RuPaul: Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve And Talent

Dagli anni '90, quando iniziò a sfondare nel mondo dello spettacolo, RuPaul non ha mai smesso di dare visibilità alla comunità LGBT+ e alla cultura drag, oggi più attiva che mai.

Bandera UK
Daniel Francis

Speaker (UK accent)

Aggiornato il giorno

448 Ru Paul

Ascolta questo articolo

Stampare

Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, RuPaul is arguably the best-known drag performer in the world, and one of the most prominent advocates of the LGBT+ community in the US.

HIGHS AND LOWS

Born in San Diego, California, RuPaul Andre Charles moved to New York City in the 1980s, where he began performing in the queer scene. During his early years in New York, however, RuPaul lived in poverty and struggled with alcohol and drug dependency. Sober now for almost twenty years, he still plays an active role in raising awareness of the issues surrounding addiction.
The singer, actor, songwriter, author and producer achieved success in the early 1990s with the song Supermodel (You Better Work), which earned him a modelling contract with MAC cosmetics. Shortly after that, he performed the duet Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with Elton John, which topped the European charts. He went on to feature in a number of movies and eventuallyhost his own talk show, The RuPaul Show.

RUPAUL’S drag race

However, the breakthrough in RuPaul’s career and the foundation of his showbiz empire came in 2009, when RuPaul’s Drag Race first aired. This reality show, aimed at selecting the best drag queen in the US, is now in its fourteenth edition, winning twenty-four Emmys so far out of forty-eight nominations. Eleven international franchise editions have been created — including in Italy and Spain — and a whole drag entertainment industry is being enriched with numerous spin-offs, including a movie and a world tour called Werq the World.

RUPAUL’S DRAG PERSONA

Extremely tall and imposing, when he is out of drag RuPaul likes to wear elegant three-piece suits, which he can easily switch to flamboyantgowns and huge wigs for his drag persona, which, he says, is inspired by artists such as Cher, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton and David Bowie. Through his looks and work, he aims to display “charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent”.

RUPAUL’S DRAG WISDOM

RuPaul stresses the importance of self-love and instructs fans on how to be self-confident, urging people to express their singularity to empower themselves. He believes in positivity, the power of laughter and in rejecting any form of definition.
In his autobiographical book GuRu (2018) he shares his most evocative aphorisms, such as: "You’re born naked and the rest is drag” or the now-iconic "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”, underlining the relationship between loving oneself and loving others.  

gender pronouns

RuPaul is noted among famous drag queens for his indifference towards the gender-specific pronouns used to address him—both "he" and "she" have been deemed acceptable. "You can call me ‘he’. You can call me ‘she.’ You can call me Regis and Kathie Lee; I don't care! Just as long as you call me.

 

It’s a Woman’s Game: US Soccer
AdobeStock

Current Affairs

It’s a Woman’s Game: US Soccer

Il 15 maggio 1940, in una località californiana sulla famosa Route 66 negli Stati Uniti, è stato aperto il primo ristorante McDonald's. Con fan e detrattori, la catena è ancora oggi un punto di riferimento globale per il fast food.

Talitha Linehan

From Land’s End to John O’ Groats
AdobeStock

Places

From Land’s End to John O’ Groats

Ovvero, dalla punta occidentale della Cornovaglia all’estremo nord della Scozia (o viceversa). Un viaggio attraverso tutta la Gran Bretagna, che dal 1871, quando fu fatto per la prima volta per beneficenza, ha sempre stimolato la voglia di avventura. L’ideale sarebbe farlo in bici o a piedi!

Mark Worden

More in Explore

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Ironwoman

People

Ironwoman

Il suo laboratorio è una tenda indiana e i metalli sono la sua passione. Ferro, bronzo, acciaio non hanno segreti per Heather McLarty, l’artista californiana che crea capolavori con incudine e martello.

Talitha Linehan