A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and have been a part of gay culture.
Derrick Prentice Barry is an American drag performer, Britney Spears impersonator and reality television personality. He is best known for competing on the third season of America's Got Talent (2008), and later the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2016) and fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020). Outside of reality television, Derrick Barry has toured internationally, released several musical singles, and has numerous film and television credits.
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, one of three rotating judges, as well as one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
Michael R. Steck, better known by the stage name Pandora Boxx, is an American drag queen, comedian, and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. Boxx competed in the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing fifth and winning Miss Congeniality, and subsequently returned for the first and sixth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Boxx also appeared in all three seasons of the Drag Race spin-off series RuPaul's Drag U. Outside of reality television, Pandora Boxx has toured internationally, released several musical singles, and performed in film, television, and theatre.
Airline Inthyrath, known by her stage name Jujubee, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. She first rose to prominence in 2010 as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and later returned to compete on the first and fifth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022), becoming one of the most popular queens from the franchise. She has the unique distinction of being the only contestant to reach the finale of the competition four times. Additionally, she was a main cast member on the makeover television series RuPaul's Drag U (2010–2012), Dragnificent (2019–2020), and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race (2022). In 2021, she competed in the first season of Paramount+ singing competition Queen of the Universe.
Yara Sofia is the stage name of Gabriel Burgos Ortiz, a Puerto Rican drag queen, professional make-up artist, and reality television personality.
Coco Montrese is the stage name of Lenwood Martin Cooper, an American drag queen, entertainer, and reality television personality. Montrese came into the spotlight after being crowned Miss Gay America 2010 when Alyssa Edwards' title was revoked. She subsequently appeared on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race as well as the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
Roy R. Haylock, better known by the stage name Bianca Del Rio, is an American drag queen, comedian, actor, and costume designer. She is known for winning the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Since her time on Drag Race, Del Rio has written and toured several stand-up shows, including It's Jester Joke (2019), which also made her the first drag queen to headline at Wembley Arena. She has also performed as a host for various international tours, most notably Werq the World. In 2018, she published her first book, Blame It On Bianca Del Rio: The Expert On Nothing With An Opinion On Everything.
Antwan Mason Lee, better known by the stage name Asia O'Hara, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and costume designer. She is most well known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, in which she placed fourth. Since her season aired in 2018, O'Hara has been a staple of several domestic and international tours that feature Drag Race contestants, including Werq the World, Christmas Queens and Drive 'N Drag. She has also appeared on a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, including Can Do Queens, which she co-hosts with Kameron Michaels. In June 2018, she released "Queen for Tonight", her debut single. Her second single, "Crown Up", was released on May 20, 2019, along with an accompanying music video. Since January 2020, she has been a staple cast member of RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, a residency show in Las Vegas, and also stars in the accompanying VH1 miniseries RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue.
Ongina is the stage name of Ryan Ong Palao, a Filipino-American drag performer and HIV activist who came to international attention on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Since appearing on the show, Ongina has been featured in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, including Wait, What?, Ring My Bell, and Fashion Photo RuView. Ongina was one of the first reality TV stars to come out as HIV-positive.
Jovan Jordan Bridges, known by the stage name Yvie Oddly, is an American drag queen, performer, fashion designer, rapper, and recording artist from Denver, Colorado who came to international attention in 2019 when she won the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She later returned to compete on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, an all-winners season, in 2022. Yvie Oddly has been on the worldwide Werq the World drag concert tour since 2019. In addition to music videos and performances, she explores what she sees as a transformative power of drag by making thrift store finds into wearable art in Yvie Oddly's Oddities series on WOW Presents Plus. She released her debut album, Drag Trap, in 2020.
Aiden Zhane is the stage name of Devin LaMar Lewis, an American drag performer most known for competing on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Jared Johnson, best known by the stage name Jaida Essence Hall, is an American drag queen and reality television personality best known for winning the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and later returning to compete on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, an all-winners season. Since her season aired in 2020, Hall has been a staple of several domestic and international tours that feature Drag Race contestants, including Werq the World, A Drag Queen Christmas, and Drive 'N Drag. In October 2020, Johnson was a featured performer in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Fashion Show Vol. 2.
Karl Sanchez, known by the stage name Nicky Doll, is a French drag queen, television personality, and musician based in New York City. He is best known as the main host of Drag Race France and a competitor on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Joseph “Jo” Primeau, better known by the stage name Juice Boxx, is a Canadian drag performer best known for being the first contestant to be eliminated on Canada's Drag Race, the Canadian version of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Drag Race is a drag queen reality competition television franchise, created by American drag entertainer RuPaul with production company World of Wonder. The franchise originated with RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered in the United States in 2009. The objective of that series is to crown "America's Next Drag Superstar" who possesses the traits of "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent". The original series is often credited for bringing drag into the "mainstream". The popularity of the original series led to the creation of a media franchise including spin-offs and international adaptations.
Boris Itzkovich Escobar, known by the stage name Envy Peru, is a Peruvian drag queen, actor, model and makeup artist settled in the Netherlands, most notable for being the winner of the first season of Drag Race Holland. He is also known as one of the top three drag presenters in the Netherlands for the BNNVARA television show De diva in mij.
Justin Omar Mooijer, known by the stage name Janey Jacké, is a Dutch drag queen, actor and presenter, most known for competing in the first season of Drag Race Holland (2020) and later the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022).
Tayce Szura-Radix is a Welsh drag queen, rapper and model from Newport, Wales. She is best known for competing in the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, in which she placed joint runner-up.
Maddy Morphosis is the stage name of Daniel Truitt, a drag performer most known for competing on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race. He is the show's first openly heterosexual male contestant. Since 2023, he has hosted his own talk show webseries Give It to Me Straight.
