The Vivienne
Biography and cause of death of The Vivienne
James Lee Williams (12 April 1992 – 5 January 2025), known professionally as The Vivienne , was a British drag performer, known for being appointed as the UK drag ambassador in 2015 for American reality television series RuPaul’s Drag Race. They later competed in and won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019, and competed again in the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in 2022.
They became the first drag performer to compete on Dancing on Ice in 2023, appearing as a contestant on the fifteenth series, in which they finished in third place.
The Vivienne delved into other ventures such as releasing their debut extended play (EP), Bitch on Heels (2022). They starred as the Wicked Witch of the West for The Wizard of Oz in the 2024 UK tour.
Vivienne Early life and education
Williams was born and raised in North Wales and moved to Liverpool at 16 years old. They attended Rydal Penrhos in Colwyn Bay; Wales. They were of Romani heritage.
Vivienne Career
Williams was given the name The Vivienne, because they were known for wearing Vivienne Westwood clothing, adding the definite article to make it unique. Their first drag show was located in Liverpool and they worked in various bars such as Superstar Boudoir. The Vivienne competed in a one-day event judged by RuPaul, Katie Price, and Jonathan Ross,
taking place at Café de Paris, where they were placed in the top two alongside drag performer La Voix, and then crowned as the UK Ambassador for RuPaul’s Drag Race on 28 May 2015. The Vivienne was later flown to Los Angeles and made a cameo appearance for the eighth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (2016).
The Vivienne was announced to compete in the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (2019). Throughout the competition, they won three challenges including the Snatch Game, where they impersonated American politician Donald Trump alongside drag performer Baga Chipz, who impersonated stateswoman Margaret Thatcher. The Vivienne ultimately won and was crowned as the “First Drag Superstar” for the United Kingdom.
The Vivienne at the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK launch in September 2019
In September 2019, The Vivienne participated in a racing competition web series where drag performers compete for their selected charity. This was in collaboration with luxury vehicle brand Jaguar Cars and lifestyle magazine Attitude. They raced for Sahir House, a charity based in their hometown of Liverpool that provides a space in which people can speak freely without fear of prejudice, stigma, abuse or exploitation in relation to HIV.
In November, The Vivienne embarked on a three-month tour alongside their competitors from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, hosted by drag performer Alyssa Edwards. The next month, they reprised their Snatch Game impersonation of Donald Trump alongside Baga Chipz as Margaret Thatcher in Morning T&T, a fictional television news show. In an interview with Gay Times, they described the series as a “spoof of Good Morning Britain and Good Morning America.”
American production company World of Wonder announced a six-part series in March 2020, that documented The Vivienne producing a music video while they travelled throughout Los Angeles, in the United States. The Vivienne Takes on Hollywood premiered on BBC Three and simultaneously streaming through WOW Presents Plus on 9 April 2020.
The same month, with Baga Chipz, they co-presented the British version of I Like to Watch, a web series where they humorously review any original programming from Netflix.
The Vivienne made a guest appearance in June 2021 as themself on soap opera Emmerdale. In January 2022, The Vivienne starred in Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted, in aid of Stand Up to Cancer. In April 2022, The Vivienne was announced as part of the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, whereby former winners of the franchise returned for the title of “Queen of All Queens”.
In October 2022, they were announced to be competing in the fifteenth series of ITV ice-skating reality show, Dancing on Ice, setting them to be the first drag artist to participate in the show. On 12 March 2023, The Vivienne finished in third place. In June 2023, The Vivienne presented the award for “Scene of the Year” at the 2023 British Soap Awards.
The Vivienne Music
The Vivienne released their debut song titled “Tonight” on 20 May 2020. They expressed the dance-pop song as “the epitome of the word banger” that combines both the “thumping bass and soaring vocals”. Months later, The Vivienne covered “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” (1984) by pop band Dead or Alive on 21 October.
The drag performer mainly paid tribute to late musician Pete Burns; alongside a lyric video was released. “Bitch on Heels” was released on 25 March 2021, written by American songwriter Diane Warren and produced by Swedish record producer Tannergard. The Vivienne and Tia Kofi covered Christmas song “Jingle Bell Rock” (1957), released on 19 November.
The Vivienne Personal life
Williams used they/them pronouns and identified as a gay man.
Williams married David Ludford in 2019. In April 2023, the couple announced their separation.
In June 2023, Williams was the victim of a homophobic attack in a McDonald’s restaurant in Liverpool. In a statement, Merseyside Police confirmed that “a man made homophobic comments towards him [The Vivienne] and then proceeded to punch him in the face before fleeing the scene”.
Williams spoke about the attack to highlight the fact that homophobia still existed in 2023 and urged members of the LGBT+ community to remain vigilant when out in public. In December 2023, 51-year-old Alan Whitfield from Everton was found guilty of assault motivated by homophobia. He was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison with an 18-month suspended sentence on 5 January 2024.
Williams struggled with drug addiction throughout their life, including a ketamine addiction. They praised the work of the Armistead Centre in Liverpool for their rehabilitation.
The Vivienne Death
On 5 January 2025, police were called to an address in Chorlton-by-Backford following reports of a “sudden death”. It was announced later that evening that Williams had died at the age of 32. In a statement from their agent, it was confirmed that Williams had “died over the weekend” and that their family would not be releasing any further details at present. The police said the death was “not suspicious”.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race social media accounts paid tribute to Williams, memorialising them as a “beacon of creativity and authenticity” and that The Vivienne “embodied what it to be a true champion”.
Tributes were paid by several of The Vivienne’s Drag Race co-stars, including Baga Chipz who described Williams as their “bestest friend in the whole wide world”, as well as Michelle Visage, who said Williams was a “beacon to so many” and added that they would be “so missed”. RuPaul paid tribute the following day, saying that his heart was “broken” after The Vivienne’s death, and described Williams as an “incredibly talented queen” and a “lovely human being”.
Source: Wikipedia