For more than a decade now, RuPaul's Drag Race has been entertaining audiences on the small screen. What started as the little Logo reality TV show that could became an Emmy-winning sensation that airs a number of new seasons every year. Given how many iterations of the show are in the ethos, a sum of beloved queens have been crowned and given the chance to prance down the runway as America's Next Drag Superstar. But there are 5 big winners who are taking the world by storm, here's what they're up to now.
Drag Race recently rapped Season 14 (with shorter episodes), and shortly after All-Stars 8 was available for fans with a Paramount+ subscription. You don't have to win the show to become a fan favorite character, but there are 5 winners in particular who I think are the Queens of The Kingdom. Let's break it all down.
Trixie Mattel
This one might have been the most obvious choice for the list. Trixie Mattel debuted on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7, and was actually eliminated twice. While she didn't perform that well on the show, she became a fan favorite queen who had great success thanks to her webseries UNHhhh alongside Katya. That little series became a sensation, leading to wild fame a ton of fans for its two stars.
Trixie returned to compete on All-Stars 3, this time with more confidence, new make-up, and some fabulous custom outfits. She ended up winning that season, beating out strong competitors like Kennedy Davenport and Shangela. After that win Mattell basically worked non-stop touring, filming various shows (and a podcast) with Katya, and releasing four original albums. She also started Trixie Cosmetics, which is wildly successful. She even purchased and renovated a motel in Palm Springs, documenting it on the show Trixie Motel which is available with a Max subscription. Trixie is also a judge on Queen of the Universe. She's known for having the strongest hustle of the Drag Race Kingdom, and has shown no signs of slowing down.
Bob The Drag Queen
Bob The Drag Queen was a frontrunner the minute she entered the Werk Room on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6. She was by far the funniest person on the cast during her interviews, and had an authentic feud with Derrick Barry (plus Lucian Piane). She ended up winning her first attempt at the crown, and has had a thriving career in the 9 years since the show aired.
Since then Bob has appeared in a number of high profile projects. She's written performed and released multiple stand-up specials and singles, and acted on the stage and screen including Netflix's Tales of the City reboot, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and even an appearance on The Simpsons. More recently Bob has produced and starred in in the Emmy-winning docuseries We're Here on HBO. And for years she's co-hosted the popular podcast Sibling Rivalry with another Queen from this list
Jinkx Monsoon
Jinkx Monsoon has a special honor that no other winner from RuPaul's Drag Race shares. Namely, she's the only Queen to have won the crown twice. After taking it home as the underdog of Season 5, she returned to the Werk Room for All-Stars 7, which featured a full cast of winners.
Fans have watched Monsoon's look progress in the years since Drag Race, as we got a more sophisticated version of her vintage cougar character. She's also gone to great success as an actress, vocalist, and comedian. She put out a bunch of original music and toured with her duo act Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales. She recently wrapped a run playing Mama Morton Chicago on Broadway, which resulted in a huge rise in ticket sales. Following that Jinkx was cast in Doctor Who. Plus there's The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Special, which is available for annual rewatch with a Hulu subscription. Finally, she has her own podcast titled Hi Jinkx! with Jinkx Monsoon.
Monét X Change
Monét X Change competed on a whopping three season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Her first was back in Season 10, where she won Fan Favorite and placed 6th. She would return for All-Stars 4, where she and Trinity The Tuck made history as the first and only tie winners of the franchise. She came back to compete with all the winners in All-Stars 7, and made it all the way to the final lip sync against none other than Jinkx Monsoon.
Aside from her three strong performances on Drag Race, Monét has managed to build a thriving career out there in the real world. She stars in two different podcasts, Sibling Rivalry and Ebony and Irony, co-hosted by Bob The Drag Queen and the legendary Lady Bunny respectively. She hosted the Huluween Dragstravaganza alongside Ginger Minj, and had a role in Lovecraft Country and The Simpsons. She also hosted and executive produced her own talk show The X Change Rate.
Alaska Thunderfuck
Alaska Thunderfuck is one of the most iconic Queens to ever compete on RuPaul's Drag Race. She first debuted back in Season 5, and was a finalist alongside Jinkx. She'd snatched the crown herself on All-Stars 2, which is what many fans believe is the best season of the entire franchise's history. And she's gone on to great things outside of that beloved reality competition series.
Alaska popped up for cameos in various season of Drag Race after winning, although she was noticeably absent from All-Stars 7. Instead she's been keeping busy recording and releasing original music, doing solo tours, and even performing in Head Over Heels at the Pasadena Playhouse. Her podcast Race Chaser is wildly successful, and launched an entire podcasting network where she's an executive producer. She also competed in the reality competition show Scared Famous, acted in the final Sharknado movie, and has appeared in a number of documentary projects. She was most recently featured in Drag Me To Dinner on Hulu, in arguably the best episode of the lot.
Obviously there are too many glorious divas to include on this list, but this happens to be the Top 5 biggest winners in my opinion. Although I have to give flowers to other names like Bianca Del Rio and Raja. Be sure to check out the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
