James Palacio

Born and raised in New York City, this Spanish and Italian Bronx born native has always loved the vibe of this great city, which never sleeps. With a theatrical background, James started performing at a very young age. From community theater to film and television, to professional Female Impersonating, he has enjoyed many years on the stage and screen. Show Business all the way! Fiona St. James first appeared in 1988 and has experienced success in night clubs worldwide as well as being the 15th elected and still the only Latina Empress of The Imperial Court of New York. He has been a proud member of this worthwhile organization since 1992 and was also crowned Miss Long Island Best Professional 1994. He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA for going on 26 years with film and TV credits including "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar", where he was a featured L.A. Show Girl, "Stonewall", where he portrayed the blond bombshell and was honored to have his picture chosen as the image for the movie poster in Australia, "Ugly Betty", where he played Guillermo and "Orange is the New Black". His most memorable role was playing the Resident Transvestite (Fiona Zonioni) on the hit HBO series "OZ" for five of the six seasons. Most recently worked core on both the upcoming "In The Heights" as well as "West Side Story". He is fluent in Spanish and was a theater/dance major at Hunter College, C.U.N.Y. He still enjoy taking classes and most recently studied at Pierre Dulaines Studio, as well as Ballet Hispanico.