List of RuPaul's Drag Race contestants

This is a list of contestants who have appeared on the American television show RuPaul's Drag Race. Contestants compete against each other and are progressively eliminated, until just a winner remains, who is crowned "next drag superstar". They are judged by drag queen RuPaul and her panel of judges. The series first aired in 2009 and as of 2015, there have been seven seasons that have aired. A total of 88 different participants have been selected as finalists in the show in its seven years running, with seven drag queens - BeBe Zahara Benet, Tyra Sanchez, Raja, Sharon Needles, Jinkx Monsoon, Bianca Del Rio, and Violet Chachki being crowned "America's Next Drag Superstar". In addition, an All-Stars season aired in 2012 featuring twelve returning contestants from the first four seasons, each competing for a place in the "Drag Race Hall of Fame". The season was won by Chad Michaels, previously a runner-up in season four.

Contestants usually apply to be on the show, or attend casting calls, but the series has been known to recruit contestants via online casting. Season 1 contestant Nina Flowers, season 2 contestant Jessica Wild, season 5 contestant Penny Tration, and season 6 contestant Darienne Lake were all selected to participate by an audience vote via the show's official website. RuPaul and Santino Rice personally chose season 3 contestants Venus D-Lite and Delta Work at an open casting call in Hollywood. All contestants selected must be 21 years of age or older at the time of taping.

Some contestants have identified as transgender during or after the competition. Season 2 contestant Sonique, season 3 contestant Carmen Carrera, season 4 contestant Kenya Michaels , season 5 contestant Monica Beverly Hillz and season 6 contestant Gia Gunn are the series' only transgender participants. Sonique, Carmen, and Kenya competed while self-identifying as males and began self-identifying as transgender females after their respective eliminations, while Monica is the only contestant in the history of the competition to participate while already self-identifying as female. Monica confirmed in an interview that the show does not require contestants to identify as male and that transgender females can participate if they still consider themselves drag artists.^[1]

Currently, the first and only contestant to pass away is season 2 contestant Sahara Davenport, who died in October 2012 at age 27.^[2] Davenport was in a long-term relationship with season 3 contestant Manila Luzon at the time.

Contestants

RuPaul's Drag Race

Ongina from Season 1 was later featured on the spinoff series RuPaul's Drag U

Pandora Boxx from Season 2 won Miss Congeniality and also won Most Vivacious Professor on RuPaul's Drag U's first season

Raja was crowned the winner of season 3 in April 2011. He is the first Asian American winner, the first non African American winner, and the oldest winner crowned.

Willam Belli, from season 4, is the first, and only, contestant on the show to be disqualified for breaking the rules of the competition.

Alyssa Edwards competed on season 5 of the program, and is soon to get her own televised spin-off.

Adore Delano competed on season 6 of the program, finishing as joint runner up to Bianca Del Rio with Courtney Act.

Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova, known mononymously as Katya on the show, was Miss Congeniality on the 7th season.

     The contestant was chosen to be a contestant on the show via online voting.

     The contestant was voted "Miss Congeniality".

     The contestant was previously eliminated but was asked to return to the competition.

     The contestant was chosen to be a participant in more than one season.

     The contestant was disqualified for breaking the rules.

