Plasma is the stage name of Taylor Ratliff (born November 6, 1998), an American drag performer, actor, and singer. Plasma is best known for competing on season 16 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 ...

''.

Early life and education

Ratliff grew up in a small rural town in northeast Texas. Through listening to artists like

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...

, and

Barbara Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, and participating in junior high theatrical plays, Ratliff began to grow a love of theatre. Ratliff earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree in musical theatre performance from the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

Career

After graduating, Plasma moved to New York City in June of 2021 to start a career in theatre before deciding to engage with the city's resurging drag scene. She started her New York City drag career at the Lady Liberty pageant hosted by ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' alum

Brita Filter Brita Filter, the stage name of Jesse Carl Havea, is an American drag queen who has appeared on '' Shade: Queens of NYC'' and the twelfth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', ultimately placing 8th. Early life and career Havea is originally from A ...

. Her drag is heavily inspired by the actresses of

the Golden Age of Hollywood Classical Hollywood cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of filmmaking which became characteristic of American cinema between the 1910s (rapidly after World War I) and the 1960s. It eventually ...

and seeks to unite vintage and modern American pop culture. Plasma competed on season 16 of ''

''. She won two "maxi challenges" before being eliminated from the competition in the season's ninth episode after a lip-sync contest loss to fellow contestant Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige to a remix of "

Bloody Mary Bloody Mary originally referred to: * Mary I of England (1516–1558), Queen of England and Ireland, so called because of her persecution of Protestants Bloody Mary may also refer to: Film * '' Urban Legends: Bloody Mary'', a 2005 horror fil ...

" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

. She holds the series record for lowest placement by anyone with at least two solo "maxi challenge" wins.

Personal life

Ratliff's father is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

in Texas, who has fought against anti-drag legislation. Ratliff's grandfather is

Bill Ratliff William Roark Ratliff (born August 16, 1936), is an American politician and engineer who served as a member of the Texas Senate from 1988 to 2004.

, former

lieutenant governor of Texas The lieutenant governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and contro ...

. Ratliff is based in New York City.

Filmography

Television

* ''

'' ( season 16) * '' RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked''

Music videos

* "

Don't Rain on My Parade "Don't Rain on My Parade" is a popular song from the 1964 musical '' Funny Girl''. It was also featured in the 1968 movie version of the musical. The song was written by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne. Both the movie and stage versions feature Barbra ...

" (2024) * "Bloody Mary" (2024)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plasma 1998 births Living people American drag queens Drag performers from New York City RuPaul's Drag Race contestants University of Oklahoma alumni