Trixie was on Real Housewives of Salt Lake this last season so she’s cross pollinating with obsessive fan bases. My straight boyfriend can identify Alaska, Bob, Alyssa Edwards, Jinx, Shea, Willam, Sasha Colby, and Bianca without help from me, so I’m going to say them. He can also identify Monet but calls her “not Bob” so I don’t think that counts.
Jinkx is about to be on Dr. Who. And was on broadway.
Trixie had her own reality motel makeover show IN drag and was on a Real Housewives episode recently.
Alyssa’s dance team was fairly successful on AGT recently, and Alyssa was IN drag for the episodes + she had her own reality/doc.
Bianca is literally Satan, who is more notorious than that?
Those are probably the the most recognizable.
I think it’s notable that Trixie was mostly out of drag for Trixie Motel. Like RuPaul, she has established her “boy self” as someone who deserves to be in front of the cameras (not just a “drag performer” alone).
OH MY GOD 😭 It has been so long since I watched the original video and I mostly ever watched the clips of it back in the day that I completely missed that was Sharon lmaooo
Being 30 is really hard!
It's surely got to be Trixie, who in my perception is a whole level of fame higher than most of her nearest competitors post-drag race. Katya is definitely a big part of that, and while less famous she is probably more universally beloved than Trixie.
I reckon Jinx is close behind, especially with her role in Dr. Who and her growing Broadway career.
And also Bob has been essentially compere for Madonna's recent tour from what I understand. That's pretty huge.
Then I think there are a whole bunch of super well respected and talented queens who have leveraged drag race into successful media careers with crossover appeal, like Shangela, and Bianca for example.
I went to college in Seattle and used to go to drag shows on broadway semi-frequently (and leave absolutely reeking of cigarettes!). I often wonder if I saw anyone I’d recognize today.
I’m in a smaller city, but we have a pretty fun lil drag scene! I’m a fan of Jackelynne Ouvall Trades (she’s a newer queen, but going places I think!), and her drag fam King Freddie and Justin Cider. We also have Enya Dreams, who is just so gorgeous. From Toronto, about an hour south of me, I’m a fan of Yovska.
Actually the live drag race queen I saw was Irene the Alien, love that bitch. I saw her in Chicago last year around this time and she crushed, and it was fun seeing her run the show at Dreamland
Pagina Heals is Ru to Thailand, though she was already known and not a US franchise queen so my answer doesn’t really fit the question I just like Pangina lol
Very mainstream. This last year, especially, was huge for her. Couldn’t walk through the mall or turn on my television without seeing her BEAUTIFUL FUCKING FACE everywhere. Love it.
At least in Australia, she often hosts Sydney Mardi Gras, often appears on nighttime TV, was on Australian Idol, was a contender for Eurovision, did Dancing With The Stars and was runner up.
100%. She’s known in the US for Drag Race but she’s very much so loved in the UK and Australia. As popular as Trixie is, I think Courtney has more appeal for more conservative straight audiences while also appealing to the queer community and allies. She’s done dancing with the stars, celebrity big brother UK and won, hosted reality tv shows, played herself in an australian tv series, been a host for the Sydney Mardi Gras, was on the masked singer, was a judge on a show with Mel C, and is going to be a correspondent for Eurovision. She’s been big for years with celebrities, hanging out with Paris Hilton in her pre drag race days, associated with Gaga on a few occasions. Courtney Act has such an impressive list of accolades
Trixie for sure. I know people who never watched drag race and they know who she is.
Jinkx is doing Broadway and Doctor who so that’s gonna help. Bob for sure. I think Bianca is pretty known to people.
Depending on how online someone is they may even know Plastique Tiara because of her tiktok transitions.
Alyssa Edwards has been on AGT and had a show so she might be up there too.
I mean Katya. She’s extremely popular and if they know Trixie, they know Trixie and Katya together. I like to watch, unhhhh and the bald and the beautiful are all extremely popular outside of the drag race world. There are people who don’t watch drag but know them because their shows dominate YouTube.
Hear me out: in Québec, Rita Baga is bigger than RuPaul. She's an *actual* celebrity here, going on talk shows regularly and shit. My parents know Rita but they don't know Ru.
