Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson (born January 16, 1980), best known by the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Alyssa Edwards, is an American drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson. Edwards was known for competing in

drag pageantry Drag pageantry is a developed form of pageantry for female impersonators, drag queens, and trans women, styled after traditional beauty pageants or contests for cisgender women. It has also evolved into a pageantry for male impersonators, drag ...

(notably

Miss Gay America Miss Gay America is a national pageant for female impersonators. Established in 1972, the pageant is based on the Miss America contest and follows a similar format. Each year, contestants compete at various city, state, and direct regional pre ...

2010) before rising to international attention as a contestant on the fifth 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 ...

'', becoming a fan favorite during and after her time on the show. Edwards subsequently appeared on the second season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, b ...

'' and starred in her own web series, ''Alyssa's Secret''. Johnson lives in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a suburban city located east of the city of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Most of the city is located in Dallas County, though a small portion extends into Kaufman County. As of 2019 census estimates, the population was 140 ...

, where he owns and operates a dance studio, Beyond Belief Dance Company. Johnson and his dance studio are the centerpieces of a docuseries, ''

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus al ...

'', produced by

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

and World of Wonder that premiered on October 5, 2018 on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Career

Johnson performs under the

Alyssa Edwards. She chose her name in homage to

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in '' My Name Is Earl'', Sa ...

and to her drag mother Laken Edwards, a former drag queen. Edwards is part of the drag family "the Haus of Edwards," and serves as drag mother to fellow ''

'' contestants

Shangela Laquifa Wadley Chantize Darius Jeremy Pierce, better known as Shangela Laquifa Wadley or mononymously as Shangela (born November 22, 1980), is an American drag queen, reality television personality and actor best known for competing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. S ...

Laganja Estranja Jay Evan Jackson, known professionally as Laganja Estranja (born December 28, 1988) is an American choreographer and drag queen based in Los Angeles. Laganja competed on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', finishing in eighth place. She ...

Gia Gunn Gia Gunn is the stage name of American drag performer Gia Keitaro Ichikawa (born May 10, 1990). She is known for competing on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the second season of ''The Switch Drag Race'', and '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

Vivienne Pinay The fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' began airing on January 28, 2013, with a 90-minute premiere episode. The winner of season five headlined Logo's Drag Race Tour featuring Absolut Vodka, won a one-of-a-kind trip, a lifetime supply of Color ...

, and

Plastique Tiara The eleventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' aired on VH1 from February 28, 2019, to May 30, 2019. The cast featured fourteen new queens and one returning queen, making it the largest cast of the series so far; the contestants were announced in ...

. Edwards was one of the judges of the 2010 California Entertainer of the Year pageant, where Shangela won. Edwards appeared in the 2008 documentary ''

Pageant Pageant may refer to: * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * Latter Day Saint plays and pageants, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or by members local to the area of the pageant * ...

''. The film focused on the 34th

pageant of 2006. On December 9, 2010, Edwards was stripped of her 2010 Miss Gay America title for having business dealings in conflict with obligations to the Miss Gay America organization. First alternate

Coco Montrese Coco Montrese (born July 2, 1974) is the stage name of Lenwood Martin Cooper, an American drag queen, entertainer, and reality television personality. Montrese came into the spotlight after being crowned Miss Gay America 2010 when Alyssa Edwards' ...

replaced Edwards as the winner of Miss Gay America. That same year, Edwards was also stripped of her title as All American Goddess. In November 2012,

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

announced that Edwards was among 14 drag queens who would be competing on the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Also performing on the show was pageant friend and rival Coco Montrese. Edwards performed and won in the ballet-themed main challenge in the "Black Swan: Why It Gotta Be Black?" episode of Rupaul's Drag Race. As part of the show, Edwards sang on the "

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album ''We Are the World''. Wit ...

"-inspired song "Can I Get an Amen?" The song's proceeds helped benefit the

Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center The Los Angeles LGBT Center (previously known as the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center) is a provider of programs and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The organization's work spans four categories, including health, soc ...

