Miss Coco Peru (born August 27, 1965) is the drag persona of American actor, comedian and drag performer Clinton Leupp, known for her role in the 1999 independent film Trick and for her series of live theater performances.

[2] For 30 years, Peru has starred in various "one-woman shows" across the US and other countries, and hosted LGBT events.

Since 2005, Peru has appeared in the "Conversations with Coco" series in which she "interviews and celebrates the lives and careers of the LGBT community's favorite icons.

"[5] Peru's guests have included Bea Arthur, Liza Minnelli, Lesley Ann Warren, Karen Black, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.

[7][8][9][10] Calling himself "a gay guy who was never going to be passing for straight", he said that he had just started college when homophobic slurs were directed at him.

"[6] Leupp calls Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Bette Midler some of his early idols.

[2] To find Coco's signature hairdo, he tried blonde and black wigs but thought they looked terrible; when he tried red, Leupp said "that's the color.

[2] Several more Coco Peru shows followed, as well as a 1994 guest role on New York Undercover and appearances in both Wigstock: The Movie and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar in 1995.

[1][3] According to Peru, Trick director Jim Fall was a friend and fan, and five years before the film was shot she helped him audition actors by reading the role which ultimately went to Tori Spelling.

[2] Peru's role in the film was added specifically for her: "They wrote me a part, which I rewrote using my own experiences.

[2] Peru performed the voice of "Mama Hippo" in the 2006 Disney animated feature The Wild,[11] and later was the voice of Mother Morally Superior in a 2008 episode of the Logo stop motion animated series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World.

In 2004 Peru appeared in an Orbitz TV commercial that was later nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

I'm telling autobiographical stories, and Coco gives me the freedom to be a little more outrageous and say things I wouldn't say in everyday life ...

[8][9] Leupp stated in an October 2012 interview that as a young gay man he "decided to do drag as a way to express myself both in theater and as an activist.

[8][9] Peru's live shows have been performed throughout the United States and abroad, and she has earned numerous nominations and awards.

[11] Since 2005 Peru has appeared in the "Conversations with Coco" series of live celebrity interviews, most of which have taken place at the Renberg Theater at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

[5][28] The events feature multimedia presentations of the guests' career highlights combined with a conversational interview by Peru.

[29] In 2012 Peru said that she started doing "Conversations" after being interviewed herself; with the host departing, the Center asked if she would like to continue the series.

[29] Edge Boston called Coco Peru "one of the most recognizable figures of the New York drag scene and beyond.

the Los Angeles Times wrote that the show "details how often Miss Coco has straddled the divide between saint and sinner, ladylike sweetness and stevedore crassness ... Miss Coco sings, sasses, and tells stories, usually about her own past.