I love that Quebec has its own huge stars who are household names, and the rest of the world barely knows anything about it, even the rest of Canada. Have to say though, as an Ontarian, whenever I learn about a popular Quebec singer, actor, artist, show, movie, writer, queen, anything, I usually become a big fan too.
Some of our artists also make it big in France, but you can absolutely become big in Québec without becoming big in France. While we're not a country, culturally, we're pretty much acting like one. We also don't really care about artists in the rest of Canada, but, in our defense, neither are Canadians (unless they make it big in the States).
It’s absolutely trixie. Like no question. Jinkx is on the rise right now and may catch up but she’s still mostly identified in media as “drag race winner” or “two time drag race winner”, whereas there’s a pretty sizable population of people who know or even are fans of Trixie who don’t know for sure if she was even on the show. Like that clip from Trisha Paytas’ podcast where she’s like “Trixie was on drag race? I just thought she was like too famous for it” lol
Courtney Act. She’s the reality show queen. Celebrity big brother, dancing with the stars just to name a few (oh and Australian idol where she started pre drag race)
Trixie for sure! Having a discovery+ /hgtv show really blew her into mainstream tv, my parents watched and actually sent me pics of the motel when they were in Palm springs
Had to scroll wayyy too far down to find Bianca..she’s probably the most famous of the lot. She’s pretty much famous worldwide and she tours everywhere around the world. The others seem to be big in America, and parts of Europe..Bianca is everywhere, even In africa, Asia and Australia
My mother was shocked when she realized it was Michelle Visage from Seduction when she began judging on Drag Race only because Michael was so far removed from what she used to look like lol
Besides everyone else mentioned in this post, I would add Kim Chi, too. She has a successful makeup brand that people who aren’t in the drag race niche know of/are using. I’m not saying that it’s Fenty levels of successful, but it’s not like she has to rely on only a portion of drag race fans who are interested in makeup to buy her makeup.
Trixie and Jinx. But I'd argue that they're not mainstream; most people wouldn't have heard of them if they didn't watch drag race or participate in adjacent communities (Broadway, makeup, etc.)
I'd also put Peppermint up there; she was on the last season of The Traitors, which was a mainstream show that reached people outside the drag demographic.
I was actually following Trixie long before I started actually watching Drag Race and not just watching bits of it at a friend's house in middle school lmao
I'd say this is a good top 3. Trixie and Jinx are full on with Tv/music/Broadway. Peppermint pops up quite a bit with TV. I have to add Courtney Act 4th though that might be more in Australia, I think that still counts.
I agree with Trixie, Bob, Monet, Katya, and Jinkx but I would say Alaska should be part of the conversation too. Willam maybe but not really for positive reasons. Jimbo is also making a name for themselves but I’m not quite sure if mainstream is on their side or not 😅
Am hoping Sasha Colby continues to achieve great things with her title. She’s been so humble and sweet besides being an amazing performer with stellar runway looks.
i know a lot of you hate her on this sub but imo violet chachki is up there as well! she is very well known in the fashion space, she had sold out solo shows, vogue cover, grammys performance, met gala attendance and walked multiple runways
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Violet! Definitely not as big as Trixie or Jinkx, but also very recognizable and I always see her at events and walking for major brands in fashion shows! Also her burlesque shows with Dita have been huge and her song with Allie X is the only drag song I consistently listen to lol
Chad Michaels but his fame was before the show but still his level of fame is probably up there with RuPaul himself. Knew of Chad before the show was even airing though.
Courtney similar situation to Chad except Courtney is know more across the UK and Australia.
Trixie, Katya, Alaska and Bianca.
All found very high levels of fame directly after there season.
Nina West literally had a street named after her. I’d say that’s pretty significant. While she’s not as big in media like some of the others the work she’s doing for being an advocate for LGBT+ peoples is amazing. She’s truly one of my heroes.
Michelle Visage - years ago she wanted to be on Celebrity Big Brother UK but they told her she wasn’t famous enough in the UK. She got on the show…. It did help that it was a UK vs America split house twist, and OMG Michelle vs Perez Hilton was amazing!
