| Jai Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
Jai Rodriguez in 2003 |
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| Born | David Jai Rodriguez June 22, 1979 Brentwood, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor/Musician |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Website | |
| http://www.myspace.com/jairodriguezmusic | |
Jai Rodriguez (born June 22, 1979)[1] is an actor and musician best known as the culture guide on the Bravo network's Emmy-winning American reality television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He has also co-authored a book with the other Queer Eye hosts.
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Rodriguez is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent,[2] and was born David Jai Rodriguez in Brentwood, New York. He performed with gospel choirs from the age of eleven, and studied musical theater at the Boces Cultural Art Center.[1] He also attended Smithtown High School (Now Smithtown West) where he performed in various plays. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he is pursuing his music and acting career full time.
Rodriguez is a stage actor and singer best known for his roles in the Broadway stage musical Rent, as Angel, and the Off Broadway musical Zanna, Don't!, as Zanna.[1] He has also acted in several plays, including Spinning Into Butter at the Lincoln Center.[2] In 2005, he created and performed his own one night stage show, "Jai Rodriguez: xPosed."[3] xPosed told the story of Rodriguez's life and struggle to come out to his religious family, and of his career on stage and in Queer Eye. His Queer Eye co-stars Ted Allen and Carson Kressley appeared as themselves.
In November 1993, Rodriguez appeared in one episode of the daytime drama All My Children. In August 2005, he made a two-day guest appearance on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live.[1]
In November 2005, while Queer Eye was on filming hiatus, he joined the cast of The Producers on Broadway for three months, playing the role of Carmen Ghia. He played a different role, that of Sabu, in the 2005 Producers movie.
In August 2007, Rodriguez filmed a guest starring role in drama series Nip/Tuck, playing the character of Chaz Darling. The episode (also titled Chaz Darling) aired in November 2007.
In March 2010, Rodriguez appeared as a newscaster in the music video for "Telephone", with Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
In February 2011, Rodriguez appeared in an episode of the ABC series Detroit 1-8-7 titled 'Legacy; Drag City', playing a drag queen.
In March 2011, Rodriguez made an appearance in an episode of NBC's Harry's Law, titled 'Send in the Clowns', as a drag queen fired after an affair with a club owner was exposed.
In November 2011, Rodriguez appeared in an episode of How I Met Your Mother called The Rebound Girl.
In 2003, Rodriguez became Queer Eye's resident "Culture Vulture", functioning as the show's expert on the topic of culture, and the show's success brought him increased exposure. He was a replacement host for the show's originally-cast culture host, but has been part of Queer Eye since the third episode.
In May 2007, Rodriguez announced he would be appearing as a regular judge on two new reality shows: MTV's "Shower Power" (an American Idol-type singing contest) and Court TV's "The Jury," (a Judge Judy-type show where cases are decided by a panel of celebrity judges).[4]
On November 3, 2007, Rodriguez started co-hosting (with Daisy Fuentes) a new show, Ultimate Style, on the Style Network. The weekly series covers celebrities, fashion, beauty, home and all things related to style. Also in 2007, Rodriguez hosted one season of travel/style show Styleyes on Sí TV.[5]
Rodriguez also hosted the Animal Planet reality TV show Groomer Has It, which premiered 12 April 2008 on Animal Planet. He also appears on GSN Live as a sub host.
In 2011, Rodriguez guest starred on NBC's Harry's Law as a drag performer in need of legal help.
As a singer, Rodriguez has performed on stage and as a recording artist. In 2002, he created his own musical cabaret show, titled "Monday Night Twisted Cabaret," which ran at New York gay club xl for a year.[1] Rodriguez continued to perform "Twisted Cabaret" on a sporadic basis between 2004-2006.
Rodriguez released his first single, "Love Is Good", on the indie record label Arrive At Eleven Productions in March 2003.[1] He then recorded his debut album for Airgo Records. The first single from the album, Broken, was released on October 4, 2007.
Rodriguez appeared as one of the celebrity singers on the Fox reality TV show Celebrity Duets, which premiered August 29. He was eliminated on September 22, 2006.
Rodriguez is also a co-author of the New York Times bestselling book,[6][7] Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab Five's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better (Published by Clarkson Potter, 2004).
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The New Guy | Jose | |
| 2005 | The Producers | Sabu | |
| 2009 | Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!! | Angelo Ferraro |