Michelle Visage (born Michelle Lynn Shupack) is an American singer, television host, radio DJ, author, and television personality. She is a regular judge on RuPaul's Drag Race (since Season 3), RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, RuPaul's Drag Race UK, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under and RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World as well as the host of Whatcha Packin', a web series where she interviews the contestant that has been eliminated that week in the competition. She was also a guest judge on Season 1 of Canada's Drag Race. She is set to become the host of Season 4 of Drag Race Down Under after RuPaul announced he would not return to host the show.
Biography[]
Her career began when she auditioned for and won a place in Seduction, an R&B and dance vocal trio assembled by Robert Clivilles and David Cole and that signed with A&M Records in 1990. The group had several pop and dance hits, including "Two to Make It Right". After the group's breakup, Visage collaborated with freestyle dance act TKA as a guest vocalist on the song "Crash (Have Some Fun)".[2][3][4]
In 1992, she provided lead vocals to another dance act assembled by Clivilles & Cole, The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. song "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day", a cover version of the Bill Withers song "Lovely Day", was included on the soundtrack to the 1992 film The Bodyguard and became a #1 dance single that year, peaking at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 early the next year.[5][6]
In 1996 Visage became the co-host of RuPaul's VH1 talk shows The RuPaul Show. She also co-hosted RuPaul on WKTU's morning show from 1996–2002. She has also hosted such television programming as VH1's red carpet coverage of the 1998 Grammys and, in 2002, Grease's 25th-anniversary re-release party.[7][8]
Visage was co-host of The Jamz Session on Hot 92 Jamz (KHHT) in Los Angeles from 2002–2005. In 2005, she returned to New York City where she served as co-host of The Morning Mix on WNEW-FM until December 2006. During the latter part of 2006, she was also heard on Sirius Satellite Radio's The Beat 36 but left Sirius. On March 12, 2007, she became a co-host of the morning show on SUNNY 104.3 in West Palm Beach, Florida. On January 10, 2011, she joined 93.9 MIA in Miami as the host of the new MIA Morning Show on 93.9 MIA in Miami; she left Miami and WMIA in December 2011 and moved back to Los Angeles. On January 24, 2011, Visage debuted as the second permanent judge on the Logo TV's reality-television series RuPaul's Drag Race, where she replaced former judge Merle Ginsberg, as well as appearing alongside Ru on RuPaul's Drag Race UK as a regular judge. She was also on Celebrity Big Brother Season 15 and placed fifth. She was a judge on Ireland's Got Talent for its two-season run from 2018 to 2019. In 2019, she was a contestant on the seventeenth season of UK dance contest Strictly Come Dancing, being paired with Giovanni Pernice and coming in seventh place.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
Memorable Quotes[]
- "Bitch, you're here!"
- "Stop relying on that body!"
- "Eloquent."
- "THEEESE are breasts!" (to Alexis Mateo, critiquing her costume on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3)
- "I push up my boobs for Jesus."
- "And you get some boobs, and YOU get some boobs, AND YOU GET SOME BOOBS!!!"
- "My tits so high, they choking me."
- "Label Whore." (to Willam)
- "I'm so fucking proud of you I could shit." (to Shangela)
- "I'm not as old as you wanted to make me, bitch." (to Sharon Needles about her Snatch Game performance as Michelle)
- "I hate the Oprah Winfrey Network."
- "Square up, cunty." (to Jinkx Monsoon)
- "We've gone from Doritos to soot."
- "Is that a prosthetic nose?"
- "[Finger wag] No." (to Kandy Ho on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7, for having a contour that looked like a beard)
- "No, no you talk like this! This is how you talk!" (to Laganja Estranja, in Season 6, for being fake and inauthentic during the comedy challenge)
- "*While banging gavel* Order in the court! ORDER IN THE COURT!"
- "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, or something like the truth, so help you Jon Bon Jovi?" (during Jersey Justice)
- "Obviously Jewish."
- "This is my court bitch."
- "Watch your fucking language, you kiss your mother with that fucking mouth?" (to Monét X Change during Jersey Justice)
- "Miss Vanjie..."
- "Don't worry Ru, I'll always be your breast Judy."
- "She's performing a solo act."
- "You've got prosthesis" (to The Vivienne, thinking she was wearing a fake nose)
- "Gurl, that's a bubble butt!"
