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RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American actor, model, singer, songwriter, television personality, and author. As executive producer and host of the reality competition TV series RuPaul's Drag Race (2009), RuPaul has received fourteen Primetime Emmy Awards - the most wins for outstanding host of a reality or competition program and for any Black artist in history.

In 2022, RuPaul received a Tony Award as a producer of Best Musical A Strange Loop.

RuPaul is the most commercially successful drag queen of all time, and in 2017 was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

RuPaul was born and raised in San Diego, CA and later moved to Atlanta, GA to study performing arts. After settling in New York City, RuPaul became a popular fixture on the nightclub scene before achieving international fame with the release of the 1993 song RuPaul: Supermodel, You Better Work (1993).

In 1995, RuPaul became the first spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics, raising millions of dollars for the MAC AIDS Fund and becoming the first man to land a major cosmetics campaign.

In 1996, RuPaul landed a TV talk show on VH1, RuPaul's Drag Race (2009), taping more than 100 episodes with co-host Michelle Visage, while simultaneously co-hosting a morning drive radio show with Visage on WKTU.

As a recording artist, RuPaul has co-written and co-produced eighteen studio albums to date, including Foxy Lady (1996), Champion (2009), Glamazon (2011), Born Naked (2014), American (2017), and Black Butta (2023).

RuPaul's Drag Race (2009) has produced sixteen seasons to date and has inspired several international spin-off series, including RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019) and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2012). RuPaul was also featured as a host on the series Skin Wars (2014): Fresh Paint, Good Work, Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul, Lingo, Celebrity Lingo, and was the guest host of Saturday Night Live (1975) on February 8th, 2020.

As an actor, RuPaul has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows, both in and out of drag, including Crooklyn (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), the Comedy Central series Broad City (2014), Netflix originals Girlboss (2017) and Grace and Frankie (2015), and as the voice of Queen Chante in The Simpsons (1989). In 2020, RuPaul teamed up with Michael Patrick King (Sex in the City, 2 Broke Girls) to produce the Netflix original comedy series AJ & The Queen, in which RuPaul also starred.

As an author, RuPaul has published four books: the #1 New York Times bestseller The House of Hidden Meanings (Harper Collins, 2024), GuRu (Harper Collins, 2018), Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style (Harper Collins, 2010), and Lettin' It All Hang Out (Hyperion Books, 1995). On March 16, 2018, Jane Fonda presented RuPaul with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6652 Hollywood Blvd.

RuPaul lives in New York, California, and Wyoming, and is married to Australian rancher Georges LeBar. They met on the dance floor in 1994 at Limelight Disco in New York City.

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