Karl Philip Michael Westerberg, better known by the stage name Manila Luzon (born August 10, 1981), is an American

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

, recording artist, comedian and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

personality. Luzon came to international attention as a contestant on the third 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 ...

'' and on the first and fourth seasons of ''

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, b ...

''. Luzon has also contributed to the compilation album series ''

Christmas Queens ''Christmas Queens'' is a Christmas album featuring classic covers and original songs by several of the contestants and fan favorites from the TV series ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. The album was released on November 13, 2015. The sequel album, ''C ...

''.

Career

2011-2012: Breakthrough and ''RuPaul's Drag Race''

The publicity generated by her participation on the show brought many new opportunities to perform at various national and international

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

events throughout the U.S. and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, including

New York Pride The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBT culture in New York City, LGBTQ community in New York City#Sexual orientation and gender identity, New York City. Among the List of largest LGBT events, largest Pride events in the ...

and Vancouver Pride. She has been active in AIDS awareness and activism. After being featured in a

Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and C ...

ad titled "Red Ribbon Runway" with fellow ''Drag Race'' co-stars Carmen Carrera,

Delta Work Delta Work is the stage name of Gabriel A. Villarreal, a Mexican-American drag performer and stylist, best known for competing on the third season of the reality competition television series '' RuPaul's Drag Race''. Villarreal received the ...

Shangela Chantize Darius Jeremy Pierce, better known as Shangela Laquifa Wadley or mononymously as Shangela (born November 22, 1980), is an American drag queen, reality television personality and actor best known for competing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. S ...

and

Alexis Mateo Alexis Mateo Pacheco (born July 24, 1979), best known as Alexis Mateo, is a Puerto Rican drag queen, performer, reality television personality, fashion designer, and the winner of All American Goddess 2016, Miss Gay Days 2016 and National Show ...

, the dress she was featured wearing was auctioned off by

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

in commemoration of

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired imm ...

. Proceeds from the auction were donated to the National Association of People with AIDS. In 2011, Luzon, along with third season ''Drag Race'' contestants Carmen Carrera and Shangela, appeared in a television commercial for travel-related website

Orbitz Orbitz.com is a travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine. The website is owned by Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., a subsidiary of Expedia Group. It is headquartered in the Citigroup Center, Chicago, Illinois. Background Origina ...

. In addition to the commercial, she and Shangela also did an entertainment news segment for ''

US Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...

'' where they discussed current male celebrities and reimagine them as drag queens. In August 2012, NiniMomo, a Long Island-based company specializing in poseable fashion dolls, released a doll in Luzon's likeness and wearing the now famous

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

dress she wore during her time on ''Drag Race''. The doll, which was available via special order, marked the first time a ''Drag Race'' contestant has been immortalized as a doll. Two years later, a couple of fans of Manila produced their very own

3D-printed 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

Manila Luzon doll. On 6 August 2012, it was announced that Manila was one of twelve past ''Drag Race'' contestants selected to join the cast of the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars'', which premiered on the Logo network on October 22, 2012. Paired with contestant

Latrice Royale Timothy K. Wilcots (born February 12, 1972), better known by the stage name Latrice Royale, is an American drag performer, recording artist, and reality television personality. She is best known for her appearances on the fourth season of ''RuPa ...

to form ''Team Latrila'', the duo was eliminated in the third episode of the series that aired on November 5, 2012, placing in joint 7th/8th place. Their elimination was one of many who led to widespread criticism of the first installment of ''All Stars''. On October 12, 2012, Manila appeared on an episode of the MTV series '' Made'' where she mentored a young man in the art of drag, allowing him to explore his drag alter-ego as he prepared for New York City's Gay Pride March. Prior to the airing of the season finale of ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'', Manila (along with ''All Stars'' contestants Raven,

, 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 ...

