We’re looking forward to introducing you to Anya Bacon. Check out our conversation below.
Anya, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
OH yes! Recently, I’ve finally been seeing and feeling the effects of my weight loss journey. In the past 18 (ish) months, I’ve lost approximately 240 lbs. And while I don’t always see the change, I have certainly felt them recently. One moment that really opened my eyes, and made me proud of the hard work I’ve invested in myself, was fitting into a friends’ gown. It seems like such a run-of-the-mill thing out of context, and in a lot of ways it feels a little silly to admit. But this gown is one that I have drooled over and pined after for several years, knowing there was absolutely no hope of getting into it. But to have recently had the chance to slip into it, and have it do up with minimal effort, truly opened my eyes to my progress.
Don’t get me wrong, the number on the scale and the smaller clothes are nice. But having gone through the painstaking nights, the months of relearning and redefining my relationship with nutrition, the body image issues that continue to wrack my brain, suddenly come to a halt so that I could see myself in this gown… it was breathtaking. I was breathtaking. And in that moment, I knew that what I had worked to build for myself was coming to fruition. It made me incredibly proud of myself.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello everyone! My name is Anya Bacon. I’m a bearded drag queen from Salt Lake City, Utah.
I am very lucky in that I get to perform and do a wide variety of events all over the state! From small town Pride celebrations, to drag bingo, to corporate parties, to drag queen story time, I am your gal! My unique blend of relatable life experience, Broadway-inspired acts, comedy, and glamour capture an audience and allow us to feel connected through wherever the evening may take us.
I have been a drag artist for about 8 years now, and before that I had been participating in theatrical productions of musicals and plays since 2001. My goal for my acts, is to help the audience smile, and perhaps even chuckle. I know first hand how dark life can get. So if I can provide a space where folks forget about their lives for a few minutes, then I’ve done my job.
Beyond the stage, I do love to use my drag in advocacy work. Sometimes that looks like showing up to peaceful protests or public speaking engagements in drag. Other times it may look like simply walking down the street in full glam. But showing up and being present is important. I count myself lucky to be able to share my art with so many, and have it help us advocate for things that matter.
Aside from drag, I tend to behave like a grandma. I will curl up in a cozy blanket, turn on reruns of Golden Girls, and crochet my little heart out.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The piece of me that I’m saying “thank you for your service but you’re no longer needed” is my dissociative, trauma-riddled survival brain. I am fortunate enough to have the resources to be going to therapy, and it has been making a world of difference for me! It has helped me recognize patterns of behavior that were survival tactics for when my reality was simply too much. But now that the years and years of horrible things happening to my family and myself are behind me, I can let go. I get to rebuild myself into a newer, shinier, fiercer version of myself.
I have to admit, it’s always a temptation to fall into those old patterns. I know they’re unhealthy, and I know they will no longer serve my better future. But the unfortunate little voice in my head says “But you’d know what to expect. It would be comfortable.”. Overcoming that certainly has proved to be its own battle, but it’s a battle I’m so glad I’m fighting.
No longer am I allowing myself to be walked on for the sake of keeping the peace. No longer am I ignoring my needs to provide the wants of others. I will always help where I can and assist as I am able, but I’m treating myself better. Like a priority. And that is the energy I’m taking with me into this new year and new chapter of life.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
To be completely honest, the biggest wound that has kept reopening and attempting to heal has been losing members of my nuclear family to cancer. Of the 7 individuals that were in my house while I was a child, there are now 2 of us left alive. The others have all been claimed by this awful disease. My grandmother who lived with us passed due to Lung Cancer in 2004, I was in the 4th grade at the time. Then my eldest sister passed in 2008 from Brain Cancer. In 2012, 2 short months after I graduated high school, my mother passed of Breast Cancer. In 2023, my other sister passed, also from Brain Cancer. And most recently, my father passed in 2025 from complications due to Breast Cancer (yes, those assigned male at birth CAN be diagnosed with Breast Cancer, even though it is incredibly uncommon).
The main way I have been able to survive this much loss, and continue my own healing journey, is truly from sharing my art and making folks laugh. It fuels me to make a room full of people giggle, smile, and enjoy themselves. And sharing those beautiful moments with such amazing folks, helps my heart feel less lonely and ready to take on another day.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Of course it is! I love sharing different sides of myself with folks. I may have experience in acting, but no one can keep up an act this long. Are there pieces of my personal life and personality that I don’t necessarily share all the time? Well, yes. This isn’t an effort to be unauthentic or secretive. More so an effort to keep somethings for just myself, and those closest to me. Plus, working through major life events is difficult as is! Can you imagine trying to work through all of it with the assistance of hundreds or thousands of opinions from others? Talk about exhausting!
I genuinely love sharing my authentic self with the world. It is so intoxicatingly freeing! And once I took that leap to be unapologetically myself, I found that even more people liked me for being me than people liked the facade I had built. Plus, I’m getting to old to pretend to be anything that I’m not. I’m tired, I need real and I need a coffee.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
Truly there are two sets of circumstances when I am most at peace: 1) When I’m in the middle of an awesome show, and 2) When I get to spend time with my niblings.
When I’m in the middle of a show, where things are running, the audience is having fun, the performers are killing it, and things are alight with queer joy, I revel in that peace. I sit back and realize those are the moments that our queer elders fought for us to have, and I get to be one of the lucky ones enjoying it! There is something truly magical about being surrounded by art, joy, hope, and love, all at the same time. It soothes my soul and scratches an itch in my brain that nothing else can even come close to.
And those times when I leave the glam at home, the business meetings and emails are set aside, and I get to focus on the next generation, my heart sings. Watching my niblings grow into the beautiful individuals they are becoming is pure joy for me. They are incredibly smart, and so attentive to those around them (including each other). I can’t help but be equal parts proud and at peace, knowing they will continue to make the world a bit more fabulous long after I’m gone. They are remarkable young people, and they bring my life so much positivity. How could I feel anything but peace knowing the future is going to them?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @theanyabacon