Season	Drag Name	Real Name	Age^1	Hometown	Finish
1	Victoria "Porkchop" Parker	Victor Bowling	39	Raleigh, NC	9th
	Tammie Brown	Keith Glenshuber	26	Los Angeles, CA	8th
	Akashia	Eric Flint	24	Cleveland, OH	7th
	Jade	David Sotomayor	25	Chicago, IL	6th
	Ongina	Ryan Ong Palao	26	Los Angeles, CA	5th
	Shannel	Bryan Watkins	26	Las Vegas, NV	4th
	Rebecca Glasscock	Javier Rivera	26	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	3rd
	Nina Flowers	Jorge Luis Flores Sánchez	34	Bayamón, PR	Runner-up
	BeBe Zahara Benet	Nea Marshall Kudi	28	Minneapolis, MN	Winner
2	Shangela Laquifa Wadley	D.J. Pierce	28	Paris, TX	12th
	Nicole Paige Brooks	Bryan Christopher	36	Atlanta, GA	11th
	Mystique Summers Madison	Donté Sims	25	Chicago, IL	10th
	Sonique^1	Kylie Love^2	26	Atlanta, GA	9th
	Morgan McMichaels	Thomas Hawkins	28	Mira Loma, CA	8th
	Sahara Davenport^2	Antoine Ashley	25	New York, NY	7th
	Jessica Wild	José David Sierra	29	San Juan, PR	6th
	Pandora Boxx	Michael Steck	37	Rochester, NY	5th
	Tatianna	Joey Santolini	21	Falls Church, VA	4th
	Jujubee	Airline Inthyrath	25	Boston, MA	3rd
	Raven	David Petruschin	30	Riverside, CA	Runner-up
	Tyra Sanchez	James Ross	21	Orlando, FL	Winner
3	Venus D-Lite	Adam Guerra	26	Los Angeles, CA	13th
	Phoenix	Brian Trapp	29	Atlanta, GA	12th
	Mimi Imfurst	Braden Chapman	27	New York, NY	11th
	India Ferrah	Shane Richardson	23	Dayton, OH	10th
	Mariah	Elijah Kelly	29	Atlanta, GA	9th
	Stacy Layne Matthews	Ron Jones	25	Back Swamp, NC	8th
	Delta Work	Gabriel Villarreal	34	Norwalk, CA	7th
	Carmen Carrera^1	Carmen Carrera^3	25	Elmwood Park, NJ	6th, 5th^4
	Shangela Laquifa Wadley	D.J. Pierce	29	Paris, TX	5th
	Yara Sofia	Gabriel Burgos Ortiz	26	Manatí, PR	4th
	Alexis Mateo	Alexis Mateo Pacheco	30	Saint Petersburg, FL	3rd
	Manila Luzon	Karl Westerberg	28	New York, NY	Runner-up
	Raja	Sutan Amrull	36	Los Angeles, CA	Winner
4	Alisa Summers	Alex Hernandez	23	Tampa, FL	13th
	Lashauwn Beyond	Jamall Jackson	21	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	12th
	The Princess	Adam Biga	32	Chicago, IL	11th
	Madame LaQueer	Carlos Melendez	29	Carolina, PR	10th
	Kenya Michaels^1	Kenya Michaels	21	Dorado, PR	9th, 5th^5
	Milan	Dwayne Cooper	36	New York, NY	8th
	Jiggly Caliente	Paulo Arabejo	30	Queens, NY	7th
	Willam	Willam Belli	29	Los Angeles, CA	6th
	Dida Ritz	Xavier Hairston	25	Chicago, IL	5th
	Latrice Royale	Timothy Wilcots	39	South Beach, FL	4th
	Phi Phi O'Hara	Jaremi Carey	25	Chicago, IL	Runner-up^8
	Chad Michaels	Chad Michaels	40	San Diego, CA
	Sharon Needles	Aaron Coady	29	Pittsburgh, PA	Winner
5	Penny Tration	Tony Cody	39	Cincinnati, OH	14th
	Serena ChaCha	Myron Morgan	21	Tallahassee, FL	13th
	Monica Beverly Hillz^1	Juan DeJesus Anaya	27	Owensboro, KY	12th
	Honey Mahogany	Alpha Mulugeta	29	San Francisco, CA	11th/10th^6
	Vivienne Pinay	Michael Donehoo	26	New York, NY
	Lineysha Sparx	Andy Trinidad	24	San Juan, PR	9th
	Jade Jolie	Josh Green	25	Gainesville, FL	8th
	Ivy Winters	Dustin Winters	26	New York, NY	7th
	Alyssa Edwards	Justin Johnson[3]	32	Mesquite, TX	6th
	Coco Montrese	Martin Cooper	37	Las Vegas, NV	5th
	Detox	Matthew Sanderson	27	Los Angeles, CA	4th
	Roxxxy Andrews	Michael Feliciano	28	Orlando, FL	Runner-up^8
	Alaska	Justin Honard	27	Pittsburgh, PA
	Jinkx Monsoon	Jerick Hoffer	24	Seattle, WA	Winner
6	Kelly Mantle	Kelly Mantle	37	Los Angeles, CA	14th/13th^9
	Magnolia Crawford	Reynolds Engelhart	27	Seattle, WA
	Vivacious	Osmond	40	New York, NY	12th
	April Carrión	Jason Carrión	24	Guaynabo, PR	11th
	Gia Gunn	Scotty Ichikawa	23	Chicago, IL	10th
	Milk	Dan Donigan	25	New York, NY	9th
	Laganja Estranja	Jay Jackson	24	Van Nuys, CA	8th
	Trinity K. Bonet	Joshua Jones	22	Atlanta, GA	7th
	Joslyn Fox	Patrick Joslyn	26	Worcester, MA	6th
	BenDeLaCreme	Benjamin Putnam	31	Seattle, WA	5th
	Darienne Lake	Greg Meyer	41	Rochester, NY	4th
	Courtney Act	Shane Jenek	31	West Hollywood, CA	Runner-up^8
	Adore Delano	Danny Noriega	23	Azusa, CA
	Bianca Del Rio	Roy Haylock	36	New York, NY	Winner
7	Tempest DuJour	Patrick Holt	46	Tucson, AZ	14th
	Sasha Belle	Jared Breakenridge	28	Iowa City, IA	13th
	Jasmine Masters	Martell Robinson	37	Los Angeles, CA	12th
	Mrs. Kasha Davis	Ed Popil	43	Rochester, NY	11th
	Kandy Ho	Frank Diaz	28	Cayey, PR	10th
	Max	Max Malanaphy	22	Hudson, WI	9th
	Jaidynn Diore Fierce	Christopher Williams	25	Nashville, TN	8th
	Miss Fame	Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen	29	New York, NY	7th
	Trixie Mattel	Brian Firkus	24	Milwaukee, WI	6th
	Katya	Brian McCook	32	Boston, MA	5th
	Kennedy Davenport	Reuben Asberry, Jr.	33	Dallas, TX	4th
	Pearl	Matt James	23	Brooklyn, NY	Runner-up^8
	Ginger Minj	Joshua Eads-Brown	29	Orlando, FL
	Violet Chachki	Jason Dardo	22	Atlanta, GA	Winner
8	Laila McQueen	Tyler Devlin	22	Gloucester, MA	12th/11th^10
	Dax ExclamationPoint	Dax Martin	31	Savannah, GA
	Cynthia Lee Fontaine	Carlos Hernandez	34	Austin, TX	10th
	Naysha Lopez	Fabian Rodriguez	31	Chicago, IL	9th
	Acid Betty	Benjamin Ruhren	37	Brooklyn, NY	8th
	Robbie Turner	Jeremy Wikander	33	Seattle, WA	7th
	Thorgy Thor	Shane Galligan	31	Brooklyn, NY	6th
	Derrick Barry	Derrick Barry	32	Las Vegas, NV	5th
	Chi Chi DeVayne	Zavion Davenport	30	Shreveport, LA	TBA
	Kim Chi	Sang-young Shin	27	Chicago, IL	TBA
	Naomi Smalls	Davis Heppenstall	21	Redlands, CA	TBA
	Bob The Drag Queen	Christopher Caldwell	29	New York, NY	TBA

