Childhood & Early Life
RuPaul Andre Charles was born on November 17, 1960, in San Diego, California. He lived with his mother and three sisters after his parents divorced in 1967.
When he turned 15, RuPaul moved to Atlanta with his sister to learn performing arts. His struggle to become a musician and an actor began in the 1980s when he started working as a bar dancer at the ‘Celebrity Club.’
He also worked as a backup singer for Glen Meadmore, along with drag queen Vaginal Davis. He formed a band named ‘Wee Wee Pole’ to start his career as a musician.
He helped in the creation of the low-budget film ‘Starrbooty.’
Continue Reading Below
Career
RuPaul released his debut album, ‘Supermodel of the World,’ in 1993. The first single from the album, ‘Supermodel (You Better Work),’ became an instant hit, bringing RuPaul worldwide recognition.
His next two songs, ‘Back to My Roots’ and ‘A Shade Shady,’ topped the ‘Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play’ chart. After achieving sky-high popularity, RuPaul was signed by ‘MAC’ cosmetics to model for the brand, making him the first-ever drag queen supermodel.
He made his film debut with Spike Lee’s ‘Crooklyn,’ in 1994. He had earlier appeared in a low-budget film, ‘RuPaul Is: Starbooty!,’ also known as ‘Starrbooty.’ He appeared in various TV shows such as ‘Sister Sister’ and ‘In the House.’
In 1995, he appeared in films such as ‘The Brady Bunch Movie,’ ‘Blue in the Face,’ and ‘To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.’
In 1996, he hosted his own talk show, ‘The RuPaul Show,’ broadcast on ‘VH1.’ The show saw him interview celebrities such as Diana Ross, Pat Benatar, Pete Burns, and Cyndi Lauper.
Around the same time, he also co-hosted on ‘WKTU’ radio with Michelle Visage. In one episode, RuPaul talked about gays and the ‘LGBT’ community.
He released his next album, ‘Foxy Lady,’ which failed to reach the top spot of noteworthy music charts. However, his first single from the album, ‘Snapshot,’ climbed to the fourth spot on the ‘Hot Dance Music/Club Play’ chart. He released his third album, ‘Ho Ho Ho,’ in 1997.
Continue Reading Below
He released his next album, ‘Red Hot,’ in 2004. In the beginning, the album did not get much publicity, and RuPaul expressed his disappointment with the entertainment industry, especially with the gay press.
However, the album returned to top the dance charts of the US, with the single ‘Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous’ hitting number 2. In 2006, he released his first remix album, ‘ReWorked.’
In 2008, he started working on his reality TV game series, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ where a panel of experienced judges was to select the next “drag superstar of America.” The show went on air in 2009.This was the actual breakthrough of ‘RuPaul’ in the industry, as he became popular as a staunch supporter of the ‘LGBT’ community.
The show’s popularity led to the making of its spin-offs, namely, ‘RuPaul’s Drag U’ (2010–2012) and ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ (2012–present). In 2011, he released ‘Glamazon,’ his sixth album.
His next album, ‘Born Naked,’ was released in 2014 and reached the fourth spot on the ‘US Billboard’ dance chart. His other noteworthy albums were ‘Realness’ (2015), ‘Slay Belles’ (2015), ‘Butch Queen’ (2016), ‘Remember Me : Essential, Vol. 1’ (2017), ‘Remember Me: Essential Vol.2’ (2017), and ‘American’ (2017).
He appeared in a number of popular TV shows in the 1990s, such as ‘Nash Bridges’ (1996) and ‘Sabrina, The Teenage Witch’ (1998). He also appeared in ‘Ugly Betty’ (2010), ‘Mystery Girls’ (2014), ‘The Muppets’ (2016), ‘2 Broke Girls’ (2017), ‘Girlboss’ (2017), and ‘Drag Race Thailand’ (2018).
He appeared as a judge in shows such as ‘Project Runway’ (2008)’ and The Face’ (2014). He is also known for hosting the TV game show ‘Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul’ (2016).
RuPaul has appeared as an actor in films such as ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’(1999), ‘The Truth About Jane’ (2000), ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (2005), ‘Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild’ (2008), and ‘Hurricane Bianca’ (2016).
Awards & Achievements
In 1999, he won the ‘GLAAD Media Award’ for working toward strengthening ‘LGBT’ rights. In 2010, he won another ‘GLAAD Media Award’ for ‘Outstanding Reality Program’ for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’
In 2012, he received a ‘Critics’ Choice’ nomination for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ in the ‘Best Reality Show Host’ category. He won the ‘TV.com’s Best of 2012 Award’ for the ‘Best Reality Show Judge/Host.’
In 2013, he was named the ‘Best Dressed Reality TV Judge’ by ‘Entertainment Weekly’ for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ He won two ‘Primetime Emmy Awards,’ in 2016 and 2017 respectively, for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’
He received a “star” at the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ on March 16, 2018. He became the first drag queen to receive this honor.
His autobiography, ‘Lettin’ It All Hang Out: An Autobiography,’ was published in 1995. His other book, ‘Workin’ It! RuPaul’s Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style,’ was published in 2010.
