Ready or not, here they come. The queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 have officially been ru-vealed, and we are gagging on their eleganza.
Come Jan. 6, 2023, 16 brand new queens will enter the workroom, solidifying this season as the largest cast in the franchise’s history and the first to have a set of identical twins competing in the competition.
The stakes have been raised, the cash prize has been upped, and the networks have been swapped. For the first time in Drag Race “herstory,” season 15 says sashay away to VH1, it’s home since season nine in 2017, and will premiere on MTV. The move is a clear indication of the franchise’s growing popularity and goes to show just how far it has come since premiering on the queer network Logo in 2009.
Season 15 will is being dubbed the series’ “BIGGEST” season to date, according to the trailer, and the winner will walk home with not $100,000 or even $150,000 but a whopping $200,000, the largest cash prize the regular seasons have ever seen. All-Stars 7 was the first season to raise the bar that high, solidifying Jinkx Monsoon as the first recipient of the historic cash prize.
Despite its numerous national and international spin-offs, the drag reality competition has shown zero indication of slowing down. Shea Couleé has become the first drag queen to enter the MCU and Shangela has become the first drag queen to compete in Dancing With the Stars. If you needed further proof that drag queens are taking over the world, figuratively, RuPaul’s Drag Race has won four Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Competition Program and Ru herself the record for the most-decorated Black artist in TV Academy history with 12 Emmy Awards.
But enough of all that nonsense, let’s get to the meaty stuff. We have 16 new drag queens who are (hopefully) here to slay. Some of them are already icons of the craft, others are fresh out of the gate. All of them, though, are gunning for the crown. Without further ado, here is the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15.
Amethyst
This 27-year-old Connecticut comedy queen has a name as complex as her dance moves, which is to say she was named after her birthstone and has two left feet, or so she says. She’s more of a mover than a dancer and prefers to have an audience laugh at her jokes than gawk over her beauty. Her substantially sized nose is usually the first thing people notice about her, but she’s perfectly okay with that. After all, “the nose knows no bounds” henny.
Anetra
All aboard! The road to sin city is now in sight with Anetra as a member of the cast. Her drag name comes from a gorgeous stripper she used to work with, which leads one to assume this queen can turn it out in a lip-sync. But don’t hold your breath when it comes to the Rusical – she is not a vocalist. What separates her from the rest of the queens is, well, she purportedly has a heart and a good conscience. We’ll just have to wait and see about that.
Aura Mayari
Make way, your Filipina moon goddess is here to slay. Like her drag idol, Manila Luzon, 30-year-old Aura Mayari is proud to represent her country and even derived her name from Filipino gay lingo – Aura means someone who is very flirty and overly confident. She is not just a look queen with a sickening mug, she’s also a performer and has a history of musical theater.
Irene Dubois
In the mood for aliens? Irene “the aliene” Dubois has you covered. Heavily influenced by Star Wars, Irene is a sober Seattle-based drag queen who’s “down to earth to invade it.” She is by far one of the most articulate queens of the cast, but we’ll have to wait and see how that translates to the competition. Articulation is fun, but entertainment is what we come back for.
Jax
This 5’3” drag queen is BBB (booked, Black, and blessed). 25-year-old Jax is our resident athlete of the competition, having partaken in competitive cheerleading, diving, and gymnastics. We smell a Jan on our hands, but we’ll have to wait and see if Jax’s competitive side helps or hinders her prospects of winning the crown. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Jax is simply short for Jackson. Who needs to create a whole new drag name when you can just abbreviate your own? Just ask Mama Ru.
Loosey LaDuca
This Connecticut construction-working drag queen is here to bulldoze you over. Yes, Loosey LaDuca really is a construction worker. She can give you a smokey eye one minute and fix your plumbing the next. What’s better than that? (Get your mind out of the gutter.)
Loosey is one of this season’s many comedy queens, or so she says. Since her name comes from the queen of comedy herself, Lucille Ball, we only hope that means she knows how to deliver a punchline (and never has to lip-sync for her life).