) appeared in a television commercial for travel website Orbitz's new portal for LGBT leisure travel. After the season, Luzon was a playable character with Pandora Boxx and Yara Sofia for the "RuPaul's Drag Race: Dragopolis" mobile app.

2018–present: ''All Stars 4'', debut album and upcoming projects

On November 9, 2018, it was announced that Manila would return to '' All Stars 4,'' alongside fellow '' All Stars 1'' ''Team Latrila'' team-mate Latrice Royale, but this time would compete separately against each other rather than as a team. Despite being one of the season's front-runners with three challenge wins, Manila was controversially eliminated by Naomi Smalls in the eighth episode of the season, which aired on February 1, 2019, ultimately placing sixth. On November 16, 2018, indie musician VELO released the single "Where My Man At," featuring Luzon and ''Drag Race''

season 9 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 ...

and season 10 contestant

Eureka O'Hara Eureka, also known as Eureka O'Hara and Eureka!, is the stage name of Eureka D. Huggard (born August 26, 1990), an American drag queen and reality television personality. Eureka rose to prominence competing on the ninth and tenth seasons of ''Ru ...

. The two also appear in the song's music video, together with

Thorgy Thor Thorgy Thor is the stage name of Shane Thor Galligan, an American drag queen and musician who came to international attention on the eighth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and on the third season of '' All Stars''. Early life Galligan studie ...

Ginger Minj Joshua Allen Eads, stage name Ginger Minj (born September 11, 1984), an American drag queen, actor, singer-songwriter, and reality television personality. After achieving recognition for placing as the runner-up on the seventh season of the real ...

and Trinity the Tuck). She later appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere of season 11 of ''Drag Race''. On February 1, 2019, Luzon released her single "Go Fish" alongside its music video. The video features fellow ''All Stars 4'' contestant Naomi Smalls, Luzon's husband, and the ''Heathers'', a prominent clique of ''Drag Race 3'' contestants featuring Luzon,

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

, Delta Work, and Carmen Carrera. Following the buzz of her controversial departure in ''All Stars'', the video received more than 300,000 views in less than 24 hours. Luzon made a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

on '' General Hospital'' in late summer 2019. In June 2019, a panel of judges from '' New York'' magazine placed her 19th on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former ''Drag Race'' contestants. She is slated to host the reality competition series ''

Drag Den ''Drag Den'' (subtitled ''with Manila Luzon'') is a Philippine drag pageantry reality competition television series that premiered on 8 December 2022, through Amazon Prime Video. Manila Luzon acts as the host, head judge, and executive produce ...

''.

Personal life

Westerberg took his drag name from the capital city (

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

) and the largest island (

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

) of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where his mother was born. His father is American. Westerberg grew up in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, but he also considers

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

home. A longtime resident of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, Westerberg resided in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

with his boyfriend at the time, Antoine Ashley (

Sahara Davenport Antoine Ashley (December 17, 1984 – October 1, 2012), better known by the name Sahara Davenport, was an American drag queen, singer, reality television personality, and classically trained dancer. Davenport was best known as a contestant on th ...

), who was a contestant on the second season of ''Drag Race''. Ashley later died of heart failure at

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 m ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on October 1, 2012. Westerberg studied graphic design at the

University of Minnesota, Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

. As of 2013, Westerberg resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where he moved shortly after Ashley's death. In November 2016, Westerberg proposed to his boyfriend Michael Alvarez, also known as Mic J Rez. On December 24, 2017, the couple wed at the Silver Bells Wedding Chapel, with an

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as ent ...

as the officiant.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Remix extended plays

Singles

As featured artist

Other appearances

Filmography

Movies

Television

Music videos

Web

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luzon, Manila 1981 births Living people Asian-American drag queens American people of Filipino descent American people of German descent American people of Swedish descent LGBT American people of Asian descent LGBT people from California LGBT people from Minnesota LGBT Roman Catholics LGBT singers from the United States People from Cottage Grove, Minnesota Manila Luzon Manila Luzon 21st-century American comedians