Drag queen, actor, model, singer, television personality and producer, RuPaul Andre Charles was born on November 17, 1960. RuPaul performed in drag at Wigstock alongside Lady Bunny. He achieved wider fame through his music career. His debut album Supermodel of the World (1993) was a hit. He’s worked with Elton John and filmmaker Spike Lee. With co-host Michelle Visage, he’s interviewed entertainment royalty like Cher, Diana Ross, Nirvana and Lil Kim. Fortune named RuPaul as the world’s most famous drag queen, thanks to his larger-than-life persona and RuPaul’s Drag Race’s immense (and ubiquitous) success.
RuPaul was born in San Diego, California. Named by his mother after roux, a creole food, he was raised Catholic. He and his three sisters lived with their mother after his parents divorced.
At age 15, RuPaul moved to Atlanta to live with his sister. He enrolled at the Northside School of Performing Arts. He also started wearing his sister’s clothes and cross- dressing in the style of Diana Ross and Jane Fonda. RuPaul turned to drag to mock rigid gender identity roles and stereotypes and has transformed queer representation in media.
Making his way in Atlanta’s performance scene, RuPaul experimented with music and filmmaking. He first appeared in The American Music Show, a variety show on a public access channel, in 1982. He worked on Star Booty (1987), both an underground film and album. He worked at the Plaza Theatre for a time. Larry Tee managed the Celebrity Club, where RuPaul would perform as a dancer and with Wee Wee Pole, his band.
In 1989, RuPaul appeared in the B-52’s “Love Shack” music video as an extra. The video was shot in New York, where RuPaul gave gender-bending performances at venues like the Pyramid Club. He made many appearances at the drag festival Wigstock, and in Wigstock: The Movie (1995), a documentary. In the 1990s RuPaul appeared in World of Wonder’s public access show, Manhattan Cable. UK audiences watched the series on Channel 4.
RuPaul achieved mainstream success after released Supermodel of the World in 1993, after securing a contract with Tommy Boy Records. “Supermodel (You Better Work)” reached No. 2 on dance club charts. The video was a hit on MTV, claiming a spot among the more common gangsta rap and grunge. A year later, RuPaul was the first drag queen to land a high-profile cosmetics campaign when he became a spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics.
In 1994, he met Georges LeBar, a painter, at New York’s Limelight club. The two fell in love and became a couple.
Within a year, RuPaul appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show night-time talk show, the soap opera All My Children, Spike Lee’s Crooklyn (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), the film Blue in the Face (1995) alongside Harvey Keitel and Madonna, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo.
In 1996, RuPaul launched The RuPaul Show on VH1 with co-host Michelle Visage. Diana Ross, Nirvana, Cyndi Lauper, and Bea Arthur were among the celebrity guests invited to discuss topics like black and female empowerment, misogyny, and liberal politics. RuPaul and Visage also hosted a morning radio show on WKTU. In 1999, RuPaul received the GLAAD Media’s Vito Russo Award.
“All things to do with drag are inherently therapeutic because the realization of your own insanity is the beginning of sanity.” — RuPaul
Over the next 20 years, RuPaul released 14 studio albums and has enjoyed success as a recording artist. In 2009, RuPaul launched a nearly unsurpassed pop culture contribution when RuPaul’s Drag Race crashed the reality-tv landscape.
The show has aired for 13 seasons in the U.S. and 2 seasons in the U.K., and spawned spin-offs like RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Untucked!, and RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race. As producer and host, RuPaul has won 11 Emmy Awards, a record as the most- awarded person of color. In 2017, Time named RuPaul as one of the most influential people in the world.
RuPaul and Visage began the RuPaul: What’s the Tee? Podcast in 2014, which featured conversations with Drag Race’s celebrity guests. In 2015, World of Wonder launched RuPaul’s DragCon LA, where he, Drag Race contestants and other drag queens meet members of the public through performances, meet-and-greet booths, and panel discussions. RuPaul’s DragCon NYC followed in 2017.
Also in 2017, RuPaul and LeBar married. They have an open marriage and spend their time between LA and their Wyoming ranch.
“Don’t believe the hype; don’t believe what it tells you on your driver’s license. You are an extension of the power that created this whole universe.” — RuPaul
Celebrated for his place in mainstream media and in the gay community, RuPaul faced a year of contradictions in 2018. On the one hand, Jane Fonda, one of his personal heroes, gave the introductory speech when he received the Hollywood Walk of Fame honor. RuPaul described it as key moment in his career.
On the other hand, he faced backlash after telling The Guardian that Drag Race producers would “probably not” accept a post-transition trans woman onto the show. He felt that trans drag queens who had transitioned had an advantage like that of a performance- enhancing drug. This sparked criticism from Drag Race contestants and media figures.
The incident further brought attention to Drag Race’s problematic history of using words and challenges widely considered transphobic. RuPaul and the producers took changed the show in order “to help spread love, acceptance, and understanding” for the LGBTQ+ community.
Though his personal approach to drag has mocked identity, while in his view the trans community takes identity more seriously, RuPaul said that he regretted the hurt caused by his remarks. He vowed to accept contestants onto the show based only on their “charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent” — a familiar Drag Race mantra.
About the Authors
Troy Wise is currently a PhD student at UAL Central St Martins and teaches fashion and graphic design at London College of Contemporary Arts. His background is in marketing and is founder and co-editor of Image Amplified. He lives in, and is continually fascinated by, the city of London.
Rick Guzman earned his most recent MA at UAL Central St Martins in Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries. He currently holds two MA’s and an MBA in the New Media, Journalism and International Business fields. Co-editor at Image Amplified since its start, he lives in London, is fascinated by history and is motivated by continuing to learn and explore.
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