Sahara Davenport

Sahara Davenport
Born	Antoine Ashley (1984-12-17)December 17, 1984 Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Died	October 1, 2012(2012-10-01) (aged 27)[1] Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Rockville, Maryland
Occupation	Drag queen, dancer, make-up artist
Partner(s)	Karl Westerberg (until 2012; Ashley's death)

Antoine Ashley (born December 17, 1984 – October 1, 2012),^[2] better known by the stage name Sahara Davenport, was an American drag queen, singer, reality television personality, and classically trained dancer. Davenport was best known as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race.^[3]

Early career

A native of Dallas, Davenport began his drag career while attending Southern Methodist University.^[4] After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance, he relocated to New York City, where he began performing regularly at many gay bars and nightclubs throughout the city.

Davenport has been seen on television on A&E Network's 15 Films about Madonna, Voom HD's Magnificent Obsessions, and on ABC's daytime soap opera One Life to Live. He was featured in the pilot of Judge Karen as an angry Beyoncé impersonator who sues the paparazzi. Davenport made his art film debut in Kalup Linzy's video-performance piece "Melody Set Me Free," which was shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He also appeared in the music videos "Girl Problems" by the group Girl Problems and "Gettin' Over You" by David Guetta and Chris Willis.^[5]

RuPaul's Drag Race

Davenport joined the cast of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2010. He was pegged as "The Dancer" when in the first episode he had to "lipsynch for your life" against his former college classmate, Shangela Laquifa Wadley.^[6] In the second episode, Davenport became a team leader when he and Pandora Boxx won the mini challenge. Sahara won the second episode elimination challenge by leading his team to earn the most money by pole dancing and selling Cherry Pie gift certificates on the streets of Los Angeles.^[7] In the fourth episode, Davenport gave a humorous impersonation of Whitney Houston in the Snatch Game challenge.^[8] In the Wedding Dress episode, he was in the bottom two again, but remained safe because of his lipsynch performance to Martha Wash's "Carry On".^[9] Sahara was eliminated in the sixth episode for not conveying enough of a "rock 'n' roll" attitude and being too much of a lady.^[10]

Music

In 2011, Davenport released his second single "Go Off." A remix EP was later released on January 31, 2012, and featured a remix by Manny Lehman.^[11] "Go Off" debuted at number fifty on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs,^[12] before peaking at number thirty five.^[13] The music video for "Go Off" features cameos by Drag Race contestants Manila Luzon and Jiggly Caliente.^[14]

Personal life

Prior to his death, Davenport resided in New York City^[15] with his boyfriend Karl Westerberg, a fellow drag queen who goes by the stage name Manila Luzon and who was a contestant and runner-up on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Davenport died of heart failure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on October 1, 2012 at age 27.^[16] On the show, Davenport discussed his use of "designer drugs", such as ketamine, and how his drag mother had to help him out of his addiction.

Discography

EP

• Pump With Me (2010)

Singles

• "Pump With Me" (2010)
• "Go Off" (2011)

References

External links

• Official website
• Sahara Davenport on the Internet Movie Database
• Sahara Davenport on Find A Grave
• Sahara Davenport on Logo