. Edwards was eliminated in episode nine, following a lip sync against Coco Montrese, and finished in sixth place. Edwards has also been a special guest on the podcast series run by RuPaul and

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

called '' RuPaul: What's The Tee?'' She was one of thirty drag queens featured in

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

's 2015 VMA performance. Edwards is also known for her web series titled "Alyssa's Secret". The series stars Alyssa Edwards speaking on a multitude of subjects and often features guests including other members of the Haus of Edwards. The webseries is produced and premieres through World of Wonder Productions. Alyssa Edwards at DragCon, April 2017

In 2016, Edwards returned as one of 10 contestants in '' Season 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars'', ending in fifth place. Edwards won the main challenge of the third episode titled "Herstory of the World", playing Annie Oakley in a performance featuring other famous women throughout history. She was then eliminated in episode four "Drag Movie Shequels", after playing Bland in "Wha' Ha' Happened to Baby JJ", a parody of " What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", with

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

as Baby JJ. Edwards returned in episode five "Revenge of the Queens" by winning a chance to reenter the competition, winning a comedy challenge with Alaska followed by a lip sync of Rihanna's "

Shut Up and Drive "Shut Up and Drive" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her third studio album, ''Good Girl Gone Bad'' (2007). It was written by Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers while the produc ...

", in which both Edwards and

Tatianna Joey Santolini (born Joseph Michael Santolini; December 1, 1987), better known by his stage name Tatianna, is an American drag queen, musician, and reality television personality from Washington, D.C. He is best known for competing on the second ...

won. Edwards was then controversially eliminated a second time by Detox in episode seven "A Family that Drags Together", coming in fifth place overall. In 2019, Edwards released a makeup palette in collaboration with Anastasia Beverly Hills. In Episode 2 of All Stars 5, Alyssa made a guest appearance as a "Lip Sync Assassin", where she lip-synced against

Shea Couleé Jaren Kyei Merrell (born February 8, 1989), known professionally as Shea Couleé, is an American drag queen, musician, actor, podcaster, and fixture of the Chicago nightlife scene. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, they began their drag career in 2012. I ...

, but lost. Edwards was shortlisted for the fourth season of ''

'' but was cast as an alternate and instead was on the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Edwards appeared on the tenth season of ''

'' as a

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

for PharmaRusical and on the seventh episode of the eleventh season of ''

'' as a runway coach. In June 2019, a panel of judges from ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine placed her fifth on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' contestants. In 2021 Edwards appeared on the 16th season of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'', accompanying members of Beyond Belief as they auditioned for a spot in the competition. In June 2021 Edwards had a one-woman show on

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's West End entitled ''Alyssa: Memoirs of a Queen''. The autobiographical show ran for eight performances, featuring tales from her childhood to "reality TV apotheosis".

Titles

Edwards competed in and won numerous pageant titles. They include: * Miss Gay Texas America 2004, first alternate * Miss Gay Texas America 2005, winner *

2005, second alternate * Miss Northwest Regional Representative 2005, winner * Miss Gay America 2006, third alternate * Miss Texas FFI 2006, winner *

Miss Gay USofA Drag pageantry is a developed form of pageantry for female impersonators, drag queens, and trans women, styled after traditional beauty pageants or contests for cisgender women. It has also evolved into a pageantry for male impersonators, drag ...

2006, winner * Miss Texas Continental 2007, winner * Miss Shining Star Continental 2009, winner * Miss Gay Mid East America 2008, first alternate * Miss Gay America 2009, third alternate * Miss Gay Heartland America 2009, first alternate * Miss Gay Heartland America 2010, first alternate * Miss Gay America 2010, winner * Southern Elegance All American Goddess 2010, winner * All American Goddess 2010, winner * National Entertainer of the Year, FI 2014, first alternate

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Web series

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Alyssa Living people 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen American drag queens Beauty pageant controversies People from Mesquite, Texas LGBT dancers LGBT choreographers LGBT people from Texas Businesspeople from Dallas

Alyssa Edwards Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson (born January 16, 1980), best known by the stage name Alyssa Edwards, is an American drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson. Edwards was known for competing in drag pageantry (notably Miss Gay America 2010) b ...

1980 births