Even on RuPaul’s Drag Race, a monumental television that showcases the wonderful world of drag, diversity and well-rounded representation matters. The show has featured a number of talented and beautiful Black drag queens from across America. Although Black and brown activists were at the very heart of the movement that paved the way for a production like Drag Race, Black queens have faced a significant brunt of the Drag Race fandom hate. Today, we celebrate some of the wonderful Black drag queens who have graced our TV screens and are succeeding even after their time on Drag Race.
Shea Couleé
Many think Couleé was robbed of the crown in Season 9 after the Drag Race producers introduced a lip sync battle to decide the winner instead of going off points accumulated, as they did with seasons before. However, she went on to be RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 5 winner. Couleé co-produced, directed, and starred in their own film Lipstick City in July 2017 and is also one of the queens to have walked at the second annual Savage X Fenty Show. She has appeared in the music video for Iggy Azalea’s “Sally Walker”, appeared in a Huda Beauty campaign, and in May 2020, she announced the release of Shea Coul-Alé, a beer in collaboration with DoStuff Media and Goose Island Brewery as a part of their Drag a Beer campaign. A portion of all the profits went to an organization that supports individuals within the LGBTQ community.
Shangela
Despite not winning Drag Race on Season 2, Season 3, and All-Stars Season 3, Shangela’s success has been amazing to watch. She starred as Lady Gaga’s drag mother in the Oscar-nominated movie A Star Is Born, hosted the GLAAD Awards (where she got a standing ovation from Beyoncé), and recently graced the red carpet at the 91st Academy Awards with the sensational Jenifer Lewis. Shangela has taken her brand to another level and there is nothing she cannot do.
Monet X Change
Season 10’s Miss Congeniality, Monet X Change, is a stand-out queen still on the incline of her mainstream appeal. Gaining a name for herself before Drag Race in the NY drag scene, Monét eventually returned on All-Stars Season 4 and won alongside Trinity The Tuck in the series’ first-ever double-win. She is the first Black queen in the Hall of Fame. She was also a part of the hit Pepsi ad with rapper Cardi B in February 2019. Monet and her drag sister, Bob The Drag Queen, have a podcast and YouTube channel called Sibling Rivalry, which passed the 100k subscriber milestone last year.
Latrice Royale
One of only three queens to be on Drag Race three times, Miss Congeniality of season 4 Latrice Royale has worked pretty much constantly since first appearing on the show, including multiple international tours with Werq the World and Haters Roast. She’s also a manager for other notable queens such as Kennedy Davenport and Alexis Mateo. “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,” said Royale in an interview with Vulture.
Bob The Drag Queen
Bob The Drag Queen’s unabashed confidence won her the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” on season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. As of 2020, she has more than one million followers on Instagram and was the first Black Drag Race queen to reach the milestone. Bob has a burgeoning career as an actor with credits in Rough Night, High Maintenance, A Black Lady Sketch Show and Netflix’s Tales of the City as well as hosting We’re Here on HBO alongside fellow Drag Race contestants Shangela and Eureka O’Hara. In an effort to bring more awareness to Black queer lives, Bob, alongside fellow Drag Race contestant Peppermint, hosted the first Black Queer Town Hall between June 19–21 2020, in association with GLAAD and New York Pride.
Naomi Smalls
Naomi Smalls is known for her long legs like legendary model Naomi Campbell, who inspired part of the queen’s name. After being on Drag Race, she worked with her fellow Season 8 sister KimChi on a collaborative makeup collection called 2 Queens In 1 Desert that has an eyeshadow palette, a cheek palette, and two liquid eyeshadows. In February 2018, Smalls did an interview with Cardi B for Cosmopolitan and is one of the few drag queens to take us through her skin care and makeup routine on Vogue’s YouTube channel.
Symone
The Ebony Enchantress, Symone, is the latest winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and boy, did she make a name for herself on the show with stunning runway looks. Symone highlighted a lot of Black culture in her runway looks, like wearing a dramatic durag and a dress made entirely of acrylic nails. Symone received media attention for her runway dress worn on Episode 9: a white faux leather dress with exaggerated hips, red crystal bullet holes on the back, and a white headpiece emblazoned with Say Their Names. We cannot wait to see what this queen will achieve with this new fame for Black queer people.
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Boitumelo Masihleho is a South African digital content creator. She graduated with a Bachlor of Arts from Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies and Politics and International Studies. She’s an experienced multimedia journalist who is committed to writing balanced, informative and interesting stories on a number of topics. Boitumelo has her own YouTube channel where she shares her love for affordable beauty and lifestyle content.