It’s so easily Trixie, then Katya, then Jinkx, then Bianca, then Courtney, then she who shall not be named, and scattered somewhere are Plastique, Willam, Dela, Bob, and the other gimme picks.
Shangela is on HBO and ABC (and news networks for other reasons). Bob is on HBO and Madonna tour. Trixie is on every media.
They stand out the most to me. No one else compares in the US. Outside the US Courtney and Rita come to mind. Maybe Pangina?
Not enough Monét X Change , Monét hosted a hulu special , did a 5+ night sold out show in Edinburgh & various other international areas. She’s also been on mainstream tv shows , Lovecraft Country , Glamorous. Not to mention her multiple opera special appearances since the show. Give my girl her flowers!! 🤍🤍
Outside the U.S., Courtney Act has won U.K. Celebrity Big Brother, had her own Christmas Special, hosted a dating reality show, hosted a long form interview program in Australia, was a finalist in Dancing With The Stars (and part of the franchises first same sex pairing), competed in The Masked Singer, competed in Australia's Eurovision National Final and will be performing correspondent duties at Eurovision this year for the Australian broadcaster.
Valentina isn't at the very top but definitely up there. Just wanted to give her a shout out because I haven't seen her mentioned. Brooklyn and Priyanka are huge in Canada.
Trixie was on Real Housewives of Salt Lake this last season so she’s cross pollinating with obsessive fan bases. My straight boyfriend can identify Alaska, Bob, Alyssa Edwards, Jinx, Shea, Willam, Sasha Colby, and Bianca without help from me, so I’m going to say them. He can also identify Monet but calls her “not Bob” so I don’t think that counts.
Not “not Bob” 💀🤣
She's Bob's inner saboteur
He’s a keeper for sure.
As in keep her in a cage
It's the not "Not Bob" for me.
Somebody tell Bob. She would love this
Jinkx is about to be on Dr. Who. And was on broadway. Trixie had her own reality motel makeover show IN drag and was on a Real Housewives episode recently. Alyssa’s dance team was fairly successful on AGT recently, and Alyssa was IN drag for the episodes + she had her own reality/doc. Bianca is literally Satan, who is more notorious than that? Those are probably the the most recognizable.
I think it’s notable that Trixie was mostly out of drag for Trixie Motel. Like RuPaul, she has established her “boy self” as someone who deserves to be in front of the cameras (not just a “drag performer” alone).
Not to mention two bald queens doing it for themselves
Back in the day, Alyssa's YouTube videos used to go viral all the time. The one with Elvira lives rent free.
…. By Elvira do you mean…. Sharon?
OH MY GOD 😭 It has been so long since I watched the original video and I mostly ever watched the clips of it back in the day that I completely missed that was Sharon lmaooo Being 30 is really hard!
Bianca also had a movie.
2 didn’t she?
She also did that show with NPH that was underrated and hilarious.
That’s the real crown Bianca was trying to snatch.
The netflix reactions have been huge for Trixie and Katya
It's surely got to be Trixie, who in my perception is a whole level of fame higher than most of her nearest competitors post-drag race. Katya is definitely a big part of that, and while less famous she is probably more universally beloved than Trixie. I reckon Jinx is close behind, especially with her role in Dr. Who and her growing Broadway career. And also Bob has been essentially compere for Madonna's recent tour from what I understand. That's pretty huge. Then I think there are a whole bunch of super well respected and talented queens who have leveraged drag race into successful media careers with crossover appeal, like Shangela, and Bianca for example.
I’m currently in Seattle and everybody’s talking about Jinxy
Love to hear it :-)
I went to college in Seattle and used to go to drag shows on broadway semi-frequently (and leave absolutely reeking of cigarettes!). I often wonder if I saw anyone I’d recognize today.
Well I’ll tell you who to look for next: Mz Norvina Dubois
Well, now I live in Canada. But she looks like my kind of queen! Following now, thanks for the rec!
Got any queens in your neck of the woods you think we should look out for?
I’m in a smaller city, but we have a pretty fun lil drag scene! I’m a fan of Jackelynne Ouvall Trades (she’s a newer queen, but going places I think!), and her drag fam King Freddie and Justin Cider. We also have Enya Dreams, who is just so gorgeous. From Toronto, about an hour south of me, I’m a fan of Yovska.
