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Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman facts for kids

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Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman at Dragcon by dvsross (cropped) 2.jpeg
Bowyer-Chapman in 2019
Born (1984-10-21) October 21, 1984 (age 40)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • voice artist
  • model
  • television personality
Years active 2003–present
Partner(s) Andrew Fitzsimons
Relatives Cleyon Laing (brother)

Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (born October 21, 1984) is a Canadian actor, model, and television personality. He is known for appearances in films and television, most notably as Jay in the Lifetime dark comedy-drama series Unreal (2015–2018) and as one of the main judges on the first season of Canada's Drag Race (2020).

Early life

Bowyer-Chapman, whose last name is a hyphenate of his adoptive parents' last names, was born in 1984 in Edmonton, Alberta, and adopted when he was 12 days old. His biological younger brother is Cleyon Laing, defensive end for the Toronto Argonauts. His biological father is Jamaican.

Bowyer-Chapman was raised, with one sister, in Rimbey, Alberta, a small "predominantly Caucasian" town of less than 2000 people, which he says people in the area refer to as "the Texas of the north." According to Bowyer-Chapman, the region was "very much, like, oil and gas and farming and ranching" and growing up there as a biracial gay man was akin to "a sick social experiment." He was, in his own words, "exposed to a lot at a very young age and expected to be very adult in very bizarre situations."

Bowyer-Chapman lived in Rimbey until his teenage years, at which point he moved to Vancouver, then began traveling as a model at age 15 throughout Europe, South Africa, and all across North America. He later moved to Vancouver again at age 21, which was when he began to take his acting career more seriously. He acted in his first movie, then moved to New York, living there for seven years before moving to Los Angeles in September 2016.

Career

Bowyer-Chapman began his modeling career at age 15 after friends and school teachers nudged him toward that career path. His first test shoot was in Calgary. He began making decent money at the job around age 18 or 19, shooting advertorials, catalogs, and campaigns for brands such as Levi's and American Apparel. He is represented by Wilhelmina Models.

Alongside modeling, Bowyer-Chapman also began an acting career, making his screen debut in the gay-themed film Shock to the System (2006). He was named one of "Five of the Best..." in Out magazine's 2007 feature article "Canada's Coolest" and was listed in Mwinda magazine's 2009 special issue "The 10 Most Beautiful Africans In Entertainment". He has modeled in many countries including the United States, Canada, South Africa, and Europe. He has also modeled in international campaigns for American Apparel and Levi's.

He went on to appear in the television series Noah's Arc and The L Word, and well as the film The Break-Up Artist (2009). From 2009 to 2011, Bowyer-Chapman had a recurring role in the Syfy series Stargate Universe.

In 2012, he starred alongside Jussie Smollett in Patrik-Ian Polk's LGBT-themed romantic comedy-drama film The Skinny. In 2015, he began starring alongside Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby in the critically acclaimed Lifetime dark comedy-drama series Unreal, playing the role of Jay, a gay reality television producer. In 2016, Bowyer-Chapman appeared in the comedy film Dirty Grandpa. In 2018, Bowyer-Chapman joined the cast of the FX anthology series American Horror Story for its eighth season, subtitled Apocalypse.

In September 2019, he was announced as one of the three permanent judges on the first season of Canada's Drag Race, the Canadian version of RuPaul's Drag Race. As the show aired, Bowyer-Chapman was negatively received by many Drag Race fans and was subjected to racist comments from some fans online. At the suggestion of RuPaul, he deleted his Twitter account. He also felt uncomfortable during the production, commenting about a producer who encouraged him to be "the sassy one". In March 2021, it was announced that he would not be returning for the second season.

In May 2021, Bowyer-Chapman and his Canada's Drag Race co-judges Brooke Lynn Hytes and Stacey McKenzie won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Host or Presenter in a Factual or Reality/Competition Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards.

Personal life

Bowyer-Chapman came out publicly as gay in a 2016 interview.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Shock to the System Levon
2007 I Know What I Saw Marco Television film
2007 The Brown Bag Mystery Justin Short film
2008 On the Bus Jeremy Short film
2009 Encounter with Danger Mr. Gaitan Television film
2009 The Break-Up Artist Steven
2010 Another Brief Moment Trevor Short film
2010 Dear Mr. Gacy Male ...
2012 The Skinny Joey
2012 Grave Encounters 2 Vlogger
2013 Lucille's Ball Walter
2015 Stray Alex Short film
2016 Dirty Grandpa Bradley
2016 Tao of Surfing Val Stone
2017 Love by the 10th Date Freddy Mitchell Television film
2019 Falling Inn Love Dean
2019 Spiral Malik

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Stargate SG-1 Server Episode: "Memento Mori"
2006 Noah's Arc Brandy's Assistant Episode: "Under Pressure"
2007 The Virgin of Akron, Ohio Brick Unsold pilot
2007 The L Word Cowboy Episode: "Livin' La Vida Loca"
2009–2011 Stargate Universe Pvt. Darren Becker Recurring role, 19 episodes
2011 Fairly Legal Server Episode: "Coming Home"
2011 Warehouse 13 Jalapeño Episode: "Trials"
2009–2012 Iron Man: Armored Adventures Black Panther Voice, 4 episodes
2013 Hatfields & McCoys Owen Rodney Unsold pilot
2015–2018 UnREAL Jay Series regular
2017 RuPaul's Drag Race Guest judge Episode: Season 9, Good Morning ..., episode 4
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Guest judge Episode: Season 3, The B*tchelor, episode 3
2018 American Horror Story: Apocalypse Andre Stevens 3 episodes
2020 Canada's Drag Race Judge Season 1
2020 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Guest judge Episode: Season 5, Snatch Game of Love, episode 5
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race Special guest Episode: Season 13, RuPaulmark Channel, episode 4
2021–2023 Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. Charles Zeller Main Role
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Guest judge Episode: Season 7, Fairytale Justice, episode 4

See also

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