Top 20 RuPaul's Drag Race Queens That Left Too Soon

It wasn’t long before the season 11 finalist was back on our television screens. In “All Stars” 6, A'keria landed in the bottom relatively early on, and was eliminated halfway through the season by future winner Kylie Sonique Love. Due to her high placement on her previous season, she was thought to be an early contender for the crown. However, many felt RuPaul and company were very critical of her, even when fans thought she did well, like in the halftime performance challenge. A’keria would later choose not to take part in the RuDemption Lip Sync Smackdown, as she had done what she wanted to do as an All Star. She may have been ready to leave, but we weren’t ready to see her go.

Since she sashayed on home in 11th place in season 7, fans always felt this Rochester queen had a lot more to give. She was campy, classy, and had an old school style of drag that was in short supply that season. Over the years, her name would get consistently thrown out as a potential returnee, and finally, she was invited back for the eighth edition of “All Stars”. Though she only lasted three episodes, fans got to see a more enlightened Kasha Davis. Her spin on the iconic trademark exit line left all of us in tears. Bring her back for All Stars 9, Ru.

From the start, Lineysha was a queen to watch. After coming up just short in the first main challenge, she won the Lip Sync Extravaganza in the very next episode. But Lineysha, who is a Spanish speaker raised in Puerto Rico, was sometimes at a disadvantage due to the language barrier. Acting challenges like the Snatch Game threw her for a loop. It made her elimination in week 5 all the more frustrating to watch. Still, her stunning looks and personality won the hearts of many fans. Also, we can’t forget her most enduring contribution to “Drag Race” herstory. She co-parented Lil’ Poundcake with Alaska.

As the drag daughter of former “Drag Race” and “All Stars” queen, Alexis Mateo, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo had a lot of pressure on her to succeed. Unfortunately, in the first episode, the Barbie doll dress she crafted was criticized for its shape, and after landing in the bottom 2, Vanessa was sent home. But, her exit was SO strange, RuPaul and the other contestants couldn’t stop referencing it all season, and neither could the rest of us online. Though her elimination has become iconic, Vanessa’s charm left us wanting more of her. Thankfully, she returned the following season and had quite an impressive run. And now - because we know you’re dying to see it again - here’s the moment that “Miss Vanjie” broke the Internet.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride: that’s how a lot of viewers saw Jan during her first season. Despite consistently good performances and middle-of-the-road placements each week, she was eventually eliminated in 8th place. Only about a year later, she was once again on the mainstage, this time as part of the cast of “All Stars” 6. She came back strong, with the same killer vocals, an irrepressible energy, and a drive to win. Jan’s performance was about as consistent as the first time, but her critiques were all over the place. The judges didn’t seem to know what they wanted from her. In the end, her fellow queens voted her out, but we’re still not over the Jantasy.

Sometimes storylines trump talent. That seemed to be the case with season 13’s Denali. The ice-skating Chicago queen ended up in the dreaded Pork Chop Loading Dock in the first episode. However, she soon won over the viewers and her fellow queens with her genuine positivity and charm. But despite doing well overall, she only got one main challenge win. Many fans compared her trajectory in the competition to Jan’s from the previous season. After several weeks of safety, she was sadly sent home at the top eight, and viewers felt there was just so much more to see.

Willam made “Drag Race” herstory in Season 4 as the first contestant to ever be disqualified from the show. At the reunion special, Willam explained that this was because of a contractual violation, but since then, she’s claimed that the producers wanted her gone for criticizing working conditions on-set. Despite ruffling plenty of feathers, Willam was a frontrunner on her season, with two challenge wins under her designer belt. Her success as an actor, musician, writer, YouTube personality, and, of course, drag queen, since being off the show has had fans desperate to see her return for a season of “All Stars.” We’ve certainly missed her sharp tongue on “Untucked.”

Maybe it’s contradictory to say an eliminated queen who later returned in that same season left too soon, but we stand by it. “Drag Race” had evolved so much since Tatianna’s original season. When she returned for “All Stars” 2, she was a wild card. After all, she had been off the “Drag Race” radar for some time at this point. But once Tatianna killed the week one talent show, she proved she had what it took to win it all. She was eliminated after the Snatch Game, but her incredible lip sync to Rihanna’s “Shut Up and Drive” won her way back into the contest a few episodes later. Though her victory was short-lived, she remains a highlight of a great season.

We have to wonder how good the insurance is at World of Wonder, because that season 9 cheerleading challenge looked kinda dangerous. Few of the terrified queens came off well, but that the edit almost seemed to suggest that Jaymes Mansfield’s elimination hinged on one weird stunt seemed really unfair. When she returned for “All Stars” 8, her brand of bawdy comedy was on display all season. Although she never won a main challenge, she stayed in the safe zone for most of the season and was probably a close second place some weeks. It was a shock to everyone when Kandy Muse pulled out her lipstick and sent her packing in episode six. Then again, it makes sense. Jaymes was true competition.

There’s no denying that Aja had a lot of potential when she first appeared on season 9. She wasn’t always the most refined queen, yet that’s why it was so easy to love her. But when she came back for All Stars 3, she was a brand new queen. It was such a bummer to see her go home roughly mid-season once again. Her dancing was electric, her looks were fierce, and her variety show performance even inspired an iconic meme. All of the queens this season had their ups and downs, and it really could have been a toss-up as to who would win it all. With her underdog story, Aja had as good a chance as anyone else to snatch the crown.

