Nymphia Wind

Leo Tsao (; born July 23, 1995), known professionally as Nymphia Wind , is a Taiwanese-American In 2024, Nymphia Wind was crowned the winner of season 16 of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming the first East Asian winner of the franchise.

Early life Leo Tsao was born in Los Angeles and raised in Hong Kong until the age of six when his family moved to Taiwan. Leo was bullied as a child due to gender expression, which led his mother to transfer him to the . During high school, his interest in fashion was sparked by K-pop girl groups. Then, he developed a passion for drag, practicing dressing up and getting creative with makeup while studying at the university. In 2017, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Atelier from the University for the Creative Arts in Rochester, England. Her first name "Nymphia" comes from the Japanese name of Pokémon character Sylveon (Nymphia), and her last name "Wind" means she likes to be free and invisible, also, "Wind" is a homophone of "craziness" in Mandarin. Nymphia Wind's signature color is yellow, as fashion choice and her Asian identity, and her performances often incorporate banana and Taiwanese cultural elements. Outside of drag, she is a seamstress. In late 2021, the documentary Leo & Nymphia was completed, which was nominated for the 57th Golden Bell Awards's Best Cinematography and screened at the 2022 Silver Wave Film Festival, the 2023 Thomas Edison Film Festival and the 2023 Queer East Film Festival. Nymphia Wind produced her first show, Bye Bye Nymphia~ Farewell Drag Show, which used a Taiwanese electric flower car as a stage, in June 2022 in Taipei.

In August 2022, Nymphia Wind moved to Brooklyn to challenge her drag. Her victory also won praise from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and was invited to perform at Taiwan's presidential office. In May 2024, Nymphia Wind was listed in the arts category on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2024. In August, Nymphia and the House of Wind represented Taiwan performing Formosan Follies at the 2024 Cultural Olympiad in Paris. In October 2024, she was listed on the 2024 Out100 as 100 influential LGBTQ people this year. In December 2024, she was awarded as Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative's inaugural recipient of its Changemaker of the Year award.

Personal life Leo lives in a supportive family with his mother, who often watches his shows and helps his drag. His granduncle was Ts'ao Yung-ho, a historian who specialized in the history of Taiwan.

Filmography

Film +YearTitleNotesRef.2021Leo & NymphiaDocumentary

Television

Web series RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 Entertainment WeeklyGuest 2024TaiwanPlus News Zoom In Zoom Out Whatcha Packin' MIB gives drag make over Newsweek Good Morning America Denali ON ICE Hey Qween! Bring Back My Girls Tongue Thai'd

Discography YearTitleAlbum2024"Power" (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 16)Non-album singles "Queen of Wind"

Awards and nominations YearAward giving bodyCategoryWorkResultsRef.2024Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy InitiativeChangemaker of the YearHerself