It was a starry, starry night at Queen USA, a transgender beauty pageant that raised funds for the St. John's Well Child and Family Center's transgender program as well as the Imperial Court of Los Angeles and Hollywood’s Nicole Murray Ramirez Scholarship Fund.
The Saturday event at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles boasted a star-studded lineup of judges like Caitlyn Jenner, Kelly Osbourne, Geena Rocero, Angelica Ross, Alexandra Billings, iO Tillett Wright, Flawless Sabrina, Betty Cantrell, Gia Coppola, David Clark, Nikki Calabrese, Nicole Murray Ramirez, and Beatrice M. Girmala.
The pageant, hosted by Candis Cayne and Curly Velasquez, was a capstone of the TransNation Festival, which also included a first-of-its-kind showcase of trans feature films and shorts helmed byTransparent producer Zackary Drucker and co-presented by Amazon Prime. The evening featured performances by Our Lady J, the Prancing Elites, and the Mariachi de Arcoiris de Los Angeles, the nation's only LGBT mariachi band. Jill Soloway, the creator of Transparent, also accepted the Champion of Change Award.
Browse photos from the event, which were taken by Araya Diaz. And congratulations to all of the contestants, including Miss California, who took home the crown and title of Miss Queen USA.