Season 7 is still polarizing, which is confusing, considering just how great the cast is. But fans often cried foul when queens were sent home too early. One of those queens was Max. Often sticking to her gray hair despite Michelle Visage’s objections, Max was beloved because she was not going to let anyone tell her how to do her drag. It’s been well established by the “Drag Race” fandom that Max was done dirty by the seemingly unhinged edit in her elimination episode. Sure, she crashed and burned out of nowhere during the “Snatch Game.” But this, coupled with a bizarre wardrobe malfunction, made her exit episode feel awkward, uncomfortable, and kind of unfair.

America… Mo Heart proclaimed herself to be “the heart” of season 10, and we believed her! Sadly, she ended up in 8th place. The New Yorker may not have won any challenges during her time in the season, but she consistently wowed us - and the judges - with her hand-crafted runway looks. Monique was eliminated on her first time in the bottom 2, mainly because she didn’t know the words to the lip sync song. We’re sure that if she had learnt the lyrics and sent the Vixen home, she’d have been able to give us even more makeshift creativity on the runway, and even more hilarious quotes. Thankfully, this wouldn’t be her last stint in the “Drag Race” franchise.

April Carrión proved she was more than just a pretty face during her time on Season 6. The Puerto Rican performer turned out high caliber conceptual looks week after week. From her high-flying entrance look to her clever spin on the phrase “April showers” to her “Duck Dynasty” couture in the season premiere, she had us impressed. Despite winning the approval of guest judge, Adam Lambert, April finished 11th in the competition. Since then, she’s snatched major pageant titles, walked runways for top designers, and become a headline act in her home country. Clearly, April should have made it further on “Drag Race”.

Alyssa Edwards was one of the biggest presences of the show’s 5th season, with everything from her heated rivalry with Coco Montrese to her sickening performance skills. Speaking of Coco, Alyssa’s pageant nemesis sent her packing in 6th place on season 5. Alyssa managed to outlast Coco when the pair returned for “All Stars” 2, only to end up being eliminated twice. As the drag mother of queens including Laganja Estranja and Gia Gunn, and the owner of a successful dance studio, Alyssa’s legacy continues to grow. Frankly, we’d love to see her on every season - and not just in cameo appearances.

Some queens rock up to “Drag Race” fully polished. Adore Delano came to season 6 to prove that: And, with 3 challenge wins to her name, she’s definitely deserving of the title of “Most Improved Queen” during her time in that season. After finishing in the top 3, Adore’s debut album also landed in Billboard’s top three Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Going into “All Stars 2,” the fan favorite was in a strong position to repeat all of that success. Sadly, Adore decided to leave the competition in the second episode after finding it difficult to handle the judges’ critiques. Mama Ru has been known to give third chances... so why not do it again?

There’s never been a “Drag Race” queen like Vivacious before or since. She was pure New York ballroom. Her club kid-inspired outfits were one of a kind, and her complete authenticity was absolutely dazzling to watch both in and out of drag. Considering how much mileage the producers have gotten out of Vivacious’ catchphrases over the years, maybe episode three was too soon to let the season 6 queen go. Clearly she lives in the producers’ heads rent free. Let’s face it, she lives in our heads rent free too. And how could we forget Ornacia? She just lives *on* our heads rent free.

This season 3 runner-up always had the stuff to win the crown. Manila Luzon was hindered, as everyone was, by that controversial pair twist on the first “All Stars”. She and partner Latrice Royale went home halfway through. But when she came back for “All Stars” 4, Manila was a threat to win. At one point, she was in the top two three weeks in a row. And she had never been in the bottom — that is, until episode eight. That week’s winner, Naomi Smalls, seemingly knew she might not have this chance again, and dealt the death blow that was heard around the world. What can we say? It just wasn’t fair. Sadly, as a wise queen once said, “life’s not fair.”

Tammie Brown was one of the first queens to compete on “Drag Race” back in season 1, and one of the first to return for “All Stars.” After a poor performance of a Destiny’s Child song, she landed in the bottom 2 in the second episode of the original show’s inaugural season. Her decision to not truly perform the lip sync against Akashia meant she basically eliminated herself. Tammie didn’t fare much better during her team-up with Nina Flowers in the first season of “All Stars,” either. Still, her outbursts that irritated her fellow competitors have made her beloved with fans, who are always eager to see more of her.

She’s perfect, she’s beautiful, she looks like Linda Evangelista… you know the rest! Valentina was the Miss Congeniality of season 9 - oops, we mean “fan favorite", - but many were expecting her to snatch the crown, too. From the first episode, her relative inexperience with drag didn’t stop her from turning out stellar looks and performing strongly in acting challenges. Well, until episode 9. In the lip sync, after being ordered to show her mouth, it became clear she didn’t know the lyrics. But we knew she had more to give, so we were thrilled when she returned for “All Stars” 4. Sadly, she went home too early for our liking again, placing 7th. She’s since started co-hosting “Drag Race México”, so she’s doing quite well.

We first met this “terminally delightful” queen in season 6, where she wasted no time in winning the first main challenge. She repeated the feat with her side-splitting turn as Dame Maggie Smith in the Snatch Game, and after barely putting a heel wrong, fans were confident she’d be a finalist. But, after surviving one lip sync, DeLa sashayed away in 5th place, creating a huge online backlash. If that weren’t shocking enough, she upped the ante when she returned for “All Stars” 3, eliminating herself in episode 6 after a record 5 challenge wins. Though she has the season 6 Miss Congeniality sash, we’d much rather see her with a crown.