RuPaul has become a genuine mogul. Who else has amassed true cultural capital? Who can bring home north of $1 million annually, or get cast in a Hollywood blockbuster? Here, after talking to talent agents, managers and club bookers, as well as studying social-media influence, career longevity, and each queen’s “charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent,†we rank America’s top-100 Drag Race superstars.
Reporters and judges: Mano Agapion, Rebecca Alter, Joel Kim Booster, Maria Elena Fernandez, Molly Fitzpatrick, Chris Heller, E. Alex Jung, Charlotte Klein, Genevieve Koski, Brian Moylan, Matthew Schneier, Matthew Silver, and Carl Swanson
The Top 2O
1. Bianca Del Rio
Age: 43
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 6 winner
The queen of all Drag Race queens and the most successful alum, Bianca appeared on the show five years ago (and was so dominant that she reached the finale without having to lip-sync for her life). Since then, the insult comic, self-proclaimed “Clown in a Gown,†and first Latinx Drag Race winner has created a level of global drag stardom not seen since, well, Mama Ru herself. She’ll be performing at the U.K.’s 12,500-seat Wembley Arena* for her “It’s Jester Joke†tour (which she’ll take to Carnegie Hall this fall), has nearly 2 million Instagram followers, is currently starring in the West End musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, made two Hurricane Bianca movies and a Logo comedy special, and landed a Starbucks ad with Adore. Her book, Blame It on Bianca Del Rio: The Expert on Nothing With an Opinion on Everything, came out last year along with her coconut-oil-based makeup remover.
2. Shangela Laquifa Wadley
Age: 37
From: Studio City, CA
Drag Race: Season 2 twelfth place; season 3 sixth place.
All Stars: Season 3 third/fourth place
Halleloo! In the past year alone, Shangela, who never won Drag Race (mitigating fact: She’d done drag for only five months prior), toured 184 cities, made a big splash in A Star Is Born, and hosted the GLAAD Awards (earning a standing ovation from Beyoncé). She also guest-starred on Community and Glee, shilled for McDonald’s and Orbitz, collaborated with Ariana Grande on her song “NASA,†and is working on a deal to stream her “Shangela Is Shook†tour as a comedy special. Oh, and her podcast, Shangela, dropped last month. In other words, she’s a queen with the mind of a mogul: In 2014, she started Say What Entertainment, a management company for drag performers. And she persists. “My grandfather was a farmer in Paris, Texas,†she has said. “My mom’s a military veteran. I come from a family of workers. I think of my legacy as what I continue to do every day, which is go to work.â€
3. Courtney Act
Age: 37
From: West Hollywood, CA
Drag Race: Season 6 runner-up
What’s remarkable about Courtney’s career is that she now exists almost completely outside the Drag Race machinery. Other than her successful wig line, Wigs by Vanity, little of what she does has anything to do with drag, or with America. In 2017, she was on MTV U.K.’s celebrity dating show Single AF, which she parlayed into an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother U.K. She also hosted The Bi Life, a bisexual dating show, on E! in the U.K. Courtney was the runner-up on the most recent season of Dancing With the Stars Australia, where she danced in drag with a male professional partner, the show’s first same-sex pairing in that country. She has even filmed some scenes for the famous Aussie soap opera Neighbours, which has made stars out of Kylie Minogue, Russell Crowe, and Liam Hemsworth.
4. Trixie Mattel
Age: 29
From: Milwaukee, WI
Drag Race: Season 7 sixth place.
All Stars: Season 3 winner.
How did this self-identified “Skinny Legend†take a sixth-place finish on Drag Race and turn it into a successful career? Social media, touring, and a now-famous YouTube show produced by World of Wonder called UNHhhh, which she hosts with fellow season-seven also-ran Katya. This was spun off by Viceland into The Trixie & Katya Show, which lasted one season. After winning All Stars 3, she launched an international tour to support her country albums, Two Birds and One Stone (both of which charted). Meanwhile, her fan-favorite merch exploits her bubblegum-pink McDonald’s Happy Meal–toy aesthetic, and she just launched a makeup line.
“I didn’t have a great time on Drag Race my first season. My look, the Barbie thing I do, went against the algorithm a bit. But I was happy to be the sleeper agent. I moved to L.A. and was on Twitter and Instagram three times a day. When you’re on Drag Race, you have borrowed fans. Your job is to invite them to become fans of you as your own independent thing. I was always touring. By the time I went on All Stars, I was fully booked — I probably canceled about $40,000 in gigs to do the show. So when I won, I really just won back the money I spent to do it.†—Trixie Mattel
5. Alyssa Edwards
Age: 39
From: Mesquite, TX
Drag Race: Season 5 sixth place.
