RuPaul — Movies, TV Shows & Roles

Producer · Actor · Writer

1960-11-17 · San Diego · Male

100 series in the catalog

RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race and has received several accolades, including 14 Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, in addition to two Billboard Music Awards, a Critics' Choice Television Award, five GLAAD Media Awards, and a Guinness World Records title. 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." In 2017, RuPaul was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
Born and raised in San Diego, California, RuPaul studied performing arts in Atlanta, Georgia, before relocating to New York City, where he became a popular fixture on the LGBTQ nightclub scene. He achieved international fame as a drag queen with the release of his debut single, "Supermodel (You Better Work)" (1993). 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 eighteen 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). There are also several spin-offs of the main show, such as 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.
RuPaul has made appearances in films, including Crooklyn (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (both 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). As a recording artist, RuPaul has released fifteen studio albums. He 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).
Early life
RuPaul was born in San Diego on November 17, 1960, the son of Ernestine "Toni" (née Fontenette) and Irving Andrew Charles. His parents were both from Louisiana. He was named by his mother; "Ru" came from roux, the French term for the base of gumbo and other creole stews and soups. According to DNA analysis by Finding Your Roots staff, his ancestry is 70% African and 30% European.
RuPaul was raised in a Catholic household and grew up poor in a "broken home" with an absent father and volatile mother. After his mother discovered his father was having an affair, she poured gasoline on his car and attempted to set the house on fire. He described this traumatic event as a "pivotal moment" which caused him to dissociate from his body and deeply impacted him. After his parents divorced in 1967, he and his three sisters lived with their mother. He attended Patrick Henry High School but dropped out in 10th grade. At 15, RuPaul and his sister Renetta moved to Atlanta, where they studied performing arts.
Career
1980–1995: Beginnings and Supermodel of the World
RuPaul struggled as a musician and filmmaker during the 1980s, working at Atlanta's Plaza Theatre. In 1982, he debuted on an Atlanta public access variety show called The American Music Show, and went on to appear on the show frequently. He also took part in underground cinema, helping create the low-budget film Star Booty and an album of the same name. In Atlanta he often performed at the Celebrity Club, managed by Larry Tee, as a bar dancer or with his band, Wee Wee Pole. RuPaul also performed as a backup singer to Glen Meadmore along with drag queen Vaginal Davis. His first prominent national exposure came in 1989, when he danced as an extra in the video for The B-52s' "Love Shack", and also appeared in Tom Rubnitz's video "Pickle Surprise".
In the early 1990s, RuPaul worked the Georgia club scene and was known by his full birth name. Initially participating in gender bender-style performances, he performed solo and in collaboration with other bands at several New York City nightclubs, most notably the Pyramid Club. He played opposite New York City drag performer Mona Foot (Nashom Benjamin) in the one-act science-fiction parody "My Pet Homo", written and directed by Jon Michael Johnson for Cooper Square Productions. He performed for many years at the annual Wigstock drag festival and appeared in the documentary Wigstock: The Movie. In the 1990s, RuPaul appeared on the UK Channel 4 series Manhattan Cable, a weekly series produced by World of Wonder and presented by American Laurie Pike about New York's public-access television system.
In 1993, RuPaul recorded the dance/house album Supermodel of the World. It was released through the rap label Tommy Boy, spawning the dance track hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)". The song peaked at 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. It charted on the UK Singles Chart, peaking on the top 40 at 39. The song found the most success on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where it peaked at 2. Radio airplay, heavy rotation of the music video on MTV, and television appearances on popular programs like The Arsenio Hall Show popularized the song. His next two singles/videos, "Back to My Roots" and "A Shade Shady (Now Prance)", both went to the top spot on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. His following release "House of Love" failed to place on any U.S. charts but peaked at 68 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1994, he released "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", a duet with Elton John.
RuPaul was signed to a modeling contract for MAC Cosmetics. Various billboards featured him in full drag, often with the text "I am the MAC girl". He also released his autobiography, Lettin' It All Hang Out. He promoted the book in part with a 1995 guest appearance on ABC's All My Children, in a storyline that put it on the set of Erica Kane's talk show "The Cutting Edge". The same year, he was featured in his first of two appearances in the Brady Bunch movies, in which he played Jan's female guidance counselor.
In 1994 he had a duet with Elton John who was of the superguests of the Sanremo Festival in Italy as superguests, one of the main festivals worldwide; the permance generated both positive and concerned reactions from the public.
1996–2007: Foxy Lady and Red Hot
In 1996, he landed a talk show of his own on VH1, called The RuPaul Show interviewing celebrity guests and musical acts. Cher, Diana Ross, Nirvana, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Mary J. Blige, Bea Arthur, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton-John, Beenie Man, Pete Burns, Bow Wow Wow, and the Backstreet Boys were notable guests. His co-host was Michelle Visage with whom he also co-hosted on WKTU radio. On one episode, RuPaul featured guests Chi Chi LaRue and Tom Chase speaking about the gay porn industry.
Later in the year he released his second album, Foxy Lady, this time on the L.A.-based Rhino Records label. The album failed to chart on the Billboard 200. However, its first single "Snapshot" went to number four on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also enjoyed limited mainstream success, charting at 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, which was his second and final solo Hot 100 entry to date. The album's second single "A Little Bit of Love" was not as successful, peaking at 28 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. During this time, RuPaul hosted a…