Born Darius James Pierce in Texas on November 22, 1981, Pierce never held back who he really was growing up. In high school, he was a male cheerleader and even dressed in drag for creative projects and assignments for his English class. D.J has clearly always shown confidence in whatever he does!
His drag persona of Shangela was revealed in 2009, where he performed in a "Single Ladies" charity drag event. The club promoter was so impressed by his performance that he booked Shangela for more events, and from there, D.J's drag career began to take off.
RuPaul career
Shangela is best known on RuPaul's show to be the first contestant to compete in three different seasons - seasons 2, 3, and All Stars 3. She even made a cameo in season 4. Although she never won the competition, she gained a lot of recognition in the drag world and viewers alike. What many don't know: Shangela also has an acting career! She has appeared in shows like 2 Broke Girls, Glee, Bones, The Mentalist, and the X-Files, just to name a few.
More than just a glam queen!
Additionally, Shangela loves to perform on stage, whether that entails singing or stand-up comedy. Probably her most famous role was in 2018's A Star is Born, where she starred alongside Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga as the drag bar's emcee. She was also featured on Ariana Grande's album, Thank U, Next, in the song "NASA".
Today, Shangela continues her creative flow, not just through her makeup and hair, but through songwriting and creating comedy sketches. She wrote and produced music for Miley Cyrus, and also serves as the creative director for the ongoing Werq the World Tour. Shangela inspires many and constantly wins awards and recognitions for the LGBTQ community, such as being honored with the 2018 Rising Star Award by the LGBT Music Festival for the global contributions in her performance and music. We're excited to see what Shangela performs next!
The dazzling television and singing queen
The drag queen of queens!
