Justin Vivian Bond

Who is Justin Vivian Bond?

Justin Vivian Bond is an American singer-songwriter, performance artist, occasional actor and Radical Faerie. Described as a "fixture of the New York avant-garde", Bond came to prominence playing the role of Kiki DuRayne in the drag cabaret act Kiki and Herb from the early 1990s through to 2004. Assigned male at birth, Bond is transgender and prefers the gender-inclusive honorific Mx. and pronoun v.

Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Bond went on to study theater at Adelphi University before moving to San Francisco after graduating in 1985. It was here that Bond met Kenny Mellman, and they began a cabaret act together, which would eventually lead to them creating the characters of Kiki and Herb. Bond designed Kiki to be an elderly alcoholic woman who would perform covers of pre-existing songs in her own distinct style. Bond decided to bring an end to the Kiki character in 2004, subsequently embarking on a solo career, being featured in John Cameron Mitchell's film Shortbus before releasing the EP Pink Slip, followed in 2011 by the album Dendrophile and publication of the memoir Tango: My Childhood Backwards and in High Heels.