All Stars: Season 2 fifth place.
This walking meme factory was never particularly good at Drag Race, but she is beloved for her signature tongue pop, huge wigs, energetic dance moves, and system of vocabulary that doesn’t always make sense. Alongside her arduous touring schedule, Alyssa teamed with World of Wonder on the long-running web series Alyssa’s Secret and the Netflix show Dancing Queen, about the dance studio she runs in Mesquite, Texas. She has an outsize influence not just on drag and its vernacular but on Drag Race in particular. Alyssa’s drag daughters from the Haus of Edwards often end up on the program themselves.
6. Adore Delano
Age: 29
From: Azusa, CA
Drag Race: Season 6 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 2 ninth place.
One of the youngest queens on her season, Adore has always been a big hit with the teens. She was the first drag queen to reach 1 million Instagram followers (now closer to 2 million), and she has used social media to support and promote her three studio albums and some slick music videos. The rock-and-roll princess is overseas for most of 2019, touring in Australia and Europe. Much of Adore’s recent career, however, has been overshadowed by a lawsuit she filed against Producer Entertainment Group, a firm that manages many stars after their appearances on Drag Race.
7. Alaska Thunderfuck
Age: 34
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Drag Race: Season 5 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 2 winner.
After a bit of pouting and brinkmanship ended her triumphant turn on All Stars 2, some fans labeled Alaska a snake, but she’s slithering all the way to the bank. Aside from an appearance on VH1’s reality show Scared Famous, Alaska has focused on touring. She has also released a string of comedic, self-referential dance-music albums: 2015’s Anus, 2016’s Poundcake, and 2019’s Vagina. She also makes Race Chaser, a Drag Race recap podcast on which she and Willam Belli lovingly make fun of the reality show that launched them to stardom.
“Sharknado came out of nowhere. I got to fly out to Romania and shoot this fucking outdoor sword-fighting scene in a fake castle. They just called my manager and said, ‘Hey, what’s Alaska doing? Does she want to fight some sharks, or what?’ The great thing about drag is you really are allowed to apply it to anything.†—Alaska
8. Bob the Drag Queen
Age: 32
From: Queens, NY
Drag Race: Season 8 winner
To put it in her own words, Bob is a queen for the people. Since getting into drag after watching season one of Drag Race and competing on season eight, she has built an Instagram following of 1.1 million, thanks to her winning comedic sensibility. Bob also has a burgeoning career as an actor with credits in Rough Night, High Maintenance, and Netflix’s Tales of the City as well as Berkeley Rep’s Angels in America revival. Her podcast with Monét X Change, Sibling Rivalry, frequently puts on packed live shows. Next up: a drag take on Lady Macbeth.
9. Willam Belli
Age: 36
From: Los Angeles, CA
Drag Race: Season 4 seventh place
The first, and so far only, contestant to be disqualified from Drag Race, this self-declared “mattress†(model-actress) and YouTube super-queen lives by two mottos: “If you’ve got the dough, I’ve got a show†and “If you’ve got a check, I’ve got a talent.†Her sharp-tongued wit has carried her far, whether on her many viral videos or on the set of A Star Is Born, where Bradley Cooper gave her the go-ahead to improvise. She has sold over 40,000 copies of her self-help memoir, Suck Less: Where There’s a Willam, There’s a Way, while Race Chaser, the podcast she hosts with Alaska, gets over 100,000 downloads a week.
“Patreon’s changed my life. Every video I make, I put on Patreon first. These are big enough fans that they’d pay a dollar or two dollars a month to interact with me. I find that concentrating on people that love you, like the fans who actually want to tip you, is better than focusing on haters.†—Willam Belli
10. Latrice Royale
Age: 47
From: South Beach, FL
Drag Race: Season 4 fourth place.
All Stars: Season 1 seventh/eighth place; season 4 fifth place.
One of only three queens to be on Drag Race three times, this inspirational fan favorite has worked pretty much constantly since first appearing on the show, including multiple international tours with Werq the World and Haters Roast. While everyone gags for Latrice’s lip-sync numbers and flag twirling, many don’t know that she’s a force behind the scenes as well. She now serves as a manager for other queens’ careers; current clients include Kennedy Davenport, Alexis Mateo, and, of course, herself.
