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Honey Davenport
Honey Davenport in a studio photo shoot
Davenport in 2020
Born
James Clark

(1985-08-13) August 13, 1985 (age 39)
West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality American
Other names Sir Honey Davenport
Occupation
Years active 2008–present
Known for RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11)
Spouse(s)
John Heath-Clark
(m. 2012)
Relatives Lee Daniels (cousin)
Musical career
Genres
Instruments Vocals
Labels Chew Fu
Associated acts
  • Jayse Vegas
  • Kareem McJagger
  • Orion Simprini
  • Electrohoney
  • The Hunties
  • Peppermint

James Heath-Clark (born August 13, 1985), known professionally as Honey Davenport, is an American drag performer, singer, songwriter, actor and activist. She centers most of her art on social justice themes.

Early life

Philly is such a musical place. I remember growing there. I went to the schools where I took classes from people like Floetry. When I first started writing, I used to go to First Fridays in Old City and do spoken word at the Painted Bride when I was in high school. That helped me develop as a songwriter, too, because poetry transfers into my songwriting. Philly, I was made there, so it has a lot to do with everything that is great about me.

–Heath-Clark, in an interview with Philadelphia Gay News

Heath-Clark was born James Clark on August 13, 1985, in West Philadelphia. He was raised primarily by his mother, who taught him to express his feelings by rapping.

Heath-Clark began writing poetry about social justice when he was 10 years old. Also interested in music, he was a member of his church choir and started writing songs at 13. He practiced boxing as a childhood hobby and took up spoken word poetry as a teenager. In high school, he was in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC), where he achieved the rank of squadron commander and served as captain of his rifle team. While attending the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts when he was 15, Heath-Clark and a female friend went to a "come as you are not" party costumed as one another; he cites this as his first time dressing in drag. At 17, he moved to New York City to study musical theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. For a time, he lived in Harlem, on the same block as Drag Race season 6 contestant Vivacious, season 2 contestant Sahara Davenport and season 9 runner-up Peppermint.

Path to drag

After college, Heath-Clark was in the cast of the Broadway national tour of Hairspray. It was there that he had his first experience with drag as a performance art, and this motivated him to subsequently take up work as a backup dancer for Peppermint for four years. Heath-Clark's first performance in drag was on April 20, 2008, and his first paid appearance as Honey Davenport was at a show with Bob the Drag Queen.

Career

Honey davenport lip sync
Davenport performing a lip sync in New York in 2019

In the early 2010s, Davenport fronted Electrohoney, a synth-pop band that released an eponymous album in 2013. Shortly after the album's completion, the band created and starred in The Electric Highway, a live, interactive rock opera featuring a soundtrack of their songs. All three members of Electrohoney—Davenport, SteveX and Jesse Gray—as well as Deja Davenport, Sherry Vine and Jeremy Xtravaganza, played major roles. J. C. Alvarez of EDGE Media Network reviewed the show favorably. In summer 2013, Davenport acted in the off-Broadway show The Orion Experience, a sci-fi musical directed by Travis Greisler and set to a glam rock soundtrack by The Orion Experience.

In 2015, Davenport and Orion collaborated again, this time producing a single called "T.R.O.U.B.L.E". The same year, she appeared on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as a Whitney Houston impersonator.

Dragcon2-SAT-63 (47937169937)
Davenport at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2019

In February 2020, Davenport and Aja released "Draw the Blood", a collaborative single whose music video marked Davenport's first directorial credit. The song debuted at number 26 on iTunes.

As of February 2021, Davenport hosted a monthly Twitch show called Something of a Different Color, which featured a cast of POC performers. The third season of Da Fuq premiered in May of that year.

RuPaul DragCon 2022 (52073260051)
Honey Davenport at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022

In November 2021, Davenport and Manila Luzon released a collaborative single and music video called "Love Is God", the first song off of Davenport's five-track EP of the same name, which debuted in January 2022. Love Is God spans genres including pop, disco, house and reggaeton, and it features collaborations with Kevin Aviance, LaLa Ri, Jackie Cox and Tammie Brown. The music video for "Thrive", the track with Aviance, was released together with the EP. A short musical film titled Love Is God: The Visual Album, consisting of "a story woven together by all the songs on the EP", was scheduled to come out later in 2022. Davenport directed the film.

In June 2023, Davenport debuted a single called "Mighty Legendary". A "Legends Only" remix of the song, featuring Alaska Thunderfuck, was released with an accompanying music video in September of that year. The video, sponsored by the online PrEP provider Mistr, was partially filmed at the Trixie Motel.

Davenport is to release a line of perfume called Pollen 8 and a makeup line called Bee Yourself. She is also working on a musical collaboration with Jan Sport and a podcast called The Wake and Bake with Jasmine Masters.

Activism

What I wish I had more opportunity to do was show the world that my drag is not just about being beautiful or ferocious. It's really social commentary. I create things that speak to the world I wanna see.

–Davenport, in an interview with the Houston Chronicle

Davenport has said that it is important to her to use her career in drag to help others, and she often bases her looks, performances and music on political themes.

Personal life

Heath-Clark and his husband, John, wed on December 31, 2012, at the Hartley House in Hell's Kitchen. The two have a pet cat. Heath-Clark resided in New York City until late 2019, when he relocated to Los Angeles.

As of May 2020, he keeps a vegan diet.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Ref(s)
Electrohoney
  • Released: 2013 (by Electrohoney)
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: digital download

EPs

Title Details Ref(s)
Raw and Unfiltered
  • Released: 2019
  • Label: Chew Fu
  • Formats: digital download
Love Is God
  • Released: 2022
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: digital download

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Ref(s)
2023 God Save the Queens Herself

Television

Year Title Role Ref(s)
2015 Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Guest (Whitney Houston impersonator)
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11) Contestant (13th place)
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (season 11) Herself

Internet series

Year Title Role Producer Ref(s)
2014 The Finish Line Co-host (with Kareem McJagger) Self-produced
2019 Whatcha Packin' Guest VH1
Bootleg Fashion Photo RuView Guest Yuhua Hamasaki
Cosmo Queens Guest star Cosmopolitan
I've Never Had a ... Guest Vice
Take a Look Back Guest AJ Mattioli
Puff Puff Sessions Guest World of Wonder
Bootleg Opinions Guest Yuhua Hamasaki
Lash Out Host BeeZee Productions
Black Girl Beauty Guest panelist VH1
2019–present Da Fuq Host BeeZee Productions
2020 Hey Qween! Guest Jonny McGovern
Tub Talk Host Self-produced
Hey Qween PRIDE 2020 Guest Johnny McGovern
2021 Cosmo Queens UK Guest star Cosmopolitan UK
Trade with Honey and Dakota Co-host (with Dakota Payne) BeeZee Productions
Hot T: Celebrity Gossip & Hollywood Shade Guest panelist Jonny McGovern
The Browns Guest star OUTtv
2022 Binge Queens Co-host World of Wonder
Open to It Wigonometry Jonathan James and Sabrina Cooper
Tongue Thai'd Self World of Wonder

Theatre

Year Production Role Venue Notes Ref(s)
2013 The Electric Highway Herself XL Nightclub Credited as Sir Honey Davenport
The Orion Experience The Queen of White Lies XL Nightclub Credited as Sir Honey Davenport
2017–2018 Trinkets Diva Gene Frankel Theatre
2019 Raw and Unfiltered Herself Laurie Beechman Theatre
Stocking Stuffer: A Christmas Show with Balls Herself Laurie Beechman Theatre
Club Cumming Closing night
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