Kia LeBeija

Kia Michelle Benbow (professionally known as Kia LaBeija or Kia; b. March 18, 1990) is an American fine artist. Her most well known series, 24, is a sociopolitical commentary on the effects of growing up as a young woman of color with HIV. She is a former Mother of the House of LaBeija.

Biography Kia LaBeija was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen, New York. Her mother, Kwan Bennett, was born in Subic Bay, Philippines and is Filipino American. Her father, drummer Warren Benbow, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and is African American. She has one brother, actor, producer, and artist Kenn Michael. She grew up in Manhattan Plaza and was in the dance program at Alvin Ailey. Her series 24 investigates her relationship to growing up with HIV as a woman of color in New York City. In January 2018, she was featured on the cover of Artforum. She achieved this without gallery representation, major art collectors, or a solo show. She is the 4th black woman to make the cover. She is a recipient of a 2019 Creative Capital Award with her partner Taina Larot, and was commissioned by Performa for its 2019 Performa Biennial.

Ballroom and voguing LaBeija came in the house and ballroom scene at the age of 19 in 2009 through a co-worker at Webster Hall. She began walking balls officially in 2012 and walked as a LaBeija for the first time at the last Latex Ball at Roseland Ballroom.

LaBeija appeared in the pilot episode of Ryan Murphy's Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated ballroom drama Pose as a principal dancer, and was featured in Wu Tsang's film Into a Space for Love for Gucci and Frieze magazine. Other credits include A-Z of Aaliyah for i-d Magazine and MAC and Calvin Harris and Sam Smith's lyric video for "Promises". In 2017, she was made Overall Mother of the Royal House of LaBeija, and stepped down officially in 2019.

Advocacy Kia LaBeija is an advocate for many underrepresented communities, especially people living with HIV/AIDS.

Accolades In 2019, LaBeija was honored by Performance Space New York. She was listed in Dazeds 20 best photos of 2018 and PAPER Predictions: 100 People Taking Over 2019. She has been featured in W Magazine, Vogue Spain, Vanity Fair Italia, The New York Times, Numéro, Ascent, SLEEK, Paper Magazine, and Time Out New York.

Personal life She identifies herself as a queer cis-gender woman of color. She has been in a relationship with artist Taína Larot since 2014.

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