The first season of ''

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

'' premiered in the United States on February 2, 2009, on Logo, and ended on March 23 of the same year. Nine contestants were selected to compete in the running of becoming "America's Next Drag Superstar." The first season was filmed during the summer of 2008. The winner of the first season won a cash prize of $20,000, $5,000 worth of

MAC Cosmetics M A C Cosmetics is a Canadian cosmetics manufacturer founded in Toronto in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo. The company has been headquartered in New York City since becoming a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies in 1998. MAC is an acron ...

, was featured in an LA Eyeworks campaign, and joined the Logo Drag Race tour. One of the nine contestants to compete on ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', Nina Flowers was determined by an audience vote via the show's official website to be the season's Miss Congeniality. The results were announced in early September 2009. The theme song playing during the runway every episode was "

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph is used for the front cover of magazines. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a person making a single, casual appearance on the cover of a magaz ...

" from RuPaul's album ''

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

''. This season, and season one of '' All Stars'', are the only seasons to not feature a "

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a comedy challenge recurring across the ''Drag Race'' television franchise and a fixture of the reality competition series. Since the second season of the original American ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' series in 2010, the challenge ha ...

" challenge episode, in which the contestants must impersonate a celebrity of their choosing while improvising witty responses to nonsensical riddles, in a format similar to vintage

game shows A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating wh ...

such as ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...

'' or ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

''. The winner of the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' was Cameroonian queen BeBe Zahara Benet, with Puerto Rican queen and DJ Nina Flowers as the runner-up. In late 2013, Logo re-aired the first season, which was titled ''RuPaul's Drag Race: The Lost Season'', with featured commentary from

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

Contestants

''Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.'' Notes:

Future ''Drag Race'' appearances

* In 2012 Nina Flowers, Shannel, and Tammie Brown competed on ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ''All Stars'' season 1. * In 2018 BeBe Zahara Benet was a surprise contestant on ''All Stars'' season 3. * In 2020 Ongina competed on ''All Stars'' season 5. * In 2024 Shannel competed on ''All Stars'' season 9.

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order: *

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon Mackie (born March 24, 1940) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of numerous entertainment personalities for television, movies, concerts, and live stage shows. He was the costume designer f ...

, fashion designer *

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 ...

, photographer * Frank Gatson, director and choreographer *

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

, singer and actress * Howard Bragman, writer and lecturer *

Debra Wilson Debra Wilson is an American actress and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series ''Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a voice actress, she has voiced va ...

, actress and comedian *Gordon Espinet, make-up artist * Jenny Shimizu, model and actress *

Lucy Lawless Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and director. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', as Number Three (Battlestar Galactica), D'Anna Biers on the re-im ...

, actress and singer *

Robin Antin Robin Antin is an American dancer and choreographer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with international hits, a Las Vegas nightclub ...

, dancer, choreographer, and actress *Jeffrey Moran,

Absolut Vodka Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 (equivalent to € in ) from the Swedish state. Absolut ...

marketing/branding executive *

María Conchita Alonso María Concepción Alonso Bustillo (born June 29, 1955), better known as María Conchita Alonso, is a Cuban-born Venezuelan-American actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who represented Venezuela at Miss World 1975 and placed in the t ...

, singer-songwriter and actress

Episodes

References

External links

* (U.S.) * {{RuPaul's Drag Race 2009 American television seasons 1 2009 LGBTQ-related television