RuPaul
Identification American drag performer, actor,
and songwriter
Born November 17, 1960; San Diego, California
RuPaul is an openly gay performer whose good looks and
friendly persona in an astounding frame (six feet, seven
inches) made him hard to ignore. His talent as a performer
and his charisma promoted a successful career on television,
in films, and in other entertainment venues, helping to make
alternative lifestyles more acceptable to American society.
RuPaul Andre Charles moved from San Diego to At-
lanta as a teenager, and finally to New York City,
where in the early 1990’s he began performing in lo-
cal clubs and on public-access television on a Chan-
nel 4 seriesManhattan Cable. In 1993, he got a re-
cording contract with Tommy Boy Records. His first
album,Supermodel of the World(1993), had a hit sin-
gle, “Supermodel (You Better Work),” whose music
video was nominated for Best Dance Video at the
1994 MTV Video Music Awards. Other records and
videos included “Back to My Roots” and “A Shade
Shady (Now Prance),” hits on theBillboardHot
Dance Music/Club Play charts. He recorded a hit
duet of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with the Brit-
ish singer Elton John. RuPaul’s music and his “love
everyone” attitude made him easy to promote not
only as a drag queen but also as a singer and actor.
Between 1993 and 1999, RuPaul acted, some-
times in drag, in various television shows and films:
Veronica’s Closet;Walker, Texas Ranger;Sabrina, the
Teenage Witch;Nash Bridges;Saturday Night Live;
Crooklyn(1994);The Brady Bunch Movie(1995); and
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Ever ything! Julie Newmar
(1995). In 1996, he hosted a talk show on VH1 that
lasted three seasons,The RuPaul Show, with celeb-
rity interviews and musical acts. He continued re-
cording albums, including a 1997 Christmas album
titledHo, Ho, Ho.
RuPaul created his “Glamazon Look” with the
help of a makeup artist and a costumer. Having a
good fashion sense, he knew what looked good for
him. He became the “First Face of MAC” spokesper-
son for Make-up Art Cosmetics in 1998, and his face
and full-drag figure graced billboards. With Ru-
Paul’s help, the company raised millions of dollars
for its AIDS fund. In 1999, he received the Vito
Russo Entertainer of the Year Award from the Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
media awards. His autobiography,Lettin’ It All Hang
Out, came out in 1995, selling more than 400,000
copies on Amazon.com alone.Impact RuPaul won the GLAAD award for his suc-
cess as an openly gay entertainer who furthered un-
derstanding of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender (GLBT) community through his work.
With his many talents, he showed a slowly changing
society that alternative lifestyles were not threaten-
ing and that GLBT individuals could make valued
contributions to society.Further Reading
Feinberg, Leslie.Transgender Warriors: Making His-
tor y from Joan of Arc to RuPaul.Boston: Beacon
Press, 1996.The Nineties in America RuPaul 733
Drag queen performer RuPaul sings at a gay rights march
in Washington, D.C., in April, 1993.(Hulton Archive/Getty
Images)