“I sure remember my payment for my first gig. Two drink tickets! For two numbers! You’d get your drinks before the show. You do two numbers and spend all your tips back on more drinks, so it really does wind up costing you money to work. Today, oh my God. The blowup is severely real. We’re going house shopping soon! People don’t realize that Drag Race is not the goal. The goal is, once you get on there, what are you gonna do after? We all get different gigs. A lot of girls make the mistake of doing quick-money gigs. That’s not my style. I’m looking at the long run.â€Â —Latrice Royale
11. Aquaria
Age: 23
From: Brooklyn, NY
Drag Race: Season 10 winner
The first reigning Gen-Z queen entered the Drag Race orbit with the bona fides of a performer well beyond her years after coming up through the NYC club circuit under the wings of nightlife legends Susanne Bartsch and Amanda Lepore. Since her win, Aquaria has launched herself into the fashion world: She had a spread in Vogue Italia and was a face of the M.A.C Viva Glam campaign and Jeremy Scott’s Moschino x H&M collaboration. She even made an appearance at this year’s Met Gala alongside Violet Chachki and RuPaul. All this and she’s only 23.
12. Sasha Velour
Age: 31
From: Brooklyn, NY
Drag Race: Season 9 winner
Sasha changed the Drag Race game with her legendary rose-petal reveal to Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional†and then invested her winnings in Nightgowns, the monthly drag show she has produced since 2015. It’s a far cry from the type of drag RuPaul has popularized: fewer death drops and tongue pops and more performance-art-inflected multimedia gender experimentation, a more fringe-y approach encapsulated in Sasha’s iconic performance lip-syncing as a feminized version of Gollum to Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights.†She has also continued to expand her art-queen aesthetic, curating a 2018 New York Fashion Week presentation and even creating a Google Doodle in 2017 for Marlene Dietrich’s birthday. Her new solo theatrical show, Smoke & Mirrors, should expose a wider audience to Sasha’s unique amalgam of drag, art, and activism.
“There is extreme inequality in pay among drag performers. The TV show has turned us into celebrities. I became part of the economics of that, adjusting your drag to fit the expectations of the system. So last year I decided to stop working with the producers of Drag Race for touring and bar productions. Now I feel most comfortable performing when I’m the producer as well. I get a say in how the other performers are treated and compensated, how the bathrooms are labeled, how the meet and greet is run — all the details of manning a creative queer space. A lot of my productions have been done with sponsorships with Lyft or M.A.C Cosmetics, because they can provide the capital to make these things possible.†—Sasha Velour
13. Katya Zamolodchikova
Age: 37
From: Boston, MA
Drag Race: Season 7 fifth place.
All Stars: Season 2 runner-up.
Don’t worry, everyone, Katya is doing fine and is currently on tour with her not at all ironically titled one-woman show, Help Me, I’m Dying. It makes no mention of the psychotic break she experienced in 2018 while filming the end of the first season of her Viceland series, The Trixie & Katya Show. She and Trixie have since made up and have even revitalized their World of Wonder web series, UNHhhh.
14. Detox
Age: 33
From: Los Angeles, CA
Drag Race: Season 5 fourth place.
All Stars: Season 2 runner-up.
Detox solidified her legendary Drag Race status by making it to the top four in both season five and All Stars 2, and her neon, Mugler-inspired fashion permanently raised the bar on what passed for a winning runway look. She continues to make bank on global tours like Werq the World and has shown off her famous plastic surgery on the reality series Botched. In 2017, Detox sued her management at PEG for punitive damages and unpaid royalties; she riffed on the matter in her music video “#SueList.â€
15. Trinity The Tuck
Age: 33
From: Orlando, FL
Drag Race: Season 9 third/fourth place.
All Stars: Season 4 co-winner.
The rare queen who can blend the poise and glitz of a pageant girl with the wit and originality of a comedy queen, Trinity has been an outlier since she came in fourth on season nine of Drag Race. But things haven’t slowed down since she was cast on the show, as she has been touring exhaustively since then. After DragCon, she won’t return home for 45 days while she’s out supporting her debut album, Plastic. Before, she struggled to pay rent; now she’s just bought her first house.