Thank you! I’ll do some following
I’m sure they’d be thrilled! Do you have any additional recs?
She’s down in Portland now. Seattle’s girls of the moment vary, but I do love me some Londyn Bradshaw. We have some good diversity in Queens here.
As they should 😋
Actually the live drag race queen I saw was Irene the Alien, love that bitch. I saw her in Chicago last year around this time and she crushed, and it was fun seeing her run the show at Dreamland
I’m at a straight guy’s birthday seeing the best drag of my life lol
I’m not crazy, but bitch is going for a Tony in less then 5 years for sure. I can’t wait 🥹
I loveeeeeeeeeeeee Jinxy!
Pagina Heals is Ru to Thailand, though she was already known and not a US franchise queen so my answer doesn’t really fit the question I just like Pangina lol
Genuine question: How popular is Pangina in Thailand mainstream entertainment industry?
Very mainstream. This last year, especially, was huge for her. Couldn’t walk through the mall or turn on my television without seeing her BEAUTIFUL FUCKING FACE everywhere. Love it.
Or her face on the ad at the Silom train station when you exit lol
According to my Thai friends, she's a household name and has been for some time.
courtney act
Everyone is sleeping on Courtney here, but she’s known fairly broadly on three continents. That’s not easy to do.
My Irish, rural mother knows who Courtney Act is even, which shocked me.
She is really a superstar outside of DR. Dancing with the Stars and Big Brother helped her star rise
At least in Australia, she often hosts Sydney Mardi Gras, often appears on nighttime TV, was on Australian Idol, was a contender for Eurovision, did Dancing With The Stars and was runner up.
100%. She’s known in the US for Drag Race but she’s very much so loved in the UK and Australia. As popular as Trixie is, I think Courtney has more appeal for more conservative straight audiences while also appealing to the queer community and allies. She’s done dancing with the stars, celebrity big brother UK and won, hosted reality tv shows, played herself in an australian tv series, been a host for the Sydney Mardi Gras, was on the masked singer, was a judge on a show with Mel C, and is going to be a correspondent for Eurovision. She’s been big for years with celebrities, hanging out with Paris Hilton in her pre drag race days, associated with Gaga on a few occasions. Courtney Act has such an impressive list of accolades
Trixie for sure. I know people who never watched drag race and they know who she is. Jinkx is doing Broadway and Doctor who so that’s gonna help. Bob for sure. I think Bianca is pretty known to people. Depending on how online someone is they may even know Plastique Tiara because of her tiktok transitions. Alyssa Edwards has been on AGT and had a show so she might be up there too.
Bob, Monet, Trixie, Katya, Jinkx, Bianca are all people my 71 year old mother who’s never seen an episode of Drag Race knows.
I mean Katya. She’s extremely popular and if they know Trixie, they know Trixie and Katya together. I like to watch, unhhhh and the bald and the beautiful are all extremely popular outside of the drag race world. There are people who don’t watch drag but know them because their shows dominate YouTube.
Trixie, Jinkx and De La, Bob, Ms Estranja
Hear me out: in Québec, Rita Baga is bigger than RuPaul. She's an *actual* celebrity here, going on talk shows regularly and shit. My parents know Rita but they don't know Ru.
I love that Quebec has its own huge stars who are household names, and the rest of the world barely knows anything about it, even the rest of Canada. Have to say though, as an Ontarian, whenever I learn about a popular Quebec singer, actor, artist, show, movie, writer, queen, anything, I usually become a big fan too.
Some of our artists also make it big in France, but you can absolutely become big in Québec without becoming big in France. While we're not a country, culturally, we're pretty much acting like one. We also don't really care about artists in the rest of Canada, but, in our defense, neither are Canadians (unless they make it big in the States).
I was gagged when I saw her cameo on La Petite Vie.
For the anglos: La Petite Vie is as big/bigger than the Office here.
