Conchita Wurst

Conchita Wurst
Conchita Wurst in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Neuwirth
Also known as	Tom Neuwirth
Born	(1988-11-06) 6 November 1988 (age 28) Gmunden, Austria
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Sony Music Austria
Associated acts	Jetzt Anders!
Website	conchitawurst.com

Conchita Wurst (also mononymously known as Conchita) is an Austrian pop recording artist and drag queen portrayed by Thomas "Tom" Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988). Wurst came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as Austria's entrant with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix". Neuwirth uses masculine pronouns when referring to himself but feminine pronouns to describe Wurst. Following her coronation in Eurovision, international media dubbed Conchita as the "Queen of Austria".

Born in Gmunden, Austria, Neuwirth moved to Graz to do his matura exam with a focus on fashion, before embarking on a singing career through the 2007 casting show Starmania. He subsequently became a founding member of the short-lived boy band Jetzt Anders!. In 2011, Neuwirth began appearing as Wurst – a female character noted for her beard – and came second in the Austrian pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.

Wurst was selected to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, where her performance received the most points from voting. It brought her international attention and established her as a gay icon, resulting in invitations to perform at various pride parades, the European Parliament and the United Nations Office in Vienna.

Tom Neuwirth was born on 6 November 1988 in Gmunden but raised in the small town of Bad Mitterndorf, in the Styrian countryside. He has stated that the mountainous area was a wonderful place to grow up, but that he faced prejudice for being homosexual: "Being a teenager, a gay teenager, in such a small village is not that much fun. I am part of the gay community and most gays have a similar story to mine."