16. Violet Chachki
Age: 26
From: Atlanta, GA
Drag Race: Season 7 winner
Some fans dismissed her as a looks queen, but Violet’s confidence has paid off. She currently has 1.5 million Instagram followers, making her one of the most popular queens on the platform. Her EP, Gagged, made it to the Top 20 on the U.S. “Heatseekers†and “Dance/Electronic†charts in 2015. She also broke new ground in 2017 when she became the first drag queen to model women’s lingerie in a major campaign for U.K. brand Playful Promises. In 2018, she walked the runway to close out Jeremy Scott’s Moschino fall 2018 show at Milan Fashion Week, and later that year she starred in a Prada campaign alongside Sarah Paulson. At the 2019 Met Gala, along with Aquaria, Violet was the first drag queen to walk the carpet.
17. Kim Chi
Age: 31
From: Chicago, IL
Drag Race: Season 8 runner-up
This towering Korean-American queen serves looks unlike anyone else in the Drag Race galaxy. A seven-foot-tall (in heels) “live-action anime character who works as a high-fashion model,†Kim Chi draws from her background in makeup and art direction to collaborate on fantastical, whimsical, and sometimes avant-garde looks that have helped make her one of the top-three most followed queens on Instagram (she has more than 1.8 million followers). Her post–Drag Race career has included several makeup and beauty-product collaborations, including a line of sheet masks, and brand deals with everyone from Starbucks to Lush to a shopping app.
18. Jinkx Monsoon
Age: 31
From: Seattle, WA
Drag Race: Season 5 winner
Of course the queen who catapulted to fame doing an impression of “Little Edie†Bouvier Beale from Grey Gardens ended up a cabaret star. While she’s no stranger to a Haters Roast tour, Jinkx has worked mostly in smaller venues singing torch songs and telling funny stories like many of her comedy idols. She and Major Scales have toured as the Vaudevillians, a pair of old-time performers frozen in a glacier and thawed out by global warming. She recently wrapped up a London production of Drag Becomes Her, a parody of everyone’s favorite Meryl Streep–Goldie Hawn comedy.
19. Manila Luzon
Age: 37
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 3 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 1, seventh/eighth place; Season 4, sixth place.
Manila’s costumes — whether a roadkill Big Bird, a spaghetti-and-meatballs extravaganza, or a maxi-pad dress banned by the show but embraced by Instagram — are always a million times campier than anything seen on the Met Ball’s pink carpet. But extravagance is the name of the game for her: Her first studio album, Rules!, came out earlier this year and featured a lavish video for the first single, “Go Fish.â€
20. Valentina
Age: 28
From: Echo Park, CA
Drag Race: Season 9 seventh place.
All Stars: Season 4 seventh place.
The “Latina Goddess†is buoyed by a passionate fan base that will always consider her the real winner of her two seasons on Drag Race. Valentina’s success is perhaps best summed up by the fact that her run on All Stars 4 came to an end the very same week she starred as Angel on Fox’s Rent: Live, easily one of the highest-profile television appearances made by a Drag Race queen.
The Other Queens
The rest of our top 100 by power peer group. (In alphabetical order by first name; asterisk denotes queen on most recent season.)
The Tops
Asia O’Hara
Age: 36
From: Dallas, TX
Drag Race: Season 10 fourth place
Asia was the first queen to use live animals in a lip sync, but in a fabulous fail, the butterflies that were supposed to fly out of her top fell to Earth. Some even looked dead.
BeBe Zahara Benet
Age: 38
From: Minneapolis, MN
Drag Race: Season 1 winner.
All-Stars: Season 3 third/fourth place.
Bebe took home $20,000 for winning the first season of Drag Race. The cash prize has since been upped to $100,000.
BenDeLaCreme
Age: 37
From: Seattle, WA
Drag Race: Season 6 fifth place.
All Stars: Season 3 sixth place.
In episode six of All Stars 3, after winning a lip sync competition, BenDeLaCreme made the surprising choice to eliminate herself, calling it “the easiest decision†she’d made all season.
*Brooke Lynn Hytes
Age: 33
From: Nashville, TN
Drag Race: Season 11 runner-up
Originally from Toronto, Brooke Lynn was the first Canadian contestant to appear on the show.
Chad Michaels
Age: 48
From: San Diego, CA
Drag Race: Season 4 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 1 winner.
At 41, Chad became the oldest winner in the shows’ herstory.
Gia Gunn
Age: 29
From: Chicago, IL
Drag Race: Season 6 tenth place.
All Stars: Season 4 eighth place.
Gia was the first queen to be eliminated twice in Snatch Game.
Ginger Minj
Age: 34
From: Orlando, FL
Drag Race: Season 7 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 2 eighth place.
After Drag Race, Ginger landed a role in the Netflix film Dumplin’, which features a young, plus-size beauty-queen contestant.
