Miss Fame (born March 30, 1985) is the stage name of Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen
, an American model, makeup artist, drag queen, recording artist and reality television personality best known as a contestant on
season 7
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
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 ...
''. After appearing on the show, Miss Fame launched a music career, releasing her debut single, "Rubber Doll" on April 28, 2015. Her debut album, ''
Beauty Marked'', was released on June 9, 2015.
Career
Dam-Mikkelsen worked as an editorial model in California before moving to New York in 2011, following the advice of fashion photographer
Mike Ruiz
Mike Ruiz is a Canadian photographer, director, television personality, former model, spokesperson, creative director, and actor.
Early life
Ruiz, who is of French Canadian and Spanish Filipino ancestry, was born in Montreal in 1964, but raised ...
. They then started working as a makeup artist, while at the same time modeling and performing in drag as "Miss Fame."
Miss Fame was noticed by photographer
Mary McCartney
Mary Anna McCartney (born 28 August 1969) is a British photographer, documentary filmmaker, cookbook author, and Global Ambassador for Meat Free Monday. She is also the host for the Discovery+/Food Network vegan cooking show, ''Mary McCartney S ...
who featured her in her book ''Devoted''. She has also appeared in ''Half-Drag'', a photo series by Leland Bobbé which attracted international attention and was featured in ''
Vogue Italia
''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964.
Name
''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''No ...
''. Miss Fame was also photographed for ''Gorgeous'', a project by photographers Rob Lebow and Masha Kupets that involved
Armen Ra
Armen Ra is a Persian-Armenian artist, self-taught thereminist, production designer, director, and performer.
Musical career Career (2010-2013)
Ra began studying the theremin in 2001, debuting with the orchestral group Antony & the Johnsons in ...
,
Candis Cayne, and
Tammie Brown
Tammie Brown is the stage name of Keith Glen Schubert (born September 15, 1980), an American drag performer, reality television personality, and recording artist. Brown was a fixture in the Southern California drag scene before appearing on the ...
. Dam-Mikkelsen works as a celebrity makeup artist in New York City, and has worked on models and celebrities including
Ève Salvail,
Snooki
Nicole Elizabeth LaValle (née Polizzi; born November 23, 1987), best known by her nickname Snooki, is an American reality television personality. She is best known for being a cast member of the MTV reality show ''Jersey Shore'' and starring ...
and
JWoww
Jennifer Lynn Farley (born February 27, 1986), also known as JWoww, is an American television personality. She first came to prominence as one of the eight main cast members in the MTV reality series ''Jersey Shore'', and is a main cast member ...
,
Martha Wash
Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...
,
Wendy Williams
Wendy Williams Hunter ( Wendy Joan Williams; born July 18, 1964) is an American broadcaster and writer. From 2008 to 2021, she hosted the nationally syndicated television talk show ''The Wendy Williams Show.''
Prior to television, Williams w ...
, and
Michael Urie
Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC dramedy television series ''Ugly Betty''. He can be heard as Bobby Kerns in ''As the Curtain Rises'', an original podca ...
.
On December 7, 2014, during the "Ru-Veal" of the
seventh 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 ...
'', Miss Fame was the first queen announced to be a contestant on the show. She was eliminated in the ninth episode, "Divine Inspiration," placing her seventh overall. Following her elimination, she released the music video for "Rubber Doll", which was the first single from her debut album, ''
Beauty Marked''. The album was released June 9, 2015, and featured appearances from fellow ''Drag Race'' contestants
Alaska Thunderfuck
Justin Andrew Honard (born March 6, 1985) is an American drag queen and recording artist known by the stage name Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, primarily known mononymously as Alaska, from Erie, Pennsylvania. She is best known as the runner-up on th ...
and
Violet Chachki
Violet Chachki is the stage name of Paul Jason Dardo (born June 13, 1992), an American drag queen, burlesque/ aerial performer, content creator, model, and recording artist best known for winning the seventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. C ...
.
In 2016, Miss Fame signed with IMG models Paris. She contributed to the compilation album ''
Christmas Queens 3
''Christmas Queens 3'' is a holiday compilation album, released in 2017. The album is the third installation in a similarly-named series, following ''Christmas Queens'' and ''Christmas Queens 2'', and features Alaska Thunderfuck, Bob the Drag Queen ...
'' in 2017.
In September 2018, Miss Fame performed as a background dancer behind
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
for
Opening Ceremony's Spring 2019 collection, with other ''Drag Race'' alumni. She released her own makeup line called "The Fetish of Fashion" later in October.
Early and personal life
Dam-Mikkelsen was born to Dolly Silveira in
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, California.
He has also stated that he was raised by his grandmother, Gloria, as her own son. Kurtis identifies as
genderfluid
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...
. Fame lives with husband Patrick Berschy and their pet dachshunds, Mina and Shaya.
In 2020, Fame moved to
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
with their husband.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Other appearances
Filmography
Film
Television
Web series
Music videos
Music video appearances
Awards and nominations
See also
*
LGBT culture in New York City
New York City is home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most power ...
*
List of LGBT people from New York City
References
External links
*
Official website for Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen*
{{Authority control
21st-century American singers
American make-up artists
American drag queens
LGBT singers from the United States
LGBT people from California
LGBT people from New York (state)
LGBT YouTubers
People from San Luis Obispo, California
RuPaul's Drag Race contestants
Television personalities from California
American YouTubers
Living people
1985 births
Non-binary models
American cosmetics businesspeople
Non-binary drag performers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people