Top 10 Drag Icons in Pop Culture Herstory
These are the most influential drag icons! For this list, we will be including the pioneers of drag that inspired everyone's favorite reality show, and made a name for themselves far before it even began. We've tried to create a well-rounded list of drag icons from various decades including drag queens, performance artists who heavily influenced drag culture and LGBTQ+ activists who fought to keep drag alive.
#10: Miss Understood
A fierce queen who started out in the 1980s, Miss Understood is New York City based, and has been especially featured in the East Village since the 90s. Throughout her career, she frequently performed at the Pyramid Club and Wigstock, an open air drag festival that also started in the 80s. Not only did she wow the world of drag when she performed onstage, but she also moved on to appear in various films and television shows, including “To Wong Foo” and “Sex and the City”. Her work on the stage influenced many, and she is a legend to be remembered.
#9:The Lady Chablis
If you’ve never heard of The Lady Chablis, it’s best you start doing your drag queen herstory homework. Born in 1957 (and passed in 2016), Brenda Dale Knox (who was known professionally by her stage name) became one of the first drag performers to gain and be accepted by a larger audience. Alongside her drag career, she was also an actress and author. She starred as herself in the 1997 film version of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, and she also wrote an autobiography titled “Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah”. A triple threat, indeed.
#8: Pepper LaBeija
Born in the fall of 1948 (and passed in May of 2003), Pepper LaBeija was both a drag performer and fashion designer. Known as “the last remaining queen of the Harlem drag balls,” she took over the House of LaBeija from Crystal LaBeija in 1971. She stayed in this position and was referred to as “The Mother” for 30 years, being looked up to by queens of all types. Throughout her career she won over 250 trophies and awards, and she is also one of the main stars of the iconic 1990 film “Paris is Burning”.
#7: Crystal LaBeija
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As the founder of the House of LaBeija, Crystal was a trailblazer when it came to both drag culture and race relations in the United States. During the 60s and 70s, LaBeija made several appearances on the Manhattan drag circuit, and became one of the first African American queens to be crowned Queen of the Ball. She also eventually became Miss Manhattan, and competed against queens from across the United States in the 1968 documentary “The Queen”. While she died in 1982, her legacy is long-lasting, as evidenced by Aja’s Snatch Game performance as her in the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
#6: Lady Bunny
With accomplishments such as being the founder of Wigstock, creating multiple disco hits and becoming a Club Kid in New York City, it’s no wonder that Lady Bunny has made it so close to the top of this list. A comedy and drag legend, Bunny started her career alongside RuPaul in Atlanta, and the world has loved her ever since. She appeared in the web series “Queens of Drag: NYC”, and she is one of the most famous New York queens to ever sashay onto the scene. Nowadays you can catch her performing with Bianca Del Rio at XL Nightclub.
#5: Leigh Bowery
This Australian artist was born in 1961 (passed in 1994), and he worked not only as a performer, but a club promoter and fashion designer too. If you’ve heard of the English painter Lucian Freud, then you might recognize Leigh for being a model for a large amount of his works. Leigh also had a prominent disc- and videography, and influenced many other performers like Boy George, Alexander McQueen, Lady Bunny and Lady Gaga, in addition to inspiring the post-modern Tranimal drag movement. In his fourteen years of activity, he made a huge impact on both the drag community and the entire world.
#4:Divine
A character actor, performer and drag queen, Divine was destined to take on the world. In Devine's early life he worked as a women’s hairdresser, which catapulted his interest in drag. Devine moved on to perform in several films by legendary director John Waters, such as “Pink Flamingos” and “Female Trouble”, and afterwards began to appear in the worlds of theater and music. Known as the “drag queen of the century” (as quoted by People Magazine), Divine was an influence in the community that will not soon be forgotten. Without Divine, many drag queens would not be where they are today.
#3: Mother Flawless Sabrina
This drag queen was not only flawless, but a pioneer for transgender people and an LGBTQ+ icon and activist. Flawless Sabrina was allegedly arrested more than one hundred times as she persevered to normalize the heavily-stigmatized drag, transgender and gay communities in New York City and across the US. She acted as a mentor for other drag queens and trans-people, and even ran an underground drag pageant called “The Nationals”. She passed away in 2017, but her legacy lives on in a website dedicated to compiling her life’s work.
#2: Marsha P. Johnson
A prominent figure of the Gay Liberation Front, Marsha P. Johnson played an important role in paving the way for drag queens today. Johnson was an outspoken activist and played an important role during the Stonewall uprising—a series of protests that ensued after police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Alongside her close friend Sylvia Rivera, Johnson cofounded the Street Transvestite (now Transgender) Action Revolutionaries also known as STAR. Johnson died in 1992 but her legacy lives on, with several tributes dedicated to her memory. RuPaul has described Johnson as “the true Drag Mother” who “paved the way for all of [them] in an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
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Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
International Chrysis
Dorian Corey
Dame Edna Everage
#1: RuPaul
RuPaul has introduced a whole new generation to drag with his reality show, and his legendary career has launched him up to become “supermodel of the world.” Not only is he an influential drag queen, but in 2017 he made TIME’s list of the top 100 most influential people in the world. He has several studio albums and tons of hit singles, and he has been featured in numerous films and television shows. His work in the drag and LGBTQ+ communities is inspiring to say the least, and with Drag Race, he is giving modern queens a platform and revolutionizing queer representation on TV. He has the ultimate charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent.
