The sixteenth 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 on January 5, 2024. The reality competition series, broadcast on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in the United States, showcases fourteen drag queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar" and a cash prize of $200,000. This season introduced a LaLaPaRuZa Lip-Sync Smackdown competition for the eliminated queens that took place before the finale.

Morphine Love Dion Morphine Love Dion, known out of drag as Michelle Orozco (born January 4, 1997), is an American drag performer best known for competing on season 16 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Career On ''Drag Race'', Morphine Love Dion was eliminated on the t ...

, who placed fifth in the main competition, won the smackdown and the title of ''Queen of She Done Already Done Had Herses''. The winner of season 16 was

Nymphia Wind Leo Tsao ( zh, 曹米駬; born July 23, 1995), known professionally as Nymphia Wind ( zh, 妮妃雅‧瘋), is a Taiwanese-American Drag (entertainment), drag performer and dressmaker. In 2024, Nymphia Wind was crowned the winner of RuPaul's Drag ...

, the first ever East Asian winner, with

Sapphira Cristál Sapphira Cristál (born September 27, 1988) is the stage name of O'Neill Nichol Haynes, an American drag performer who was both runner-up and Miss Congeniality on season 16 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. She is also a classically trained opera singer ...

as the runner up and the series' first tied winner of Miss Congeniality, shared with

Xunami Muse Michael Alexander White, better known as Xunami Muse, is a Panamanian drag performer based in the United States (under DACA). She competed on season 16 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', where she placed 9th. Early life White was born and raised i ...

Production

In August 2023, the competition series and its companion series, '' RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked'', were officially renewed and would remain on

. ''

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, ...

'' was also renewed for a ninth season by

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

. In November, a teaser was released from MTV featuring

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 ...

in various promos from past seasons.

Sasha Colby Sasha Kekauoha (born July 26, 1984), best known by the stage name Sasha Colby, is an American drag performer and beauty pageant competitor. In 2012, she won the Miss Continental competition. In 2023, she was crowned the winner of season 15 of '' ...

, the winner of season fifteen, presented the ''Meet the Queens'' via the series official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on December 6, 2023. The ''Meet the Queens'' video included an 8-minute clip from the season premiere, where the fourteen contestants entered the Werk Room set.

Contestants

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

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Charlize Theron Charlize Theron ( ; ; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 201 ...

, actress and producer *

Becky G Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, she first gained recognition in 2011 for her cover version, cover versions of popular song ...

, singer and actress *

Isaac Mizrahi Isaac Mizrahi (born October 14, 1961) is an American fashion designer, actor, singer, television presenter and chief designer of the Isaac Mizrahi brand for Xcel Brands. Based in New York City, he is best known for his eponymous fashion lines. M ...

, fashion designer *

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted by a talent agent as a young child, she made her film debut at age six in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). She had her first lead ...

, actress *

Icona Pop Icona Pop ( ) are a Swedish synth-pop duo that formed in 2009, with electro house and indie pop music influences. Its two members, Aino Jawo (born 7 July 1986) and Caroline Hjelt (born 8 November 1987), grew up in Stockholm and created what the ...

, electropop musical duo *

Law Roach Lawrence Roach is an American fashion stylist, best-known for his work with artists such as Zendaya, Céline Dion, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Roach served as a primary judge on the Max competition series '' Legendary'' (2020–2022). He announced his ...

, retired stylist *

Adam Shankman Adam Michael Shankman (born November 27, 1964) is an American film director, producer, writer, dancer, author, actor, and choreographer. He was a permanent judge on seasons 6–7 of the television program ''So You Think You Can Dance (American TV ...

, director, writer, producer, dancer and choreographer *

Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick ( ; born August 19, 1965) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the crime drama ''The Closer'' (2005–2012), for which she won a Golden ...

, actress *

Kaia Gerber Kaia Jordan Gerber (born September 3, 2001) is an American model and actress. After starring in a series of ad campaigns for fashion brands since debuting at New York Fashion Week, Fashion Week in 2017, Gerber won Model of the Year at the The Fa ...

, model * Jamal Sims, choreographer *

Joel Kim Booster Joel Alexander Kim Booster (born February 29, 1988), born Kim Joonmin (), is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He co-produced and wrote for '' Big Mouth'' and '' The Other Two'' and as an actor has appeared on '' Shrill'', '' Se ...

, actor and comedian * Mayan Lopez, actress *

Kelsea Ballerini Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, she began having success in the 2010s, being honored with the Academy of Country Music Awards#Special awards, Ge ...

, singer *

Ronan Farrow Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow (born December 19, 1987) is an American journalist. The son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen, he is known for his investigative reporting on sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Wei ...

, journalist

Special guests

Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage. ;Episodes 1–2 *

Derrick Barry Derrick Prentice Barry (born July 18, 1983) is an American drag performer, Britney Spears impersonator and reality television personality. He is best known for competing on the third season of ''America's Got Talent'' (2008), and later the eig ...

, contestant on

season 8 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 polar ...

and ''All Stars'' season 5 * Love Connie, drag performer and actor ;Episode 6 *

Charo María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-born actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist who rose to international prominence in the 1960s on American television, as well ...

, singer, actress, musician and comedian ;Episode 7 *

Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Melissa McCarthy, numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Award ...

, actress and comedian ;Episode 8 *

Chad Michaels Chad Michael Storbeck, known professionally as Chad Michaels (born March 20, 1971), is an American Drag queen, drag performer and professional Cher impersonator. He was a runner-up in the RuPaul's Drag Race season 4, fourth season of ''RuPaul's D ...

, contestant on

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album ...

and winner of ''All Stars'' season 1 ;Episode 10 * Leland, music producer * Freddy Scott, composer and actor ;Episode 12 * Claudia "Norvina" Soare, president of Anastasia Beverly Hills ;Episode 14 * Albert Sanchez, photographer * Matt Rogers, comedian, podcaster and television host ;Episode 16 *

, winner of

season 15 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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

* Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, Miss Congeniality of season 15 *

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Gay Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage pers ...

, actress

Episodes

Ratings

References

{{RuPaul's Drag Race, 16 2024 American television seasons 2024 LGBTQ-related television 16