[6][7][8] Born in Gmunden, 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.

It brought international attention to Conchita and established Neuwirth as a gay icon, resulting in invitations to perform at various pride parades, the European Parliament, and the United Nations Office in Vienna.

Thomas Neuwirth was born on 6 November 1988 in Gmunden and raised in the small town of Bad Mitterndorf, in the Styrian countryside in Austria.

[16] Conchita then appeared in the ORF show The Hardest Jobs of Austria, working in a fish processing plant, and in Wild Girls, in which a group of candidates had to survive in the deserts of Namibia together with native tribes.

[17] On 10 September 2013, Austrian national broadcaster ORF announced that it had selected Conchita to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2014.

[18] In March 2014, Conchita's song was revealed as "Rise Like a Phoenix",[19] with bookmakers placing her entry as one of the ten favourites to win.

[5] Conchita's selection proved controversial and attracted criticism from conservative groups, particularly in Eastern Europe, thus highlighting the continent's regional divide between east and west on the issue of homosexuality.

[9][22][23] Conservative Russian politician Vitaly Milonov urged Russia's Eurovision selection committee to boycott the competition as a result of Conchita's inclusion, describing her performance as "blatant propaganda of homosexuality and spiritual decay" and referring to her as the "pervert from Austria".

[29] Commenting on this, political analyst Alan Renwick of the British University of Reading asserted that "Even in those countries where the ruling elites are often highly intolerant, the wider population might be readier to accept that different people might be different.

On returning to Austria, Conchita was greeted at the airport by a crowd of over 1,000 cheering fans, many wearing fake beards and singing "Rise Like a Phoenix".

[20] Greek singers and former Eurovision entrants Helena Paparizou and Anna Vissi expressed their liking of the song and Conchita's appearance.

[30][31] Vissi also compared the latter to Italian singer Mina's similar appearance as a bearded woman on the cover of a 1981 album of hers, to critically highlight that "[it is] 2014 and we still cannot accept statements of diversity.

Officials from the city's security department rejected the request, citing a wish to "respect morality in the education of the younger generation" and to prevent violent clashes between marchers and anti-gay demonstrators.

[43] A social media campaign involved Russian men shaving off their beards in protest at Conchita's victory; those taking part included broadcaster Andrey Malakhov and rapper Aleksander "ST" Stepanov.

'"[4] On 28 June 2014, Conchita performed onstage at Trafalgar Square in central London as the headline act during the city's annual LGBT Pride Parade.

She was introduced onstage by actor and LGBT rights campaigner Ian McKellen, and performed to a crowd of over 300,000 alongside acts Samantha Fox and Sinitta.

She informed reporters from The Observer that "I don't want to say the other Prides are less good, but I fell in love with London immediately, so today is a very special day for me.

"[4] On 2 July, she opened Madrid's LGBT Pride festival with a concert at Chueca Plaza, there performing alongside Ruth Lorenzo,[47][unreliable source?

[53] She was invited to attend the 2015 Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles as part of the Austrian delegation supporting nominee Christoph Waltz.

[54] On 8 October, Conchita performed to a crowd of 2000 delegates and their staff at an anti-discrimination event held at the European Parliament in Brussels; her speech emphasised the values of tolerance, stating that "As I always say, you don't have to love me, but you have to respect that I'm here."

A spokesperson for Ban described Conchita as a "cultural icon" and asserted that "Everyone is entitled to enjoy the same basic rights and live a life of worth and dignity without discrimination.

"[57] Conchita proceeded to state that she would like to spend a week with Russian President Putin in order to better understand him and his government's stance on LGBT rights.

[58] Conchita proceeded to begin work on an album influenced by "mature ladies" like Cher, Shirley Bassey, and Tina Turner.

"[64] In August 2018, Turkey's public broadcaster, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), stated it will not take part in the Eurovision while "someone like the bearded Austrian who wore a skirt" could win the competition.

[69] In 2020, Neuwirth appeared in his Conchita character in a cameo role in the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

[73] He wrote through an Instagram post that he felt compelled to come out as HIV-positive due to persistent threats from a former boyfriend that he would publicly reveal Neuwirth's status.