Aston Joshua (born 11 February 1993), better known by the stage name Asttina Mandella, is a British drag queen and dancer from East London. She is best known for competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, where she came eleventh on the series.
Career Mandella has been a drag queen since 2012, but before 2020 she was mostly known for being a dancer. Asttina is trained in ballet, tap dance, jazz, voguing, hip-hop dance, waacking and street dance. She has also performed as a backup dancer alongside prestigious performers such as: Hercules & Love Affair, The Pussycat Dolls, Little Mix and Kanye West. Her drag name derives from a hybrid of her birth name, American singer Tina Turner and former President of South Africa and philanthropist Nelson Mandela. In December 2020, Asttina was announced as one of twelve contestants competing on the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, and placed eleventh overall in the competition. Mandella was the eleventh contestant to enter the Werk Room and penned the now synonymous catchphrase 'Rude!", and also won the first episode of the series, and performed well in episode two, however shortly after in episode three she placed in the bottom, and was eliminated in a lip sync challenge against contestant Tia Kofi to the song "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa. In February 2022 Asttina will embark on RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour alongside the entire cast of the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, in association with World of Wonder and promoter Voss Events. In August 2021, she will be a featured performer in Klub Kids London Presents: NOIR: The Tour, where 25% of the proceeds from the production will be donated to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Personal life Mandella currently resides in East London. She also drew media attention when discussing the representation of Black Queer icons within the United Kingdom, alongside fellow contestant Tayce, as it was a conversation that "opened up to so many people" according to Digital Spy.
Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes 2019 Drag S.O.S. Dance Instructor Series 1 2021 RuPaul's Drag Race UK Contestant Series 2, 11th place 2022 Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud Herself BBC documentary 2022 Queens for the Night Herself One-off special
Music videos Year Title Artist 2020"Baby"Madison Beer2021"Good Ones" (Drag Performance Video)Charli XCX
Discography As featured artist Title Year Album "A Little Bit of Love" 2021
Stage Year Title Promoter Locations 2021Squirrel FriendsKlub KidsLondon, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle2021Noir: The TourKlub KidsGlasgow, Manchester, London, Cardiff, Brighton and Birmingham2022RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official TourVoss Events / World Of WonderIpswich, Oxford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bournemouth, Southend, Manchester, Sheffield, Blackpool, Llandudno, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Basingstoke, Portsmouth, Plymouth, London, Derby, Bristol, Bradford, Aberdeen, Southampton, Stockton, Brighton and Newport
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