¹ Came out as a transgender female during/after the show. ² Passed away since appearing on the show.

RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race

Contestants from seasons 1-4 returned to compete in RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race. Contestants competed in pairs until only two teams remained, with the final four contestants then competing as individuals. The last two Racers competed against each other to be the first inductee to the RuPaul's Drag Race Hall of Fame. The All Star Racers were:

Chad Michaels was a runner-up from season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race, but went on to win All Stars.

     The contestant was chosen to be a contestant on the show via online voting.

Drag Name	Real Name	Age^1	Hometown	Finish
Mimi Imfurst	Braden Chapman	29	New York, NY	12th/11th
Pandora Boxx	Michael Steck	39	Rochester, NY
Tammie Brown	Keith Glen Schubert	31	Los Angeles, CA	10th/9th
Nina Flowers	Jorge Luis Flores Sánchez	38	Denver, CO
Latrice Royale	Timothy Wilcots	40	South Beach, FL	8th/7th
Manila Luzon	Karl Westerberg	31	New York, NY
Alexis Mateo	Alexis Mateo Pacheco	32	Saint Petersburg, FL	6th/5th
Yara Sofia	Gabriel Burgos Ortiz	28	Manatí, PR
Shannel	Bryan Watkins	32	Las Vegas, NV	4th^7
Jujubee	Airline Inthyrath	28	Boston, MA	3rd^7
Raven	David Petruschin	33	Riverside, CA	Runner-up
Chad Michaels	Chad Michaels	41	San Diego, CA	Winner

