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RuPaul

RuPaul
RuPaul at the 2019 California Hall of Fame Ceremony in Sacramento, California
Born
RuPaul Andre Charles

(1960-11-17) November 17, 1960 (age 63)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Drag queen
  • television host
  • singer
  • producer
  • writer
  • actor
Years active1982–present
Television
Spouse
Georges LeBar
​
(m. 2017)​
RelativesCory Booker (cousin)
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
Websiterupaul.com

RuPaul Andre Charles[1][2] (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He[a] produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race and has received several accolades, including 14 Primetime Emmy Awards, three GLAAD Media Awards, a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Billboard Music Awards, and a Tony Award. He has been dubbed the "Queen of Drag" and is considered the most commercially successful drag queen in the United States, with Fortune saying that he is "easily the world's most famous drag queen."[5] In 2017, RuPaul was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.[6][7]

Born and raised in San Diego, California, RuPaul later studied performing arts in Atlanta, Georgia, before relocating to New York City, where he became a popular fixture on the LGBT nightclub scene. He achieved international fame as a drag queen with the release of his debut single, "Supermodel (You Better Work)". RuPaul was a spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics in 1994, raising money for the Mac AIDS Fund and becoming the first drag queen to land a major cosmetics campaign.

RuPaul's Drag Race was created in 2009 and has gone on to produce sixteen seasons in the United States. The show has also seen success internationally and there are several international variants of the show, including RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019–present) and Canada's Drag Race (2020–present). This has also inspired several spin-offs of the main show, including RuPaul's Drag U (2010–2012), RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, (2012–present), and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race (2020–2022). His other television work includes The RuPaul Show (1996–1998), Skin Wars (2014–2016), Good Work (2015), Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul (2016–2017), and RuPaul (2019). In 2018, RuPaul received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry, making him the first drag queen to be given such an award.[8]

RuPaul has made appearances in films, including Crooklyn (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), and But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), as well as television series, including Girlboss and Broad City (both 2017). He created and starred in the Netflix original series AJ and the Queen (2020). RuPaul has also published four books: Lettin' It All Hang Out (1995), Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style (2010), GuRu (2018), and The House of Hidden Meanings (2024). As a recording artist, he has released fifteen studio albums.

  1. ^ "Rupaul A Charles, (212) 929-2363, age 61 from 155 Perry St #3A, New York, NY 10014 - Radaris". radaris.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  2. ^ "RuCo, Inc, Brooklyn NY - Company Profile | BizStanding". bizstanding.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  3. ^ RuPaul's Drag Race [@RuPaulsDragRace] (September 3, 2013). ""You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis & Cathy Lee; I don't care! Just as long as you call me" - @RuPaul #RuFerence" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ RuPaul (1995). Lettin' It All Hang Out: An Autobiography. Hyperion Books. ISBN 978-0-7868-6156-9.
  5. ^ Klein, Jessica (September 24, 2019). "As 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Expands to the U.K., DragCon Shines Light on Its Mainstream Success". Fortune. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  6. ^ Klein, Jessica (September 24, 2019). "As 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Expands to the U.K., DragCon Shines Light on Its Mainstream Success". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Campbell, Naomi. "RuPaul". Time. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Britton, Luke Morgan (March 19, 2018). "RuPaul becomes first drag icon to get a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame". NME. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2024.


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