, including Queen Ruveal special) |
| 2022-2023 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | TV | Herself | Season 13, 7 episodes |
| 2022-2023 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | TV | Herself | Cameo (Season 14, 1 episode) |
| 2022 | Whatcha Packin' | Web series | Herself | Guest (Season 15, episode 6: Kerri Colby) |
| 2022 | MTV Movie & TV Awards Red Carpet | Web show | Herself | Co-host |
| 2023 | Kerri Kares | TV | Herself | Host (8 episodes) |
| 2023 | Photo Fashion RuView | Web series | Herself | Co-host (12 episodes) |
| 2023 | Look at Huh | Web series | Herself | Guest (Season 1, episode 7) |
| 2023 | Bring Back My Girls | Web series | Herself | Guest (Season 2, episode 1: Season 14) |
| 2024 | Hey Qween | Web series | Herself (Voice only) | Cameo (Season 10, episode 2: Mirage) |
| TBA | Slaycation | TV | Herself | Main cast |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 2022 | Critics' Choice Real TV Awards | Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series (Shared with the Season 14 cast) | RuPaul's Drag Race | Won | |
| 2023 | Queerties Awards | Future All-Star | Herself | Nominated | |