The third season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race'' began airing on January 24, 2011. Thirteen drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar", a headlining spot on the Absolut Tour, a lifetime supply of Kryolan makeup, and a cash prize of $75,000. This season had

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

replacing Merle Ginsberg at the judge's table and Billy Brasfield (better known as Billy B),

Mike Ruiz Mike Ruiz is a Canadian photographer, director, television personality, former model, spokesperson, creative director, and actor. Early life Ruiz, who is of French Canadian and Spanish Filipino ancestry, was born in Montreal in 1964, but raised ...

, and Jeffrey Moran filling in for Santino Rice's absence during several episodes. Billy B, celebrity makeup artist and star of the

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...

mini-series ''Hometown Renovation'', appeared as a judge in five episodes. Whereas Mike Ruiz only judged for two episodes, and Jeffrey Moran for one, Moran only appeared for promotional reasons. Due to Billy B's continued appearances, he and Rice are now considered to have been alternate judges for the same seat at the judges table, both appearing side-by-side in the reunion special to announce

Yara Sofia Yara Sofia is the stage name of Gabriel Burgos Ortiz (born May 8, 1984), a Puerto Rican drag queen, professional make-up artist, and reality television personality. She is most known for appearing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' season 3, where she ...

as the season's Miss Congeniality. Other changes made included the introduction of a wildcard contestant from the past season, Shangela; an episode with no elimination; and a contestant,

Carmen Carrera Carmen Carrera (born April 13, 1985) is an American reality television personality, model, burlesque performer, and actress, known for appearing on the third season of the Logo reality television series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', as well as its s ...

, being brought back into the competition after having been eliminated a few episodes prior. A new pit crew was also introduced consisting of Jason Carter and

Shawn Morales Shawn Morales (born July 21, 1978) is an American model, actor, and nightlife personality based in Los Angeles, California. RuPaul's Drag Race In 2011 while working as a gogo dancer at local gay bars, Shawn auditioned for the ''RuPaul's Drag R ...

. The theme song playing during the runway every episode was changed to "Champion" while the song playing during the credits is "Main Event", both from RuPaul's album '' Champion''. As with the previous season, each week's episode was followed by a behind-the-scenes show, '' RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked''. On December 6, 2011 Amazon.com released this season on DVD via their CreateSpace program. The winner of the third season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' was Raja, with Manila Luzon being the runner-up.

Contestants

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

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order: * Bruce Vilanch, comedy writer, songwriter, and actor *

, photographer, director, and reality television personality * Vanessa Williams, actress, singer, and former

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

* Lily Tomlin, actress and comedian * Alessandra Torresani, actress * La Toya Jackson, singer * Susan Powter, motivational speaker and fitness guru *

Chloë Sevigny Chloë Stevens Sevigny (, born November 18, 1974) is an American actress, model, filmmaker and fashion designer. Known for her work in independent films, often appearing in controversial or experimental features, Sevigny is the recipient of se ...

, actress and model * Debbie Matenopoulos, television host * Aisha Tyler, comedian and actress * Amber Rose, model * Eliza Dushku, actress *

Sara Rue Sara Rue (born January 26, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for her performances as Carmen Ferrara on ''Popular'', as Claude Casey on ''Less than Perfect'', and as the Attorney General in ''Idiocracy''. In 2011, she hosted The CW realit ...

, actress * Rita Rudner, comedian *

Arden Myrin Arden VanAmringe Myrin () is an American actress and comedian. Myrin was a cast member on the Netflix series '' Insatiable'', playing the role of Regina Sinclair, and starred in the world premiere of Steve Martin's play ''Meteor Shower'' at the ...

, comedian * Cheryl Tiegs, model * Johnny Weir, professional figure skater *Jeffrey Moran, Absolut Vodka marketing/branding executive *

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and artist,USA Today (February 16, 1996), Best Bets: Albums Jody Watley Greatest Hits, "Few singers fired up the disco like Jody Watley who set trends ...

, R&B/pop singer * Carmen Electra, actress * Wayne Brady, actor, comedian, and singer * Fantasia Barrino, singer, actress, and author * Margaret Cho, actress and comedian *

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing ...

, television host and reality television personality *

Gigi Levangie Grazer Gigi Levangie (born Georgianne Levangie; January 2, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. She has written numerous screenplays but is most widely known for the film '' Stepmom'', starring Julia Roberts and Susan S ...

, novelist and host of Logo's '' The Arrangement''

Episodes

Ratings

¹Based upon point/share system for

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. The first number represents the percentage of households within the population viewing the program (known as points). The second number (known as shares) is how many households were expected to view the program, within the population. For example, Episode 8 has a point/share of "0.3/1". This means .3% of households viewed the program from the expected 1%, showing .7% of the show's audience were watching a different program.

Controversy

Raja's win leaked

Half way through the seasons airing, blogger Perez Hilton revealed Raja as the winner to the public, causing an uproar from fans. It also led to the show's crowning format being changed, with the finale taped with three different outcomes declaring each finalist as "the winner", with only RuPaul knowing who really wins and the true outcome being announced on the day of the final in attempt to conceal the winner's identity and prevent any spoilers from taking place. This took place from the following season-onwards.

References

External links

* (U.S.) * (Canada)
Official Facebook page
{{Deborah Anderson, state=autocollapse 2011 American television seasons 2011 in LGBT history Internet leaks RuPaul's Drag Race seasons