James Luck (born 30 September 1992), better 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 ...

Elektra Shock, is a New Zealand drag performer best known for competing on the first season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' is a reality competition streaming television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand. The s ...

'' and the second season of ''

House of Drag ''House of Drag'' is a New Zealand reality competition television series produced by Warner Bros. International TV Production New Zealand for TVNZ OnDemand and OutTV. It debuted on 15 November 2018 on TVNZ OnDemand. It is hosted by New Zealand dra ...

Early life

Luck was born in England and raised in

Invercargill, New Zealand Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

where he attended

Southland Boys' High School Southland Boys' High School (SBHS) is an all-boys school in Invercargill, New Zealand, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form Verdon College in 1982. History SBHS was founded in 1881 and ...

. He studied dance at the Urban Dance Centre in

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

Career

Luck has worked as a

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

for acts such as

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...

, and

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...

. He was a backup dancer in the

2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry of Wales representing Queen Elizabeth II. The clo ...

for

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

. In 2018, Luck was a guest dancer on ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' and was on the judging panel of Indian-inspired dance competition ''The Great NZ Dance Masala''. Elektra was a contestant on the second season of the New Zealand drag competition show ''

'', placing as the runner-up. On the show, she won four challenges, the most in the show's history, and never placed in the bottom. She was eliminated in the final lip sync by that season's winner, New Zealand drag queen

Spankie Jackzon Spankie Jackzon is the stage name of Blair Macbeth (born 4 November 1984), a New Zealand drag performer. She is best known for winning the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' in 2022. Previously, in 2020, she also won the second ...

. In March 2021, Elektra was announced as a competitor on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under''. ''House of Drag'' hosts and judges

Kita Mean Nick Nash (born 14 April 1986), better known by the stage name Kita Mean, is a New Zealand drag performer best known for hosting ''House of Drag'' and winning the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under''. Career Kita and Anita Wigl' ...

and

Anita Wigl'it Nick Kennedy-Hall (born 10 July 1989), better known by the stage name Anita Wigl'it, is a British and New Zealand drag performer best known for hosting ''House of Drag'' from 2018 to 2020, and competing on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Ra ...

competed alongside Elektra, making Elektra the first Drag Race contestant to compete against the judges of a previous show she was on. Elektra became known as a "lip sync assassin" on her season, eliminating JoJo Zaho and Coco Jumbo in episodes 1 and 3. She won the commercial challenge in episode 5. In episode 7, she landed in the bottom two and was eliminated by season winner

. The name "Elektra Shock" is derived from

electric shock Electrical injury is a physiological reaction caused by electric current passing through the body. The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact. Very small currents may be imperceptible or produce ...

; the name was given to her by her drag mother Trinity Ice. Luck appeared as a judge on the ninth series of ''Dancing with the Stars''.

Personal life

Luck has identified as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

. He lives in the Ponsonby neighborhood of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

with his partner Michael.

Filmography

Television

References

{{RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under 1992 births Living people New Zealand drag queens New Zealand dancers People educated at Southland Boys' High School People from Invercargill Queer people RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under contestants House of Drag contestants