Alexander J. Michaels (born October 16, 1983), stage name Alexis Michelle, is an American

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

and singer who came to international attention on the ninth 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, ...

''. As of 2019, she stars in the

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

transformational makeover television series ''

Dragnificent ''Dragnificent!'' is a television series on the American network TLC. The show started as a special branded as ''Drag Me Down the Aisle'' which aired on March 9, 2019. It features Alexis Michelle, BeBe Zahara Benet, Jujubee, and Thorgy Thor, fou ...

'' as the makeup and body image expert. She released her debut album, ''Lovefool'', in 2018.

Early life

Michaels was raised in

SoHo, New York SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall (SoHo), and ha ...

and on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. His cousin is

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

Lisa Loeb Lisa Anne Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with " Stay (I Missed You)" from the film '' Reality Bites'', the first number-one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

, and he is of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. After high school, he attended the

Interlochen Center for the Arts Interlochen Center for the Arts ( '; also known as I.C.A. or Inty) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit corporation which operates Visual arts education, arts education institutions and Music venue, performance venues. Established in 1928 b ...

Green Lake Township, Michigan Green Lake Township is a civil township of Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,703 at the 2020 census, an increase from 5,784 at the 2010 census. The township is named after Green Lake, one of two large l ...

. He later received a BFA in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. Michaels began doing drag when he was 10 years old, and began booking paid, professional gigs in 2003, by the time he was 20 years old. He was mentored by the same drag mother as

season 10 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 ...

contestant Dusty Ray Bottoms, and was seen wearing a "Dusty"

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

in the workroom during an episode of season nine. Later, on season ten, Dusty Ray Bottoms could be seen wearing an "Alexis" T-shirt. Michaels auditioned for ''RuPaul's'' ''Drag Race'' eight times, beginning with the show's earliest seasons, before being selected for season nine.

Career

As Alexis Michelle, Michaels originated a role in the one-act

campy Camp is an aesthetic and sensibility that regards something as appealing or amusing because of its heightened level of artifice, affectation and exaggeration, especially when there is also a playful or ironic element. ''Camp'' is historically ...

comedy show ''Rags to B***hes: A Battle of Wits & Wigs''. Michelle was announced as one of the fourteen contestants selected to compete on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race on February 2, 2017. She was the winner of the celebrity impersonation and

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention **Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...

challenge, "

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 ...

" (based on classic game shows ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''), in which she portrayed actress

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

. Two episodes later, she was in the bottom-two for her performance in the comedy

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

challenge, but ultimately sent-home

Farrah Moan Cameron Clayton, better known by the stage name Farrah Moan (born September 11, 1993), is an American drag queen, model, actress, make-up artist and internet personality best known for participating in the 9th season of the reality TV show ''RuP ...

to a lip sync-battle of

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

's "

Baby I'm Burning "Baby I'm Burnin'" is a song by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was written by Parton who also produced the track with Gary Klein and Charles Koppelman who served as executive producer. The song was first released on Parton's twentie ...

". In episode eleven, she was in the bottom, again, with

Peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of Mentha, mint, a cross between Mentha aquatica, watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in m ...

; Michelle lost the lip sync to Peppermint, performing to the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...

's " Macho Man". This ultimately put Michelle in fifth place for her season. Michelle still frequently performs at the Feinstein/54 Below cabaret with her show about Broadway, ''Alexis, I Am!''. She also appeared with fellow ''Drag Race'' alumni

BeBe Zahara Benet Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa (born March 20, 1981), better known by his stage name BeBe Zahara Benet, is a Cameroonian-American drag queen, drag performer, television personality, and musician best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 1), fi ...

, Jujubee and

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 studied ...

in the

show '' Drag Me Down the Aisle'' which aired on March 9, 2019. The special was subsequently given a full series-order under the new name ''Dragnificent!'' which premiered in April 2020. In 2023, she was chosen to return and compete on the eighth season 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, ...

'', in which she placed fourth overall. In 2024, Michelle performed the role of Albin in the

Barrington Stage Company Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, and former Managing Director Susan Sperber in Sheffield, Massachusetts. ...

production of '' La Cage aux Folles''. Michelle is the drag-mother of

Jan Sport Jan Sport, sometimes known simply as Jan, is the stage name of Charlie Mantione (born Charles Joseph Mantione; June 11, 1993), an American drag queen and singer based in New York City, who came to international attention on the RuPaul's Drag Race ...

, who placed eighth on the twelfth season (2020) of ''Drag Race''. The next year, Jan returned for the sixth season (2021) of ''All Stars'', placing seventh overall.

Music

Michelle teamed with

Sasha Velour Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...

, Aja and Peppermint for the single "C.L.A.T." in April 2017. Michelle released her ten-track debut album, ''Lovefool'', on May 11, 2018. A music video for the single of the same name, a cover of the 1996 song by

The Cardigans The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden in 1992. The main lineup of the band consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead sing ...

, was available on May 17, 2018.

Filmography

Theatre

Television

Web series

Music videos

Discography

Albums

Singles

As featured artist

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michelle, Alexis Living people 1983 births 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American drag queens American Jews American male singers Drag performers from New York City

Alexis Michelle Alexander J. Michaels (born October 16, 1983), stage name Alexis Michelle, is an American drag queen and singer who came to international attention on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9), ninth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. As of 2019, she sta ...

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni