Alexander J. Michaels (born October 16, 1983), stage name Alexis Michelle, is an American

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

and singer who came to international attention on the ninth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

''. As of 2019, she stars in the

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

transformational makeover television series '' Dragnificent'' as the makeup and body image expert. She released her debut album, ''Lovefool'', in 2018.

Early life

Michaels was raised in New York City. He attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts and received a BFA in musical theatre from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He started doing drag when he was 10 years old and had paid professional gigs starting in 2003. His cousin is singer

Lisa Loeb Lisa Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with the number 1 hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film '' Reality Bites,'' the first number 1 single for an artist ...

. He comes from a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. He comes from the same drag mother as season 10 contestant Dusty Ray Bottoms. He was seen wearing a Dusty T-shirt in the workroom in one of the episodes of season nine, and Bottoms wore an Alexis T-shirt in season 10. He auditioned for ''Drag Race'' eight times before being selected for season nine.

Career

She originated a role in the one-act campy comedy show, ''Rags to B***hes: A Battle of Wits & Wigs''. Alexis Michelle was announced as one of fourteen contestants competing on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race on February 2, 2017. She was the winner of the annual "

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a challenge on the ''Drag Race'' reality competition television franchise. Beginning with the second season of the original American series '' RuPaul's Drag Race'', the challenge has taken place on every season since. It has also ...

" challenge in episode six, portraying

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

. She was in the bottom two in the comedy challenge two episodes later and eliminated

Farrah Moan Cameron Clayton, better known by the stage name Farrah Moan, (born September 11, 1993), is an American drag queen, model, actor, make-up artist and internet personality best known for participating in the ninth season of the reality TV show ''RuP ...

to a lip sync of

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

's " Baby I'm Burning". In episode eleven, she was in the bottom two again with

Peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantba ...

, and lost a lip sync to the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...

's " Macho Man", placing Michelle in fifth. She frequently performs at the Feinstein/54 Below cabaret with her Broadway show "''Alexis, I Am!''". Michelle appeared with

BeBe Zahara Benet Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa (born March 20, 1980) better known by his stage name BeBe Zahara Benet, is a Cameroonian-American drag performer, television personality, and musician best known for winning the first season of the reality-television drag c ...

, Jujubee and

Thorgy Thor Thorgy Thor is the stage name of Shane Thor Galligan, an American drag queen and musician who came to international attention on the eighth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and on the third season of '' All Stars''. Early life Galligan studie ...

in the

show '' Drag Me Down the Aisle'' which aired on March 9, 2019. The special was subsequently given a full series order under the new name ''Dragnificent!'' and is set to premiere in April 2020. Michelle is the drag mother of

Jan Sport Jan Sport, sometimes known simply as Jan, is the stage name of Charlie Mantione (born Charles Joseph Mantione; June 11, 1993), an American drag queen and singer based in New York City, who came to international attention on the twelfth season o ...

, who placed eighth in the twelfth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''.

Music

Michelle teamed with

Sasha Velour Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...

, Aja and Peppermint for the single "C.L.A.T." in April 2017. Michelle released her ten-track debut album, ''Lovefool'', on May 11, 2018. A music video for the single of the same name, a cover of the 1996 song by

The Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows sin ...

, was available on May 17, 2018.

Filmography

Television

Web series

Music videos

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michelle, Alexis Living people American drag queens American Jews American male singers

Alexis Michelle Alexander J. Michaels (born October 16, 1983), stage name Alexis Michelle, is an American drag queen and singer who came to international attention on the ninth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. As of 2019, she stars in the TLC transformationa ...

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni 1983 births