Typhoid Mary first met Andramada eight years ago at one of Andramada’s performances in Beacon, New York.
At the time, Typhoid Mary was still toying with the idea of doing drag. And she found an easy connection with Andramada, who now jokes about how they first crossed paths.
“Me and Typhoid’s background story is [that] I found her in a garbage can on my prom night, and I just raised her on my own,” joked Andramada. “So she's not my biological daughter, but I did find her first.”
Mother-daughter relationships can take on many forms, including in drag culture, where a drag mother functions as a mentor to her drag daughter.
Andramada would soon become Typhoid Mary’s “drag mother,” which in drag culture is someone who acts as a mentor figure. That means providing guidance in the form of makeup tips and performance critiques and – as is certainly the case for these two – doing it all with a sense of humor. But even though Andramada and Typhoid Mary joke often, they take their craft seriously.
“She was like, ‘Can you be like, my mentor,” relays Andramada. “And I was like, Yeah, but like, I'm not gonna say you're my daughter until you get good.”
Over the years, Typhoid Mary has blossomed with Andramada’s help. Typhoid Mary is an established drag performer in the Capital Region; she hosts an event almost every other week and was even crowned Best Drag Performer by the Times Union in 2025. She says a lot of her growth can be credited to her hard work and her drag mother.
Andramada often makes the trek up to the Capital Region to perform with her drag daughter. One night in late April, she and Typhoid Mary are getting set for one of the monthly events Typhoid Mary hosts. Before they and other performers head to the stage, Andramada offers up some last-minute tips, advising the group on how to improvise and stay in character.
“And a lot of the questions, a lot of the questions, can be answered with the word F***. Just a little pointer,” says Andramada as everybody laughs.
Typhoid Mary then heads out and begins rallying the crowd, taking her time to introduce the performers. Throughout the show, Andramada and Typhoid Mary banter and joke. They engage the crowd and make them laugh.
Vanessa Clay, Typhoid Mary’s friend who is attending the show, said Typhoid Mary, as she is today, is very different from who she was when she first started drag – an evolution Clay says can partly be credited to Andramada.
“She didn't wear lashes; she didn't have eyebrows. Sometimes her wigs would just fall off, and she would accept it and let the Greek curls flow,” said Clay. “And I don't know, it's just, it's funny seeing the transformation from then till now, especially when it comes to her branding and her face.”
As for Andramada, she says she takes being a drag mother extremely seriously, especially as she makes her living doing drag. One of the main philosophies she hopes to impart is the importance of originality. She says while she is grateful that drag culture is more popular thanks to the reality show, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” she also notes that some people starting drag use the stars of the show more as a blueprint rather than inspiration.
“They start being like, ‘Oh, well, I want to be a Jorgeous,’ or ‘I want to be a Sasha, or I want to be a this.’ And I'm like, ‘but who are you?’” asks Andramada. “Originality is such a main thing for me. And if I see someone else doing something that you're doing, I'm like, ‘This is not great for me. I could see someone else do this, too.”
Andramada says an original character is what draws people in and makes the performer stand out. This, beyond any advice about makeup and performance tips, is what Typhoid Mary says has helped her carve her own space in the local drag scene. She says she is forever grateful for Andramada’s guidance.
“I feel like that's very important, not only in any creative field, but especially with drag, is to have someone who's willing to push you further, but still not make a clone of themselves. [To] sort of impress these, these teachings upon someone else, and have it be applied to their craft and their art,” said Typhoid Mary. “And I don't think I could ask for not only a better friend, but also a better drag mother.”
