RuPaul Andre Charles
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RuPaul, born November 17, 1960, is an American drag queen and television personality known for hosting RuPaul’s Drag Race since 2009. He has won 14 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most for a reality-competition host, and a Tony Award for producing A Strange Loop in 2022. With 18 studio albums and four books, including the #1 NYT bestseller The House of Hidden Meanings 2024, he is the most commercially successful drag queen of all time.
Names, aliases, and relatives of RuPaul — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
RuPaul by the numbers — life, work, and family.
RuPaul — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
RuPaul Andre Charles was born on November 17, 1960, in San Diego, California. He attended Gompers Preparatory Academy and Patrick Henry High School before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, to study performing arts at North Atlanta High School. This early training in theater and music set the foundation for his future career in entertainment.
RuPaul first gained national attention with the 1993 single Supermodel You Better Work, which topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. In 1995, he became the first male spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics, raising millions for the MAC AIDS Fund.
In 2009, RuPaul launched RuPaul’s Drag Race, a reality competition that became a cultural phenomenon. The show has produced 16 seasons, multiple spin-offs including RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2012 and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK 2019, and earned RuPaul 14 Primetime Emmy Awards, making him the most awarded host in the category.
As a recording artist, RuPaul has released 18 studio albums, including Foxy Lady 1996, Champion 2009, Glamazon 2011, Born Naked 2014, American 2017, and Black Butta 2023. He has also appeared in over 50 films and TV shows, such as To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar 1995 and Broad City 2014, and hosted Saturday Night Live in 2020.
RuPaul married Australian rancher Georges LeBar in 2017 after meeting at Limelight Disco in New York City in 1994. The couple splits their time between homes in New York, California, and Wyoming. Through the show Finding Your Roots, it was discovered that RuPaul is a cousin of U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
Time magazine named RuPaul in its 100 most influential people list in 2017, and he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. He added a Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer of A Strange Loop in 2022. Credited with bringing drag into the mainstream, RuPaul holds the title of most commercially successful drag queen of all time, a legacy defined by the global impact of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Browse the complete filmography of RuPaul — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by RuPaul — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
RuPaul's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from RuPaul — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
If You Can’t Love Yourself, How in the Hell You Gonna Love Somebody Else?
I Do Not Impersonate Females! How Many Women Do You Know Who Wear Seven Inch Heels, Four Foot Wigs, and Skintight Dresses?
I Was Having Breakfast in the Presidential Suite of the Century Plaza Hotel Courtesy of the John & Leeza Show When the Phone Rang and It Was My Manager. He Told Me That Elton John Wanted to Include Me on His Upcoming Duets Album and Was I Interested? I Said, Hold on One Minute. the Size of the Suite Gave Me the Opportunity to Flail My Arms Around While Running Back and Forth Screaming Oh My God, Elton John! Oh My God, Elton John! I Must Have Screamed for a Good Five Minutes Before I Got Back on the Line and Answered Nonchalantly, Sure.
Doing What I Do for a Living Has Never Been Easy. I’ve Had to Fight Countless Battles in This Game That the Public Has No Idea Ever Happened. But, I Just Pick Myself up and Carry On, I Carry On.
I’ve Dedicated My Career to Fighting the Mundane. My Hope Is That My Career Will Be a Shining Example to Children Everywhere That Life Is More Meaningful When You Are Not Afraid to See All Colors of the Rainbow.
Remember, This Country Was Founded by a Bunch of Men Wearing Wigs.
Good Luck… and Don’t Fuck It Up!
Little-known facts about RuPaul — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
While appearing on Finding Your Roots in 2012, RuPaul learned he is a cousin of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.
RuPaul surprised the audience at the 2000 VH1 Divas special honoring Diana Ross, performing I’m Coming Out alongside Donna Summer, Faith Hill, Destiny’s Child, and Mariah Carey.
A wax figure of RuPaul was unveiled at Madame Tussaud’s New York City museum during the week of his 40th birthday in 2000.
RuPaul has cited Elvira: Mistress of the Dark from 1988 as one of his favorite films.
On March 16, 2018, RuPaul received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6652 Hollywood Boulevard, for his contributions to television.
RuPaul counts actress Jane Lynch among his close friends.
RuPaul achieved four number-one singles on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart from his debut album: Supermodel You Better Work, A Shade Shadey Now Prance, Back to My Roots, and House of Love.
RuPaul is often called the most successful drag queen in American history, credited with bringing drag into the mainstream through his early chart-topping singles.
In 2002, RuPaul collaborated with actress Brigitte Nielsen on the dance-pop track You’re No Lady, released under the name Gitte.
RuPaul portrayed the Queen of Hearts in Pirelli’s 2018 calendar.
In 1990, nightclub owners and DJs voted RuPaul the Queen of Manhattan.
RuPaul made a cameo in the 1989 music video for Love Shack by the B-52’s.
RuPaul has shared the screen with Stockard Channing in four films: Smoke 1995, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar 1995, An Unexpected Life 1998, and The Truth About Jane 2000.
RuPaul possesses a lyric baritone vocal range spanning three octaves.
Entertainment Television ranked RuPaul number 85 on its list of 101 Reasons The 90’s Ruled.
RuPaul appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in June 2017 and on the cover of New York Times Magazine in January 2018.
RuPaul was a producer of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical A Strange Loop in 2022.
Taylor Dayne covered RuPaul’s hit Supermodel You Better Work for the 2003 film The Lizzie McGuire Movie, with modified lyrics for a younger audience.
RuPaul remains close friends with Michelle Visage, who frequently appears as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about RuPaul.
Celebrities similar to RuPaul — same craft, ranked by reach.
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