Tamisha Iman's Drag Name Pays Homage to Her Biological Daughter

While one common source of tension on each season of RuPaul's Drag Race is the battle between pageant queens and comedy queens, Season 13 has pitted the contestants against one another based on a "Pork Chop" lip-sync.

Though some viewers might be rooting for the "underdog" contestants, while others are convinced that the winners' group has already been decided, there's one fan-favorite thus far who seemingly everyone wants to succeed.

Tamisha Iman may have lost the first lip-sync against frontrunner Symone during the first episode of Season 13, but she won over the judges (and fans) when she discussed beating Stage III colon cancer.

The 49-year-old has identified as an old-school pageant queen, but she knows what it takes to beat the odds. 

When the queens were getting ready for the runway, she opened up about her three biological children, and how they and her extensive drag family have contributed to her motherly nature. 

Many of the queens on each season of RPDR are drag mothers, but few have discussed having biological children of their own. Tamisha surprised her Season 13 sisters by opening up about her three kids — and one of them directly inspired her drag name. 

While the Pork Chop queens were getting ready for the fashion runway show in the "Phenomenon" episode, Tamisha spoke about how she had been doing drag for more than 30 years, and how her kids felt about her career. 

She then revealed that she was 49, and the other queens said that they were in their 20s and early 30s. 

"All of you are younger than my biological kids!" Tamisha exclaimed. "That's crazy."

"You have kids?! Like biological kids," fellow contestant Kahmora responded.

"Yeah, I have three," Tamisha added. 

In the next episode, she told the rest of the contestants more about her children, which include a set of twins and a younger child.
"My youngest is 33, and the oldest have just turned 35," the entertainer said. "My twins, I dated their mother during high school. After her, [I] went with another girl, and my life has just been a whirlwind."

She then expressed that her kids knew that she was gay, and that they would likely be tuning in to the show. Before the queens hit the runway, Tamisha explained that she chose her drag name as a tribute to her child.

"My drag name actually comes from my oldest daughter... her name is Tamisha," she stated.

Aside from what she said on the show, Tamisha has not shared further details about her kids on her Instagram account or on her YouTube page.

In addition to her biological kids, Tamisha shared on the show that she is a drag mother to more than 60 queens. 

"I started my dynasty, actually, the House of Iman," Tamisha told the other queens on the show. "It actually started when I started years ago. All of my kids that are in the pageant realm are all national title holders. 

Sadly, she said that around half of them have passed away over the years.

"But a lot of my babies have passed on. But we never let their memories fade," Tamisha continued, before revealing that one of her drag daughters was Tandi Iman Dupree. "One of my daughters, she has this famous video. She's performing as Super Woman."

Denali and Rosé then interrupt Tamisha to discuss Tandi and the infamous video of her dropping from the ceiling to do a split. 

"Tandi is the one that made a lasting impression," she said. "So, at the end of the day, if you see my legendary daughter, you know what Iman's drag is about."

Tandi passed away at the age of 27 in 2005 after a battle with AIDS. 

To further show how big her dynasty is, Tamisha is also the drag mom of her fellow Season 13 star LaLa Ri. Plus, she's an aunt to Season 7 and All Stars 3 alum Kennedy Davenport. 

You can watch Tamisha battle it out with the other remaining Season 13 contenders on Season 13 of RPDR.

RuPaul's Drag Race airs on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on VH1.