Luxx Noir London
It’s not all about looks with this 22-year-old New Jersey drag queen. Luxx Noir London, whose name means “black luxury” is also all about kindness. She doesn’t conform to boxes and labels and lives by the same mantra as Drag Race, Valentina – her fantasy is her reality.
Malaysia Babydoll Foxx
Get ready, because season 15 is welcoming the “fattest and the baddest bi***” from Miami Florida,” Malaysia Babydoll (Babydoll Babydoll) Foxx. She’s bodacious, beautiful, and beat. Malaysia, 33, is the drag daughter of LaShauwn Beyond from season four and – no shade – unlike her drag mother, she’s ready to make it past week two.
Marcia Marcia Marcia
If you see the name Marcia Marcia Marcia and immediately think of The Brady Bunch, good, because that’s where this New York drag queen gets her name. Marica Marcia Marcia is a self-proclaimed triple threat who purports to be an “insane” dance queen, a look queen, and a comedy queen.
In her entrance interview, the 25-year-old let slip that she believes looks tend to take a backseat in New York drag, which probably doesn’t go over well with all the other New York drag queens, but hey, we’re not here to start drama. All we can say is good luck Marcia Marcia Marcia, you’re going to need it if you come into the workroom with that kind of tea.
Mistress Isabelle Brooks
Mistress Isabelle Brooks is an old-school drag queen with a modern twist. She’s not looking to reinvent the wheel, she’s just here to do traditional drag and do it big, over the top, and with the kind of flare only Mistress Isabelle Brooks can bring.
Princess Poppy
She’s a dancing diva! No, she’s a stand-up queen! Wait, scratch that. She’s a comedy queen! Yes, that’s more like it. Princess Poppy is your comedy queen, who’s just “a little bit stupid” but with just enough sass to read you to filth. Or so she says.
Robin Fierce
Robin Fierce is a walking oxymoron. According to her, she radiates positivity and embodies bad bi***ery, which is about as easy to wrap your head around as RuPaul’s critics when she hyped up on coffee enemas (her words, not ours).
26-year-old Robin Fierce loves to sing, loves to dance, and has a face that is always correct, okur? Her bird-adjacent first name is inspired by season two and All Stars one contestant Raven and is followed up by Fierce because, well, she’s just that.
Salina EsTitties
Grab your earplugs because this season’s loudest queen has arrived. Salina EsTitties is here to make sure you don’t get a word in edgewise and is sorry not sorry about it. The 31-year-old is an actress, a dancer, a singer – she’s the whole package and she’s ready to score her EGOT. This may be the fifth time she’s auditioned for the show, but you know what they say. The fifth time’s the charm. Right?
Sasha Colby
In case you didn’t get enough Colby in your life with last year’s Kerri Colby, her famous drag mother Sasha Colby is here to rip the competition to shreds. As former Miss Continental 2012 and your favorite drag queens’ drag queen, 37-year-old Sasha Colby is by far the front-runner of the season. She’s, in her own words, a “goddess slut,” who not only knows how to deliver you shade on a silver platter but can also split like no other; she can split any which way you splice it, okay. All the other queens better watch out.
Spice
Here we have the first half of our identical twins of the season, Spice. The 23-year-old is a Long Island queen who’s the embodiment of a life-size Barbie doll. She’s ready to throw her sister Sugar, or as she likes to call her “that h**,” under the bus, and make a run for that crown. However, like any good sibling, only she can come for Sugar. If someone else does, they better be ready for the claws to come out.
Sugar
Last but certainly not least is the second half of our identical twins, Sugar. She’s serving you “pristine, top-of-the-shelf doll perfection.” She’s sweet, she’s nice, and she’s the “dumb bimbo” who lives down the street from you, at least according to her.
Do these 16 queens have the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to take the crown and win the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar? We’ll find out when season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, at 8pm ET/PT on MTV.
