Jiggly Caliente rose to prominence as a drag performer, singer, TV personality and activist long before she starred on RuPaul’s Drag Race. While the show helped jump start her stardom, Jiggly — whose real name was Bianca Castro-Arabejo — steadily climbed the ladder of television over time, even appearing in a Saturday Night Live sketch. But amid her success, Jiggly unfortunately died at the age of 44 in April 2025, seemingly from an unknown infection that, according to her family, resulted in a leg amputation.
News47.us has compiled five facts about Jiggly as we look back on her life and career.
Born in San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines, Jiggly eventually moved to the United States with her family. She was raised in Sunnyside, Queens, New York City.
Jiggly revealed that she adopted her original stage name, Jiggly Puff, from the Pokemon character Jigglypuff, she told The Socialite Life in 2019.
Apart from reality TV, Jiggly also starred as Veronica Ferocity in the FX show Pose.
Jiggly once revealed that she got expelled from school after stabbing another student with her pencil because he allegedly body-shamed her.
“Well, when I was in first grade, I actually got expelled from school because of the way I dealt with a bully,” Jiggly said in a past interview. “This kid kept poking at my stomach and calling me fat, so … I asked the teacher if i could sharpen my pencil. I sharpened my pencil and I waited for him to do something. Sure enough, he poked me and said, ‘Hey porker, porker, porker!’ and I stabbed him in the hand with my pencil. … And I got expelled from school.”