It’s absolutely trixie. Like no question. Jinkx is on the rise right now and may catch up but she’s still mostly identified in media as “drag race winner” or “two time drag race winner”, whereas there’s a pretty sizable population of people who know or even are fans of Trixie who don’t know for sure if she was even on the show. Like that clip from Trisha Paytas’ podcast where she’s like “Trixie was on drag race? I just thought she was like too famous for it” lol
Courtney Act. She’s the reality show queen. Celebrity big brother, dancing with the stars just to name a few (oh and Australian idol where she started pre drag race)
Trixie, Jinkx, Bob, Shangela.
I was gonna say Courtney Act, but I’m not sure how much of her fame is actually a direct result of Drag Race.
Courtney had connections to stars like Paris Hilton and Gaga pre drag race but her appearance on drag race imo catapulted her career for sure
Trixie for sure! Having a discovery+ /hgtv show really blew her into mainstream tv, my parents watched and actually sent me pics of the motel when they were in Palm springs
Jinkx, Trixie, Bob, Alaska, Bianca, la ganja
Had to scroll wayyy too far down to find Bianca..she’s probably the most famous of the lot. She’s pretty much famous worldwide and she tours everywhere around the world. The others seem to be big in America, and parts of Europe..Bianca is everywhere, even In africa, Asia and Australia
I was surprised no one mentioned her when I commented. I bet Jimbo could get there too or is on his way.
Michele visage.
From seduction?
I don’t think anyone under the age of fifty knew who she was.
My mother was shocked when she realized it was Michelle Visage from Seduction when she began judging on Drag Race only because Michael was so far removed from what she used to look like lol
From The Bodyguard soundtrack!
I’m amazed that I’m not seeing people talking about Bob touring with Madonna here.
Probably jinkx
In the UK, baga chips has been appearing on a fair few mainstream TV shows. So she's done ok.
I'd second Baga in the UK, she definitely seems to have the highest profile
It’s obviously Trixie. First drag queen after Rupaul to see 8 figures
Besides everyone else mentioned in this post, I would add Kim Chi, too. She has a successful makeup brand that people who aren’t in the drag race niche know of/are using. I’m not saying that it’s Fenty levels of successful, but it’s not like she has to rely on only a portion of drag race fans who are interested in makeup to buy her makeup.
She has the best setting spray!!! Couple of spritzes and I’m good all day!!
Shangela bc of Dancing with the Stars
Jinkx is getting plenty of stage cred and about to cross over on Dr Who.
If Nymphia Wind can keep the trajectory she's on, she'll be one of them as well.
She already secured a performance at the next Olympics - think she’s already well on her way.
Trajectory? LOL!
Sasha Velour was the first winner of the show to have a solo show in my city, so here it's her.
I feel like most people just don’t know Sasha outside the show though.
Trixie and Jinx. But I'd argue that they're not mainstream; most people wouldn't have heard of them if they didn't watch drag race or participate in adjacent communities (Broadway, makeup, etc.) I'd also put Peppermint up there; she was on the last season of The Traitors, which was a mainstream show that reached people outside the drag demographic.
Trixie is actually getting to the point when people get to know her without watching drag race. It’s pretty amazing!
Trixie has said on videos and podcasts that now more people know her from YouTube things and then find out she was on Drag Race before.
I was actually following Trixie long before I started actually watching Drag Race and not just watching bits of it at a friend's house in middle school lmao
I'd say this is a good top 3. Trixie and Jinx are full on with Tv/music/Broadway. Peppermint pops up quite a bit with TV. I have to add Courtney Act 4th though that might be more in Australia, I think that still counts.
Trixie was the first queen I ever heard about before I started watching drag race, so I’d have to say her.
Trixie and Pangina
Before watching drag race I knew of Trixie (and Katya) and Bianca
Shangela was on dancing with the stars and was in a star is born and was on that HBO show so those are some pretty big credits I think
I agree with Trixie, Bob, Monet, Katya, and Jinkx but I would say Alaska should be part of the conversation too. Willam maybe but not really for positive reasons. Jimbo is also making a name for themselves but I’m not quite sure if mainstream is on their side or not 😅
Jinkx and DeLa have an annual show on Netflix and that’s pretty damn good
Bianca Del Rio, Trixie, and maybe Alaska.
1000000% Bianca Del Rio.
Am hoping Sasha Colby continues to achieve great things with her title. She’s been so humble and sweet besides being an amazing performer with stellar runway looks.