Jiggly Caliente
Age: 37
From: Queens, NY
Drag Race: Season 4 eighth place
Jiggly derives her first name from the Pokémon Jigglypuff.
Jujubee
Age: 34
From: Boston, MA
Drag Race: Season 2 third place.
All Stars:Â Season 1 third/fourth place.
Jujubee never won a Drag Race main challenge.
Kameron Michaels
Age: 32Â
From: Nashville, TN
Drag Race: Season 10 runner-up
Kameron is the fourth queen to enter the competition with the surname Michaels.
Miss Peppermint
Age: 39
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 9 runner-up
The first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway.
Miz Cracker
Age: 35
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 10 fifth place
Miz Cracker is the only contestant to win the makeover challenge but not advance to the finale.
Monét X Change
Age: 29
From: the Bronx, NY
Drag Race: Season 10 sixth place.
All Stars: Season 4 co-winner.
Monét is the only Miss Congeniality to win a season of Drag Race.
Monique Heart
Age: 33
From: Kansas City, MO
Drag Race: Season 10 eighth place.
All Star: Season 4 third/fourth place.
Monique has been outspoken about racism in the gay and drag communities.
Naomi Smalls
Age: 25
From: Redlands, CA
Drag Race: Season 8 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 4 third/fourth place.
Her drag name was inspired by Naomi Campbell and Biggie Smalls, and she’s the first queen to win two makeover challenges.
Raja Gemini
Age: 44Â
From: Los Angeles, CA
Drag Race: Season 3 winner
Her lip sync against Carmen Carrera to the song “Straight Up,†by Paula Abdul, is considered one of the most memorable in Drag Race history.
Raven
Age: 40
From: Riverside, CA
Drag Race: Season 2 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 1 runner-up.
Though devastated by two runner-up finishes on Drag Race, Raven went on to earn an Emmy nomination for makeup work on later episodes of the show.
Shea Couleé
Age: 30Â
From: Chicago, IL
Drag Race: Season 9 third/fourth place
Many think Couleé was robbed of the crown after the Drag Race producers introduced a lip sync battle to decide the winner instead of going off points accumulated.
*Yvie Oddly
Age: 25
From: Denver, CO
Drag Race: Season 11 winner
Though Yvie injured herself during a choreography challenge, she was able to finish the competition.
The Upper Tier
Aja
Age: 25
From: Brooklyn, NY
Drag Race: Season 9 ninth place.
All Stars: Season 3 seventh place.
Aja was often criticized by the judges and her peers for her makeup, though she was gifted with a sewing machine.
*A’keria Chanel Davenport
Age: 31Â
From: Dallas, TX
Drag Race: Season 11 third/fourth place
In a delightful piece of improv during the Los Angeles Drag Patrol (LADP) challenge, A’keria busted out an unforgettable twerk while evading arrest. “Twerking is a blessing. Twerking is a blessing, baby,†she said.
Blair St. Clair
Age: 24
From: Indianapolis, IN
Drag Race: Season 10 ninth place
Blair is the only Drag Race contestant from Indiana.
Coco Montrese
Age: 44
From: Las Vegas, NV
Drag Race: Season 5 fifth place.
All Stars: Season 2 tenth place.
Coco had built-in beef with fellow contestant Alyssa Edwards because both had previously competed in 2010’s Miss Gay America pageant. When Alyssa, who originally won the competition, was disqualified, Coco took the crown.
Delta Work
Age: 43
From: Norwalk, CA
Drag Race: Season 3 seventh Place
In 2018, Delta won an Emmy for work as a personal stylist on season ten of Drag Race.
Eureka O’Hara
Age: 28
From: Johnson City, TN
Drag Race: Season 9, 11th place; season 10 runner-up.
In season nine, Eureka exited the competition after tearing her ACL during a cheerleader challenge, becoming the only queen to exit because of a medical problem.
Farrah Moan
Age: 25
From: Las Vegas, NV
Drag Race: Season 9 eighth place.
All Stars: Season 4 ninth place.
Farrah struggled in Drag Race, owing in large part to her lack of sewing skills.
Laganja Estranja
Age: 30
From: Van Nuys, CA
Drag Race: Season 6 eighth place
Laganja is known for her weed-themed outfits, but she wasn’t allowed to display them on Drag Race because the set is a drug-free environment.