- "Fart humor, yeah?" (to Rock M. Sakura)
- "Baby Gott Mik!" (to Gottmik about her "new single on iTunes")
- "Calm down." (to Beverly Kills when she called herself a rapstress)
- "Black Peppa, I'm White Salt. Nice to meet you." (to Black Peppa during the first episode critiques)
- "No, obviously!" (to RuPaul after he asked Just May if they work in makeup)
- "They look like, you know Fisher Price 'My First Boobs'" (To Sapphira Cristál about her breastplate in Episode 1)
- "Not one word." (about Mirage not knowing the words to "Dark Lady" by Cher)
- "Hey, it's Michelle Visage, do you want gay shit?" (former RuPaul's Drag Race YouTube channel outro)
Trivia[]
- Michelle became involved in the production of RuPaul's Drag Race as an associate producer beginning in Season 8. She was promoted to co-producer in Season 9, producer in Season 11, and senior producer in Season 14.[15]
- In a similar vein, Michelle became an associate producer of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars beginning in Season 2. She became a co-producer in Season 3, producer in Season 5, and senior producer in Season 7.[15]
- She is additionally credited as a producer on all seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race and RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World, as well as on Whatcha Packin' beginning in Season 14.[15]
- Michelle Visage is the longest-serving Drag Race judge other than RuPaul herself.
- Michelle Visage made her Drag Race debut on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3. Since then, the only episode Michelle has not appeared on as a judge was RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12; Episode 9 She did, however, appear in the episode as a reporter for the contestants' debate.
- The only English-language Drag Race spin-off Michelle Visage has not appeared on is RuPaul's Drag U.
- The only time Michelle Visage has appeared on Drag Race without RuPaul was on Canada's Drag Race Season 1; Episode 9, when she guest hosted the episode.
- Michelle Visage is the only Drag Race regular judge to have one of her songs lip-synced while she was on the panel, when Detox and Coco Montrese lip-synced to her former group Seduction's song "Two to Make It Right" on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5.
- Another of Michelle's songs was lip-synced to on Drag Race, nine years after the first instance, was on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Season 2 where Hannah Conda and Molly Poppinz lip-synced to her song "Heartbreak in This City" with Steps.
- RuPaul actually asked Michelle Visage to be a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race for Season 1 but her employer at her radio station at the time refused to give her the time off, which she later attributed to homophobia in an interview with Hey Qween, and Merle Ginsberg was given the role instead. When Merle left after Season 2 she was asked again and asked the executives at the broadcaster of the radio station, who agreed to let her have time off to film the show.
- Michelle Visage co-hosts the podcast What's the Tee? with RuPaul, and they often record episodes during breaks in filming on Drag Race.[16]
- Michelle Visage was famous for her breast implants when she joined Drag Race but has since had them removed, citing her experience with Hashimoto's disease.[17]
- Michelle's first book, The Diva Rules, was published in 2015.[18]
- Nicole Falkner also known as LipstickNick is Michelle's makeup artist for RuPaul's Drag Race, Whatcha Packin' and many more events. On the other hand, her hairstylist is Craig Marsden.[20][21]
- However during RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under, her makeup artist was MakeupwithLeyla.[22]
- Michelle Visage said that if she could, she would have judged in every single installment of the Drag Race franchise.[23]
- Michelle Visage even texted the producers at World of Wonder to see if she could be part of the judging panel of Drag Race España as she was taking Spanish classes during lockdown. However, World of Wonder turned down the idea.[23]
- Michelle Visage was adopted. In later years, she met with her biological mother and has come to terms with the decision her mother had to make on an early age.[24]
- Michelle Visage's favorite lip-sync is Anetra vs Marcia Marcia Marcia, to "Boss Bitch" by Doja Cat.[25]
- Michelle was added to the Season Pass of RuPaul's Drag Race Superstar in December 2023, alongside the tag "Jersey".[26]
- Michelle will be starring in the 2024 London Paladium production of The Addams Family as Morticia Addams.[27]
Gallery[]
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Check out the lookbook gallery to see Michelle's looks from each episode.
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Videos[]
Discography[]
Bibliography[]
| Title | Release Date | Cover |
|---|---|---|
| The Diva Rules | November 10, 2015 |  |
References[]
External Links[]
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