Benjamin Shaevitz (born April 5, 2000), known professionally as Suzie Toot, is an American
drag performer who participated in the
seventeenth 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, ...
''.
Early life and education
Shaevitz was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to a
Russian Jewish
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...
father and an
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...
mother named Susan, and was raised Jewish in
Wellington, Florida
Wellington is a village west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and north of Miami. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area and the fifth largest municipality in Palm Beach County by population. As of the 2020 census, the village had a po ...
. He attended a
Hebrew school
Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning one's Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Heb ...
and Jewish sleepaway camp in the
Pocono Mountains
The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the nort ...
in his youth. His first stage performance was at the age of 8, when he was cast as a part of the ensemble in a summer camp production of ''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...
''. Shaevitz was inspired to pursue drag on
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
after studying
Ruby Keeler
Ethel Ruby Keeler (August 25, 1909 – February 28, 1993) was a Canadian and American actress, dancer, and singer who was paired on-screen with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Bros., particularly '' 42nd Street'' ( ...
,
Eleanor Powell
Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars durin ...
,
Varla Jean Merman
Varla Jean Merman is the drag persona of American drag performer, actor and singer Jeffery Roberson. Varla's fictitious pedigree boasts that Ernest Borgnine is her father and Ethel Merman is her mother.
Merman is perhaps best known for her role ...
, and
Charles Busch
Charles Louis Busch (born August 23, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and drag queen, known for his appearances on stage in his own camp style plays and in film and television. He wrote and starred in his early plays off-off- ...
.
He went to
Palm Beach Central High School
Palm Beach Central High School is a high school located in Wellington, Florida in the School District of Palm Beach County. Opened in 2003, Palm Beach Central currently has over 3,000 students (2,966 in the 2019–20 school year) enrolled in gra ...
and played
Pugsley Addams
Pugsley Pubert Addams is a member of the fictional Addams Family, created by American cartoonist Charles Addams.
Cartoons
Pugsley is depicted as a devious, young, brilliant boy in Charles Addams's original cartoons. He is often shown releasing ...
in
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...
.
He has been performing since the age of 8 and is a trained
tap dancer
Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...
.
Shaevitz has a
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA).
Background ...
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, ...
.
Career
Under the stage name Suzie Toot, Shaevitz portrayed Mimi Bouvèé-Truve in the 2023 queer horror film ''
Big Easy Queens'',
and released a music single featuring Tow, "Bonecoming", that same year.
Suzie Toot opened for
Chappell Roan
Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (born February 19, 1998), known professionally as Chappell Roan ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her Camp (style), camp and drag queen–influenced aesthetic. Her debut EP, ''School Nights'' (201 ...
's Fort Lauderdale show as a part of
The Midwest Princess Tour in October 2023.
Suzie Toot was the last eliminated contestant on the
seventeenth 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, ...
''.
On the
fifteenth episode, ahead of the season finale, she competed in a lip-sync tournament for eliminated contestants. After lip-syncing to "
Apt." (2024) by
Rosé
A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...
and
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
in the final round against
Kori King
Rashawn King, known professionally as Kori King, is an American drag performer who competed on the seventeenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race.''
Early life and education
Rashawn King was born on March 13, 2000 and raised in Boston. His parent ...
, Suzie Toot was deemed the winner, earning her the title of 'The Queen of She Done Already Done Had Herses' and a cash prize of $50,000. Her Instagram following grew by 3,188 percent as the show aired.
Personal life
Shaevitz was formerly based in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...
, and is now based in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
.
He describes his drag persona as the "cross section between
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is a cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She originally appeared in the '' Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pic ...
and
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
".
Discography
* "Bonecoming (feat. Tow)" (2023)
* "Smokin' Suzie" (2025)
* "
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (2025)
Filmography
Film
* ''
Big Easy Queens'' (2023)
Television
* ''
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, ...
'' (
season 17
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 ...
, 2025)
*
''RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked'' (2025)
See also
*
List of people from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suzie Toot
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American drag queens
American people of Irish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Drag performers from Florida
Drag performers from New York City
People from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
RuPaul's Drag Race contestants