“I entered the amateur contest at Micky’s West Hollywood in 2011. I was getting 50 bucks a night, on a good night $250. Now my average going rate is $1,500. That is good for an artist in the 21st century! I have friends on Broadway who are making $600 a week! I’ve done not just nightclubs but speaking at companies, colleges. I’ve gotten to taste all kinds of food I never thought I would have gotten to taste in my life. I’ve been to Machu Picchu. But I’ve heard that the girls who were on the show since it moved to VH1 make as much as $5,000 a gig, and I’m over here still getting $1,500 and, well, this doesn’t add up. I’m iconic, bitch. Who the fuck are you?â€Â —Laganja Estranja
Miss Fame
Age: 34
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 7 seventh place
Miss Fame identifies as gender fluid.
Morgan McMichaels
Age: 38
From: Mira Loma, CA
Drag Race: Season 2 eighth place.
All Stars: Season 3 fifth place.
Morgan won the main challenge in the first episode of season two by using her upside-down skills on a stripper pole to make an impression on the judges.
*Nina West
Age: 40Â
From: Columbus, OH
Drag Race: Season 11 sixth place
Nina was surprisingly subdued after winning Miss Congeniality for season 11, offering only a cheeky “Meh.â€
Ongina
Age: 37
From: Los Angeles, CA
Drag Race: Season 1 fifth place
In the first season of Drag Race, Ongina made herstory by revealing that she is HIV-positive.
*Plastique Tiara
Age: 22Â
From: Dallas, TX
Drag Race: Season 11 eighth place
Plastique won the Farm to Runway challenge with her “Harvest Empress†outfit.
*Ra’Jah O’Hara
Age: 33Â
From: Dallas, TX
Drag Race: Season 11 ninth place
Ra’Jah was dubbed the “lip sync assassin†after surviving three lip sync challenges.
*Scarlet Envy
Age: 27
From: Brooklyn, NY
Drag Race: Season 11 tenth place
Fans were outraged when Scarlet was asked to sashay away after an evenly matched Lip sync for Your Life against Ra’Jah O’Hara.
Sharon Needles
Age: 37Â
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Drag Race: Season 4 winner
Sharon Needles — a play on “sharing needles†— became an instant standout for her quick wit and ghoulish aesthetic.
*Silky Nutmeg Ganache
Age: 28Â
From: Chicago, IL
Drag Race: Season 11 third/fourth place
Silky revealed on the show that she’s a registered Republican, which many thought was just an attention grab. She claimed she didn’t vote for Trump, though.
Tammie Brown
Age: 38
From: Long Beach, CA
Drag Race: Season 1 eighth place.
All Stars: Season 1 ninth/tenth place.
Tammie, who was known for her Old Hollywood aesthetic, has appeared out of drag, as Keith Glen Schubert, in commercials for McDonald’s and UPS and in a music video for the nu-metal band Korn.
Thorgy Thor
Age: 35Â
From: Brooklyn, NY
Drag Race: Season 8 sixth place.
All Stars: Season 3 tenth place.
Thorgy (pronounced TH-orgy) generated controversy in All Stars when she claimed that being cast as Stevie Nicks would put her at a disadvantage in Divas Lip sync Live because she wouldn’t stand out from her competitors. Many viewers agreed that the showrunners were conspiring to have her eliminated.
*Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
Age: 27
From: Tampa, FL
Drag Race: Season 10, 14th place; season 11, fifth place.
Though she was the first contestant eliminated in season ten, Miss Vanjie became an instant hit for uttering her name three times while exiting the stage: “Miss Vanjie … Miss Vanjie … Miss Vanjie.â€
The Mid-Tier
Acid Betty
Age: 41
From: Brooklyn, NY
Drag Race: Season 8 eighth place
Betty is known for consistently creating conflict on the show.
Alexis Michelle
Age: 34Â
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 9 fifth place
In episode five, after winning the Sexy Selfie mini-challenge, Alexis chose the role of Kris Jenner for the lip sync challenge, Kardashian: The Musical. Her performance landed her in the top three.
Carmen Carrera
Age: 34
From: Elmwood Park, NJ
Drag Race: Season 3 fifth place
Carmen is only the second contestant in the show’s history to rejoin the cast after being eliminated. She was also a member of the Heathers.
Chi Chi DeVayne
Age: 38
From: Shreveport, LA
Drag Race: Season 8 fourth place.
All Stars: Season 3 eighth place.
In All Stars, Chi Chi did an impersonation of Maya Angelou in Snatch Game, which she admits was a flop.
