Nikita Dragun

January 31, 2025

Fast Facts
Background
Career Timeline
Why We Love
Surprising Facts
FAQs

Nikita Dragun, born on January 31, 1996, does not only provide content for physical beauty, but she’s also a defender of inner beauty. The struggle of defining one’s external beauty from the inside is her defining characteristic and probably the key to her success. After making the transition, Dragun knew that her community needed a voice, so she started her own YouTube channel where she could talk freely about fashion and beauty. Being an icon of the L.G.B.T. community, she advocated for better representation in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and started her business with an emphasis on transgender women’s beauty.

Fast Facts

Full Name:

Nikita Nguyen

Nickname:

Nikki, Mama Dragun, NycDRAGUN

Birth date:

January 31, 1996

Age:

Zodiac Sign:

Aquarius

Height:

5' 3"

Relationship Status:

Single

Net Worth:

$3 million

Background

Of Mexican and Vietnamese descent, Nikita Dragun always struggled with her identity since she was little. Though we do not know her original name (and it better remain hidden because we prefer celebrating her current identity), we do know that her first name as a transgender woman was Nicole Nguyen. She was born in Belgium since her parents had moved temporarily to Brussels, but then moved to Los Angeles when she was a teenager. Dragun started her YouTube channel in 2013, and in 2014 she started uploading make-up tutorials and product recommendations, which were all highly appreciated by her audience, made up of binary women and transgenders alike. In her first year, she gained over 50,000 subscribers and a year later she was already hitting the 400,000 mark.

Her passion for all things make-up and beauty led her to study at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and obtain her degree in 2017. She then started up her business and created a virtual brand, and then went on to create a line of make-up in 2019 called “Dragon Beauty.” The make-up line was targeted at the mainstream market but it also satisfied the transgender population who related to her story and wanted good-quality products.

With a tendency to perform, she began appearing in music videos and starring in web series. She appeared in two music videos in 2018, two more in 2019, and once again in 2020. She was invited to participate in web series like “Escape the Night” and “Instant Influencer with James Charles.” Dragun also appeared in T.V. shows, one of them being the popular “Hype House,” which was released on Netflix in January 2022.

Career timeline

2013

YouTube and Instagram

She organizes all of her social media into a coherent story about herself and her work.

2015

She Moves to Los Angeles

There she studies at college and continues to manage all of her social media in a more professional manner.

2018

A Web Series and Music Videos

She plays a troublemaker in the web series “Escape the Night” and participates in two music videos for the songs ‘Heart to Break’ by Kim Petras and ‘That Bih’ by Qveen Herby.

2019

She Launches Dragun Beauty

She launches her own make-up line and uses her impressive business know-how to position it as a luxury brand.

2020

Her Docuseries Premieres on Snapchat

“Nikita Unfiltered” is a web series uploaded to Snapchat that offers an intimate glimpse into
her life.

Why We Love Nikita Dragun

She speaks openly about her transition
She came out as a transgender woman in 2015. In her videos, she speaks about it and lets people know they are not alone.
She is an L.G.B.T. activist
The 2019 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was criticized for featuring a trans model. She raised her voice and published a set of photos modeling in lingerie.
She also embraces natural beauty
Dragun surprised her fans in 2020 after she posted a picture without makeup. She said she was proud of herself and revealed all of her natural features.

5 Surprising Facts

She’s part of the Hype House
The Hype House is a mansion where famous TikTokers and influencers from Los Angeles can gather to create content.
She changed her legal name many times
Of course, in the transition to becoming a woman, Dragun had to change her name but she also did it as a transgender woman: her first name was Nicole and then Nikita.
A play on ‘drag’ and ‘dragon’
‘Dragun’ is a wordplay on the words ‘drag’ and ‘dragon.’
She wasn’t recognized
She was sometimes used as an example of a make-up business in her classes, but her classmates didn’t know they were sitting right beside her.
She has five tattoos
She has the word ‘dragon’ in Arabic script, a Buddhist deity, two dragon heads, and a large full-size dragon on her back.