Morgan McMichaels (born May 28, 1981) is the stage name of Scottish-American drag performer Thomas White, best known as a contestant on the second season of the reality television competition ''

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 ...

,'' as well as the third season of the show's ''All-Stars'' spinoff. She has also been involved in various ''Drag Race'' spin-offs, including ''

RuPaul's Drag U ''RuPaul's Drag U'' (as in "Drag University") is an American reality television series that debuted July 19, 2010, on Logo TV. Its final episode aired in August 2012. It was hosted by RuPaul and a team of drag queen "professors". ''Drag U'' was ...

'' and ''

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race ''RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race'' is an American reality competition series that premiered April 24, 2020 on VH1. A spin-off of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the series features celebrities competing for charity, mentored by alumni of the ''Drag ...

''.

Early life

White was born in 1981 in

Alexandria, Scotland Alexandria ( sco, The Vale,
gd, Alexandria) is a town in

to a Scottish father and an American mother, and spent parts of his childhood in both Scotland and the United States. White attended primary school in the US before returning to West Dunbartonshire as a teenager, studying biochemistry and immunology at the

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland ( gd, Oilthigh na h-Alba an Iar), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Blantyre, South Lanar ...

, before leaving at the age of 18 for California, where he decided to pursue a stage career instead of returning to Scotland. Having been introduced to drag through the character Lily Savage, McMichaels stated his own alter ego wouldn't have emerged if he had stayed at university. White‘s stage name pays homage to

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

, a figure of Arthurian legend that links to his own Scottish heritage, with the surname McMichaels originating from his drag mother,

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

, who appeared on the 4th season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and 1st season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars'', winning the latter, and his drag father, Adam Magee.

Career

''RuPaul's Drag Race''

McMichaels joined the cast of the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' in 2010. She was eliminated after losing a lip sync performance battle to contestant

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 ...

, placing eighth out of twelve. McMichaels later went on to participate in the third season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars,'' where she was eliminated first by

BenDeLaCreme BenDeLaCreme (born September 24, 1981) is the stage persona of Benjamin H. Putnam, an American drag queen, burlesque performer, and actor based in Seattle, Washington. He is known for being a contestant on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Rac ...

for saying she would send home the best competitors if she stayed. This placed her 10th in the season. She returned in the 6th episode among five eliminated queens (

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 ...

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

Chi Chi Devayne Zavion Michael Davenport (September 24, 1985August 20, 2020), better known by the stage name Chi Chi DeVayne, was an American drag queen and reality television personality who came to international attention on the eighth season of ''RuPaul's ...

and Aja) and was selected to be brought back by BenDeLaCreme, ultimately placing 5th.

After ''Drag Race''

McMichaels, along with fellow contestants Raven, Jujubee,

Pandora Boxx Michael R. Steck (born May 2, 1972), better known by the stage name Pandora Boxx, is an American drag queen, comedian, and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. Boxx competed in the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', pla ...

Nina Flowers Jorge Luis Flores Sánchez (born February 22, 1974), better known as Nina Flowers, is a Puerto Rican drag queen, DJ, activist, professional make-up artist, and reality television personality who has been performing since 1993. He is best known ...

, Shannel 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 spinoff

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 ...

series in 2010, where she appeared as a "professor" for three episodes. She remained in the cast on the second season of ''Drag U,'' which made its season premiere on 20 June 2011, and was a professor for two more episodes. She returned again for one episode in the third season of ''Drag U'' in 2012. Other than ''Drag Race'' related shows, McMichaels was featured in the music video for " S&M" by Barbadian singer Rihanna in 2011. On 11 April 2013, McMichaels made a guest appearance on '' Tabatha Takes Over'' at the VIP Nightclub in Riverside, California where McMichaels performed a lip sync as Tabatha. Morgan was also featured in

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 ...

's lyric video of "

Applause Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performanc ...

" along with other drag queens. She hosted an internet show for WOWPresents called ''Living For The Lip Sync'' where she talks about lip sync fan-recorded performances by ''Drag Race'' alumni. It premiered to YouTube on September 4, 2014, and ended on January 22, 2015. She made an appearance on '' Entertainment Tonight'' to talk about ''All Stars 3'' in 2018. She was featured with Laganja Estranja,

Farrah Moan Cameron Clayton, better known by the stage name Farrah Moan, (born September 11, 1993), is an American drag queen, model, actor, make-up artist and internet personality best known for participating in the ninth season of the reality TV show ''RuP ...

and Jaidynn Diore-Fierce on season 13 of ''

Germany's Next Topmodel ''Germany's Next Topmodel'' (often abbreviated as ''GNTM'') is a German reality television series, based on a concept introduced by Tyra Banks with ''America's Next Top Model''. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum who also serves as the lea ...

'' as a guest for the episode 14 challenge. He appeared in a music video for

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After college she ...

's song "

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...

" on April 17, 2019. She was a backup dancer for

Nico Tortorella Nico Tortorella (born July 30, 1988) is an American actor and model, known for roles in filmsincluding ''Scream 4'', the Fox crime drama series ''The Following'' (2013–2015), and the TV Land comedy-drama series '' Younger'' (2015–2021). Fr ...

in an episode of '' Lip Sync Battle'' in 2019. In Episode 4 of All Stars 5, she made a guest appearance as a "Lip Sync Assassin", where she lip-synced against Miz Cracker.

Music

McMichaels released her first single, "''Why You Mad Tho?''" on February 3, 2018, with the remix by producer Drew G Rdr. McMichaels performed the single live on the ''Drag Race: All Stars 3'' premiere episode talent show. She released a second single, "''Yazz Bitch''" on May 11, 2018.

Personal life

In October 2018, White broke his hand in self-defense after a physical altercation with a man who proclaimed to be a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Filmography

Television

Film

Music Videos

Web Series

Discography

Singles

Featured singles

References

External links

*
Morgan McMichaels interview
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMichaels, Morgan 1981 births Living people American drag queens Scottish drag queens People from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire People from Los Angeles Morgan McMichaels Scottish emigrants to the United States RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars contestants