Outside Drag Race franchises hosted by RuPaul, she has served as a guest judge in Season 1 of Canada's Drag Race, and was a judge on Queen of the Universe prior to its cancellation. In 2024, Michelle became the host of Drag Race Down Under beginning its fourth season after RuPaul announced he would not return to host the show.
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)".[4][5][6]
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.[7][8]
In 1996, Visage became the co-host of RuPaul's VH1 talk show 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.[9][10]
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.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
"We've gone from Doritos to soot." (about Coco Montrese's makeup)
"(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." (referring to Naomi's character in "Jersey Justice" named "Stefani Angelyne Ricotta Permanata")
"This is my court, bitch."
"Watch your fucking language... you kiss your mother with that fucking mouth?" (to Monét X Change during Jersey Justice)
"Somebody get me a piece of cake!"
"Believe it or not I've been called a whore, I've been called a slut, I've been called a trollop. But my girls and I, can I tell you how we used to make up? We'd make out, so why don't you guys give it a try it will make it all better" (to Mo Heart and Monét X Change during Jersey Justice)
"You say you're the OG Snooki. I happen to know a lot about "Jersey Shore", so let me ask you some questions" (to Valentina during Jersey Justice)
"Okay Snooki, if you're the real Snooki show me some identification." (to Valentina during Jersey Justice)
"Let me take a look at that. Birth certification: "Snooki McSnookowitz", date of birth: 1985. The real Snooki was born in 1987, you are the OG Snooki!" (to Valentina during Jersey Justice)
"Well, where is Santino now?" (after RuPaul reminds Alyssa Edwards that Santino told Alyssa she wore the ugliest dress on the history of the show way back on Season 5)
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" in RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5.
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.[18]
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.[19]
Michelle's first book, The Diva Rules, was published in 2015.[20]
Michelle's outfit for the cover was given to her by Raja, who also did her makeup.[21]
Michelle Visage said that if she could, she would have judged in every single installment of the Drag Race franchise.[25]
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.[25]
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.[26]