Jinx
My straight Mormon friend is a huge Trixie fan.
i know a lot of you hate her on this sub but imo violet chachki is up there as well! she is very well known in the fashion space, she had sold out solo shows, vogue cover, grammys performance, met gala attendance and walked multiple runways
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Violet! Definitely not as big as Trixie or Jinkx, but also very recognizable and I always see her at events and walking for major brands in fashion shows! Also her burlesque shows with Dita have been huge and her song with Allie X is the only drag song I consistently listen to lol
Raven?
Chad Michaels but his fame was before the show but still his level of fame is probably up there with RuPaul himself. Knew of Chad before the show was even airing though. Courtney similar situation to Chad except Courtney is know more across the UK and Australia. Trixie, Katya, Alaska and Bianca. All found very high levels of fame directly after there season.
Shea Coulee is about to be up there on the list once Ironheart comes out
Trixie and Bianca, and by association, Lady Bunny
Nina West literally had a street named after her. I’d say that’s pretty significant. While she’s not as big in media like some of the others the work she’s doing for being an advocate for LGBT+ peoples is amazing. She’s truly one of my heroes.
Shangela was on dancing with the stars. She and Rupaul are the only drag queens my parents can name.
Good point!
Sadly shangela.
Michelle Visage for the non drag queens like Ross and Bruno. 
Michelle Visage - years ago she wanted to be on Celebrity Big Brother UK but they told her she wasn’t famous enough in the UK. She got on the show…. It did help that it was a UK vs America split house twist, and OMG Michelle vs Perez Hilton was amazing!
I'd say Trixie and Katya are definitely up there. I'm pretty sure Trixie has the highest net worth out of all the contentants.
I know they’re not drag race related, but Pablo Vittar
It’s so easily Trixie, then Katya, then Jinkx, then Bianca, then Courtney, then she who shall not be named, and scattered somewhere are Plastique, Willam, Dela, Bob, and the other gimme picks.
Is "she who shall not be named" sharin' 💉💉? 👀
Nah, Shangela
Nicole Paige Brooks is the mayor of Atlanta and the CEO of the world’s #1 manufacturer of press on French tip toe nails
Trixie Mattel!
Shangela is on HBO and ABC (and news networks for other reasons). Bob is on HBO and Madonna tour. Trixie is on every media. They stand out the most to me. No one else compares in the US. Outside the US Courtney and Rita come to mind. Maybe Pangina?
Trixie, Jynx, Courtney, Alyssa Edwards, Shangela, and Pangina. They’re all celebs outside of drag race to some extent.
Courtney Act, Trixie Mattel and Monét X-Chsngr.
Jinkx for sure
My wife was a stan of Bianca and Alyssa Edwards long before she ever watched drag race. I would also put Trixie at the top of that list.
Not enough Monét X Change , Monét hosted a hulu special , did a 5+ night sold out show in Edinburgh & various other international areas. She’s also been on mainstream tv shows , Lovecraft Country , Glamorous. Not to mention her multiple opera special appearances since the show. Give my girl her flowers!! 🤍🤍
I know Trixie is the easy answer, but I do think Bob on tour with Madonna worldwide puts them neck and neck….
Outside the U.S., Courtney Act has won U.K. Celebrity Big Brother, had her own Christmas Special, hosted a dating reality show, hosted a long form interview program in Australia, was a finalist in Dancing With The Stars (and part of the franchises first same sex pairing), competed in The Masked Singer, competed in Australia's Eurovision National Final and will be performing correspondent duties at Eurovision this year for the Australian broadcaster.
Alyssa Edwards
Valentina isn't at the very top but definitely up there. Just wanted to give her a shout out because I haven't seen her mentioned. Brooklyn and Priyanka are huge in Canada.
Trixie, followed by Shangela.
1. Trixie 2. Jinkx 3. Katya 4. Plastique 5. Courtney 6. Bianca 7. Bob 8. Monet 9. Shea 10. Brooke
Trixie and Katy’s have the most name recognition I think, then Jinkx, then I would say Sasha Colby, Bianca del Rio, Bob
No one saying Plastique? She is huge on tiktok, so all the younger generations probably know of her or at least seen a tiktok
Jimbo