Derrick Barry
Age: 35
From: Las Vegas, NV
Drag Race: Season 8 fifth place
Derrick was the 100th queen to enter the Werk Room, where contestants prepare for challenges and elimination ceremonies.
Dida Ritz
Age: 32Â
From: Chicago, IL
Drag Race: Season 4 sixth place
Dida left cheesecake for the remaining queens after being eliminated. Her lip sync against the Princess to “This Will Be (an Everlasting Love),†by Natalie Cole, is considered one of the best in Drag Race history.
Jasmine Masters
Age: 41
From: Los Angeles, CA
Drag Race: Season 7, twelfth place
All Stars: Season 4, tenth place
Jasmine created controversy with the self-published YouTube video RuPaul Dragrace fucked up drag, which claimed the drag scene had gone “downhill†since the show started.
Kennedy Davenport
Age: 36
From: Dallas, TX
Drag Race: Season 7 fourth place.
All Stars: Season 3 runner-up.
Kennedy is known as the “Dancing Diva of Texas,†owing to her acrobatic routines, which include flips and violent leg kicks.
Laila McQueen
Age: 25
From: Gloucester, MA
Drag Race: Season 8, 11th/12th place
Laila was eliminated, along with Dax ExclamationPoint, after a poor performance of “I Will Survive,†by Gloria Gaynor. It was the show’s second double elimination.
Milk
Age: 31
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 6 ninth place.
All Stars: Season 3 ninth place.
Before appearing on Drag Race, Milk was a competitive figure skater and also worked as a merchandising manager at Marc Jacobs in New York City.
Nina Bo’Nina Brown
Age: 36
From: Riverdale, GA
Drag Race: Season 9 sixth place
In episode five, when the contestants were cast in a Kim Kardashian musical, Nina was upset that she got the role of Khloé. Her sour attitude frustrated the other contestants.
Nina Flowers
Age: 45
From: Denver, CO
Drag Race: Season 1 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 1 ninth/tenth place.
Nina is the highest-placing Miss Congeniality in Drag Race history, finishing as a runner-up in season one.
Pandora Boxx
Age: 42
From: Rochester, NY
Drag Race: Season 2 fifth place.
All Stars: Season 1, 11th/12th place.
Pandora drew acclaim for her impersonation of Carol Channing on Snatch Game.
Pearl Liaison
Age: 28
From: Brooklyn, NY
Drag Race: Season 7 runner-up
Pearl was accused of lacking enthusiasm in the first few episodes of season seven but picked up the slack to secure a respectable finish in the competition.
Phi Phi O’Hara
Age: 33
From: Chicago, IL
Drag Race: Season 4 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 2 seventh place.
Phi Phi ended up playing the villain in Drag Race, constantly undermining and strategizing against other opponents.
Roxxxy Andrews
Age: 35
From: Orlando, FL
Drag Race: Season 5 runner-up.
All Stars: Season 2 fourth place.
In a high-concept Drag Race moment, Roxxxy ripped off her wig to reveal another one underneath. Fittingly, she was lip syncing to Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair.â€
*Shuga Cain
Age: 41
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 11 seventh place
Shuga’s favorite challenge was the Rusical, since she’s a “musical-theater queen.â€
Tatianna
Age: 30Â
From: Falls Church, VA
Drag Race: Season 2 fourth place.
All Stars: Season 2 sixth place.
Tatianna was often complimented as the “fishiest†contestant in season two and was highly praised for her Britney Spears performance in Snatch Game.
The Vixen
Age: 28
From: Chicago, IL
Drag Race: Season 10 seventh place
The Vixen, along with several fellow Drag Race contestants, was the inspiration for Marvel’s first drag-queen superhero, aptly named Shade.
Tyra Sanchez
Age: 31
From: Orlando, FL
Drag Race: Season 2 winner
Tyra sparked controversy when she created a fake Facebook post announcing the death of Morgan McMichaels, who was very much alive.
Apparently, it was an attempt to “throw shade†at McMichaels.
Yara Sofia
Age: 35
From: Manati, PR
Drag Race: Season 3 fourth place.
All Stars: Season 1 fifth/sixth place.
Yara won Miss Congeniality in season three. It took ten episodes for her to win her first main challenge, which ties her for the record with Miz Cracker.
The Bottoms
*Ariel Versace
Age: 27
From: Cherry Hill, NY
Drag Race: Season 11, 11th place
Ariel was the first Drag Race contestant to name herself after a Disney princess.
