1960-present
Who Is RuPaul?
Drag queen RuPaul is an actor, singer, and television host known for the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race and its numerous spinoffs, including All Stars. After becoming known as the Queen of New York for his local drag performances,, RuPaul rose to fame in the early 1990s with the release of hit song “Supermodel (You Better Work).” He soon began a career in acting, making his first film appearance in Spike Lee’s Crooklyn. Securing a number of TV and movie appearances with his oversized personality, RuPaul got his own talk show called The RuPaul Show on VH1 in 1997. Though short-lived, this eventually gave way to the now iconic competition series, RuPaul’s Drag Race, which premiered in 2009. Since then, Drag Race has propelled RuPaul to stardom and inspired a number of spinoff shows along the way.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: RuPaul Andre Charles
BORN: November 17, 1960
BIRTHPLACE: San Diego, California
SPOUSE: Georges LeBar (2017-present)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Scorpio
Early Life
RuPaul Andre Charles on November 17, 1960, in San Diego, California. His parents divorced when RuPaul was seven, and he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with his sister and her husband during his teens. RuPaul was the only boy of his parents’ four children and eventually began wearing his sisters’ clothes and exploring cross-dressing, emulating stars like Diana Ross and Jane Fonda in his youth.
In Atlanta, RuPaul attended the Northside School of Performing Arts, and although he didn’t graduate, it was a big step toward getting his feet wet in the world of performance and, in the end, show business. In 1982, RuPaul took the next step and sent a photo of himself to a local TV program called The American Music Show, asking to appear on air. Before long, he was appearing on the series regularly, often with his newly formed band, RuPaul and the U-Hauls.
Wigstock and Hit Song “Supermodel (You Better Work)”
RuPaul and the U-Hauls broke up before too long, and Wee Wee Pole was formed in its place, performing around Atlanta. RuPaul also made his first move into acting during this period, appearing in uncredited roles in a series of low-budget movies. While these appearances didn’t help RuPaul climb the ladder of fame, he was never short on ideas to further his career. In one such push, RuPaul sold pictures of himself as postcards and created little booklets with self-penned witticisms and anecdotes.
In the mid-1980s, the quite statuesque RuPaul left the South and headed to New York City and became part of a new festival known as Wigstock. He, his Atlanta roommate Lady Bunny (who launched Wigstock) and others would perform in drag primarily in the East Village area, with the festival eventually growing. RuPaul's flamboyance and ease on stage made him a hit club dancer, and by the end of the decade he was dubbed the Queen of New York.
In 1991, RuPaul was signed to a recording contract by Tommy Boy Records, and two years later his debut album, Supermodel of the World, appeared. He found a hit with the single “Supermodel (You Better Work),” which reached the Top 50 of the pop charts and No. 2 on the dance club charts. RuPaul would remain a club fixture over the years with other hits like “Snapshot” and “WorkOut.” A 1993 duet with Elton John on a remake of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” also drew attention, becoming a U.K. Top 10 hit.
Acting Work
In 1994, RuPaul made his feature film debut in Spike Lee’s Crooklyn, and a new facet of his performing career was launched. A string of roles would follow, including on TV shows such as Sister, Sister and In the House and in films such as The Brady Bunch Movie, Blue in the Face and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (all in 1995 alone). That same year, he also signed on as a model with MAC cosmetics. RuPaul next landed his own TV talk show, aptly titled The RuPaul Show, which ran until 1998.
While acting continually on TV, RuPaul never stopped recording music, with albums like Ho Ho Ho (1997), Red Hot (2004) and Reworked (2006) keeping fans happy. Following single-episode appearances in shows like Ugly Betty in 2010 and Happy Endings in 2013, he earned a recurring role as Lionel in the short-lived 2017 drama series Girlboss and famously played a stern maître d' at a sushi restaurant in the hit comedy series Broad City in 2017.
The following year, RuPaul was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the following year, becoming the first drag queen to receive the honor. Following an introductory speech by Jane Fonda, one of his early inspirations, he tearfully told the audience that this was “absolutely the most important moment in my professional career.”
RuPaul soon joined Fonda on Netflix’s Grace and Frankie in 2019 before creating his own show on the streaming platform. In 2020, he starred, wrote, and executive produced the comedy series AJ and the Queen, in which he played a down-on-his-luck drag queen who discovers a 10-year-old stowaway in his van.
RuPual later lent his voice to several animated projects, including Chicago Party Aunt (2021-2022), Zombies 3 (2022), and Trolls Band Together (2023). The drag queen next stars in the comedy flick Stop! That! Train!, arriving in theaters in June 2026.
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Despite success in music and film, RuPaul really made his mark on the cultural landscape with the 2009 debut of his long-running reality TV competition RuPaul’s Drag Race, along with its later variations such as All Stars and Untucked! After RuPaul claimed his first Emmy for Drag Race in 2016, the season 9 premiere in 2017, featuring Lady Gaga, had close to one million viewers tuning in, becoming the most viewed episode in the show’s history at the time. This has since been surpassed by the Season 13 premiere in 2021.
Overall, RuPaul has earned 14 Emmy Awards for Drag Race, holding the all-time records for the most Emmy wins by both a Black artist and a person of color, as well as the record for the most consecutive wins for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program. The Drag Race empire has since expanded all over the world, with iterations in The United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Australia, and Spain, among other countries.
Outside of drag, RuPaul also appeared as a judge on the body painting competition Skin Wars and hosted the trivia game show Gay for Play for two seasons. He later attempted to return to the daytime talk show circuit with 2019’s RuPaul, but was canceled after one season. Undeterred, the drag icon unveiled his 13th studio album, You’re a Winner Baby and hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time early 2020.
Podcast and Books
Never one to rest on his laurels, RuPaul published his first autobiography Lettin’ It All Hang Out in 1995. Two more memoirs followed—GuRu (2018) and The House of Hidden Meanings (2024)—along with the 2010 advice book Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style.
In 2014, the entertainer launched his RuPaul: What's the Tee? podcast with frequent collaborator and longtime Drag Race judge Michelle Visage. The podcast quickly became popularly and went on to boast more than 240 episodes before going on indefinite hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Husband Georges LeBar
RuPaul is married to Australian painter and rancher Georges LeBar. The couple met at a nightclub in New York City in 1994 and soon began dating. After 23 years together, they tied the knot in a small ceremony in Los Angeles in January 2017. RuPaul and LeBar own two properties together, including a mansion in Beverly Hills and a massive ranch in Wyoming, which is primarily his husband’s domain.
RuPaul sparked controversy in 2020 when he revealed that he and LeBar allow oil companies to frack on their Wyoming land. He later defended the practice in a 2024 interview with the New Yorker, asking critics “Do you buy gas? Before you point the finger, smell it first, b****.”
Net Worth
As of June 2026, RuPaul has an estimated net worth of $60 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He is the richest drag performer in the world.
Quotes
- I was always RuPaul. Always. Even as a kid, I would dress up in my sisters’ clothes, in cowboy outfits, in sailor outfits. I loved putting on different costumes.
- Drag will never be mainstream, because it breaks the fourth wall and it mocks our culture and identity: how much you have, where you’re from, your economic background. Drag mocks all of that. It’s the antithesis of mainstream.
- Sacrifices have to be made if you want to make a dent in the world, and that's what I started out to do—to make a dent in pop culture. I've done hanging out, I've done slacking—I love to work.
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