Drag History Divas- Entertaining Is Their Name

Drag History continues with the Mistress and three queens who in my opinion, really changed the face of "the art of drag" and broke new ground and found themselves in the mainstream. All of them found success and the general public found them surprisingly entertaining.





Sylvester, was a disco and soul singer, and a gay drag performer. He is considered to be one of the first Hi-NRG artists. Sylvester was sometimes known as the "Queen of Disco," although this title has also been bestowed on some of the other ladies of the disco era. Sylvester was the first considered drag performer to be signed to a record label and the first to find success in the main stream with the recording and entertainment field. Sylvester died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco on December 16, 1988. He was 41 years old. His good friend Jeanie Tracy took care of Sylvester during his last days. On September 20, 2004 Sylvester's anthem record, "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. A year later, on September 19, 2005, Sylvester himself was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his achievement as an artist.







Holly Woodlawn was a drag queen, then a transsexual and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt. Her life was summarized by Lou Reed in his song "Walk on the Wild Side". Holly was one of the first to be seen on the big screen as a real life drag queen. She met Andy Warhol in the Factory at a screening of Flesh. Through him she met Jackie Curtis, who cast Woodlawn in her play Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit in the autumn of 1969. In October she was assigned a bit role in Trash, but so impressed director Paul Morrissey that she was given a larger role. In 1970 she received word from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that George Cukor, supported by others, was petitioning the Academy to nominate her for Trash - however, nothing came of this campaign. Holly continued to make cameo appearances in plays and films such as Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After Warhol's death, she was a frequently requested commentator on his life and influence. She currently resides in West Hollywood. Woodlawn began performing in cabaret shows in sold-out New York and Los Angeles performances in the early 2000s. She continues to travel with her cabaret show, most recently appearing in Krakow and London in 2008.




Best known as simply Ru Paul, who is a actor, drag queen, model, and singer-songwriter, who first gained fame in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previous to this he was a fixture on the Atlanta and New York City club scenes. Ru Paul really re-invented the image of drag and took it to a new level,slapping everyone in the face with it...and was accepted. Ru could be seen everywhere and was getting a good reception and was really getting drag noticed with number one hits, a well known talk show, and now a reality show. She was in my opinion to be the first queen who was really accepted and could show, so what, I'm a drag queen and you are enjoying me. Some of my straight friends were even like she's cool. Ru Paul went on to release many albums and has worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment. Here is one of my favorite Ru Paul ditties, with the great Elton John.