Meet RuPaul, The Famous Drag Queen On The Planet.

RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960), known professionally by his mononym RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, television personality, and recording artist. Since 2009, he has hosted and produced the drag queen reality show RuPaul's Drag Race, for which he won an Emmy in 2016. Other than his height, a considerable 6′7″, RuPaul is an average-looking man with a pleasant, freckled face and an open smile. Dressed as a woman, with heels and bouffant hair, he is over seven feet tall and is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Despite the fact that society frowns on cross dressing, RuPaul has battled seemingly impossible odds to become an internationally famous pop culture icon. “He is,” wrote Mim Udovitch in Rolling Stone, “…this nation’s preeminent drag queen pop star.” Although he seems suddenly ubiquitous, an overnight sensation, RuPaul’s rise to stardom was over a decade in the making, and a goal he has had resolutely in sight since childhood. A relentless self-promoter, RuPaul has engineered a multimedia career as an actor, singer, author, talk show host, radio DJ, and product pitchperson.

His phenomenal success is due in part to the spectacular illusion of femininity he creates in a three-hour transformation, but also owes much to his own bubbly personality. “I’m not the greatest actor, singer, or even drag queen,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “I knew my biggest asset was my personality, but people couldn’t see me just as I am.” He explained a significant factor of his appeal to Liz Smith in In teruiew.“I think I’ve been able to slip through [to the mainstream],” he said, “because I’ve taken some of the sexuality out. Also, drag queens are known as bitchy-and I’m not.” Citing Diana Ross as his number-one influence and stating that beauty knows no pain, it usually takes RuPaul three hours to transform himself into his glamorous alter ego. This process includes extensive shaving, crotch-tucking panties,😐 a corset that nips his waist in, and careful makeup. RuPaul is noted among drag queens for his indifference toward the gender-specific pronouns used to address him—both "he" and "she" have been deemed acceptable, as stated in his autobiography: "You can call me he. You can call me she. You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don't care! Just as long as you call me.RuPaul has also played men in a number of roles, and makes public appearances both in and out of drag. In 1999, RuPaul was awarded the Vito Russo Award at the GLAAD Media Awards for work in promoting equality in the LGBT community.