Team Mandora      Team Brown Flowers      Team Latrila

Team Yarlexis      Team Rujubee      Team Shad

RuPaul's Drag U

From 2010 to 2012, Logo aired a spin-off to Drag Race entitled "RuPaul's Drag U". The series saw members of the public receive drag-inspired makeovers from selected memorable contestants from Drag Race. Following the completion of its third season, it was revealed that Drag U would not be returning. The contestants selected to return as "professors" were:

Professors	Season			Appearances	RuPaul's Drag Race Season
	1	2	3
Raven				12	Season 2 – Runner-up All-Stars - Runner-up
Jujubee				12	Season 2 – 3rd Place All Stars – 3rd Place
Pandora Boxx				10	Season 2 – 5th Place & Miss Congeniality All Stars – 12th/11th Place
Shannel				8	Season 1 – 4th Place All Stars – 4th Place
Morgan McMichaels				5	Season 2 – 8th place
Ongina			N	5	Season 1 – 5th Place
Tammie Brown		N	N	1	Season 1 – 8th Place All Stars – 10th/9th Place
Nina Flowers		N	N	1	Season 1 – Runner-up & Miss Congeniality All Stars – 10th/9th Place
Manila Luzon	N			4	Season 3 – Runner-up All Stars – 8th/7th Place
Mariah	N			4	Season 3 – 9th Place
BeBe Zahara Benet	N		N	2	Season 1 – Winner
Carmen Carrera	N		N	2	Season 3 – 5th Place
Tyra Sanchez	N		N	1	Season 2 – Winner
Latrice Royale	N	N		3	Season 4 – 4th Place & Miss Congeniality AllStars – 8th/7th Place
Chad Michaels	N	N		2	Season 4 – Runner-up All Stars – Winner
Raja	N	N		2	Season 3 – Winner
Alexis Mateo	N	N		1	Season 3 – 3rd Place All Stars – 6th/5th Place
Delta Work	N	N		1	Season 3 – 7th Place
Sharon Needles	N	N		1	Season 4 – Winner
Willam	N	N		1	Season 4 – 6th Place

Notes

^1 Contestants' ages are at the time of their respective season's filming.

^2 Sonique entered the competition prior to transitioning. After being eliminated, she began her transition to live full-time as female. She maintains Sonique as a stage name, but has legally changed her name to Kylie Sonique Love.

^3 Carmen entered the competition amidst transitioning, stopping treatment just before and during her time on the show to meet the requirements to compete. After being eliminated, she began her transition to live full-time as female. She now goes by Carmen Carrera both professionally and personally.

^4 Carmen was originally eliminated in 6th place, before Shangela (who went home in 5th place). Since she was brought back after Shangela's elimination, she also holds the spot for 5th place.

^5 Kenya was originally eliminated in 9th place, before Dida (who went home in 5th place). Since she was brought back after Dida's elimination, she also holds the spot for 5th place.

^6 Vivienne and Honey were both eliminated in the same episode, placing them both in the 10th/11th finishing place.

^7 Though Jujubee and Shannel were not eliminated as a team, they were eliminated at the same time, placing them both in the 3rd/4th finishing place.

^8 Starting from season 4, the winner was chosen from the final three contestants, and no specific position was announced between the remaining two. Thus, the two losing finalists are both listed as runner-up.

^9 In season 6, there were two opening episodes, Kelly and Magnolia were eliminated in their respective openings, before the contestants merged into one group, placing them both in the 14th/13th finishing place.

^10 Laila and Dax were both eliminated in the same episode, placing them both in the 11th/12th finishing place

References

1. Stransky, Tanner. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' react: Monica Beverly Hillz talks to EW about her shocking runway revelation". Entertainment Weekly. Time, Inc. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
2. Grossberg, Josh. "Sahara Davenport, RuPaul's Drag Race Contestant, Dead at 27". E! Online. NBC Universal. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
3. Register of Suspended Contestants/Affiliates, Miss Gay America