profile
Spotlight On Corey Williams Meet the drag entertainer who uses makeup and drag as a way to spread creativity and love. By Kaylee Duff The radiant Anisa Love!
Corey Williams as Anisa Love.
Name: Corey Williams / Anisa Love Age: 40 Medium: All things skincare and cosmetics related Kaylee: Why are makeup and drag — both of which are forms of art — important to you? Corey: As a makeup artist, I am allowed to live a creative life and share my knowledge and skill set with the public. Drag is my art form of choice. Anisa allows me comfort on-stage. Drag is my therapy. Drag is my home. Having done drag for almost 20 years, I have watched the times change. The political stance of having drag in the forefront is more prevalent than ever! Who or what inspires your craft? My mother inspires me. Pop culture inspires me. Looking back into the ’90s makes my spirit happy. Justice and equality inspire me. How did you get started? What was your beginning? I was a professional singer and dancer for years and naturally got drawn to other creatives. I ended up choreographing for a couple of drag queens, Lorayne Love and Virginia West. Which led to a dare of putting me in drag ONE TIME. Which has led to doing drag for 19 years and counting! Do you have a favorite makeup or drag memory? All things that Kevyn Aucoin touched; he is my makeup guide! I have also done some amazingly fun jobs as Anisa. I started a charity to raise money for wigs for children going through radiation treatment. In a few weeks, I am speaking at Harvard University on nonverbal communication and gender, thanks to my participation in a documentary called Kings, Queens & In-betweens. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Ham! Chili! My mother’s fried chicken! Basically everything that can clog my arteries.
Follow Anisa Love on Facebook on The Anisa Love Fan Page and on Instagram @Anisalove2018. 6 | MARCH 2019
TRUE Q MAGAZINE