Cynthia Lee Fontaine
Age: 38
From: Austin, TX
Drag Race: Season 8 tenth place; season 9 tenth place.
Cynthia, known for the catch phrase “Cucu,†was voted Miss Congeniality in season eight. She was eliminated in season nine after a poor impersonation of SofÃa Vergara, for which she received criticism from judge Michelle Visage.
Darienne Lake
Age: 47
From: Rochester, NY
Drag Race: Season 6 fourth place
Darienne earned a villainous reputation on Drag Race for her poor attitude and the snarky remarks she made toward other contestants.
*Honey Davenport
Age: 32
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 11, 13th place
Honey was the first contestant ever eliminated in a six-person lip sync. Along with her fellow queens, she synced to Jennifer Lopez’s “Waiting for Tonight.â€
Ivy Winters
Age: 32
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 5 seventh place
Ivy is the sole Miss Congeniality winner to appear on only one season of the show.
Jaidynn Diore Fierce
Age: 30
From: Nashville, TN
Drag Race: Season 7 eighth place
In episode eight, though she gave an admirable effort in the Conjoined Twins challenge (coupled with Tempest DuJour), Jaidynn was ultimately forced to sashay away.
Jaymes Mansfield
Age: 29
From: Milwaukee, WI
Drag Race: Season 9, 14th place
Jaymes is the only contestant in Drag Race history never to compete in a sewing challenge.
Joslyn Fox
Age: 32
From: Worcester, MA
Drag Race: Season 6 sixth place
In episode eight, Joslyn won the mini-challenge in which contestants had to perform stand-up for a crowd of senior citizens.
*Kahanna Montrese
Age: 25
From: Las Vegas, NV
Drag Race: Season 11, 14th place
Kahanna faced criticism from the judges after her zodiac-inspired outfit literally fell apart on the runway.
Kandy Ho
Age: 33
From: Cayey, PR
Drag Race: Season 7 tenth place
In her brief appearance in Drag Race, Kandy had to lip sync for her life three times.
Madame Laqueer
Age: 36
From: Carolina, PR
Drag Race: Season 4 tenth place
Madame was known for uttering the meme-worthy phrase “Are we talking about beavers or … ewww!â€
Mayhem Miller
Age: 37
From: Riverside, CA
Drag Race: Season 10 tenth place
She picked her name while watching the Tommy Lee–Pamela Anderson sex tape. Lee has the word MAYHEM tattooed on his stomach.
*Mercedes Iman Diamond
Age: 32
From: Minneapolis, MN
Drag Race: Season 11, 12th place
Mercedes moved from Kenya to the United States as an 11-year-old.
Mrs. Kasha Davis
Age: 48
From: Rochester, NY
Drag Race: Season 7, 11th place
Mrs. Davis, known as “America’s favorite drag housewife,†lost the lip sync challenge to Kandy Ho. Apparently, upon her elimination, Mr.
Davis had boxed wine chilling for her.
Serena Chacha
Age: 28
From: Tallahassee, FL
Drag Race: Season 5, 13th place
Serena graduated from art school shortly before appearing on Drag Race and often reminded fellow contestants about her academic background. But that knowledge certainly didn’t help her stay in the competition.
Stacy Layne Matthews
Age: 34
From: Back Swamp, NC
Drag Race: Season 3 eighth place
Stacy was the first Native American to compete on Drag Race.
Tempest DuJour
Age: 51
From: Tucson, AZ
Drag Race: Season 7, 14th place
Tempest acts in the theater and chose her first name as a reference to Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Trinity K. Bonet
Age: 28
From: Atlanta, GA
Drag Race: Season 6 seventh place
In the episode “Comedy Queens,†Trinity did a stand-up bit that brought RuPaul to tears. Ru was proud of Trinity’s growth in the competition, but Trinity drew criticism from the judges after botching an interview with Chaz Bono in which she repeatedly called Bono “Chad.â€
Victoria “Porkchop†Parker
Age: 50
From: Raleigh, NC
Drag Race: Season 1 ninth place
Victoria was the first plus-size queen to appear on the show as well as the first contestant to be eliminated.
Yuhua Hamasaki
Age: 28
From: New York, NY
Drag Race: Season 10, 12th place
Yuhua is a native of Guangzhou, China.
*A previous version of this article misstated the venue at which Bianca Del Rio will be performing. Due to a production issue, some descriptions in the online version of the drag rankings were also incorrect. They have since been updated. Drag Race producers were not involved with these rankings.
*A version of this article appears in the June 10, 2019, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!