20 More Famous Drag Queens That Look Totally Different Out Of Drag

Remember that article from a couple of months ago, when we brought you some of the most unbelievable drag queen transformations of all time? Well, we were only just getting started! The whole point of drag is to create an illusion, often so the queen in question can take on a whole new persona. Therefore, it's maybe not surprising that many stars of the drag world are totally unrecognizable when the wigs and fake eyelashes come off!

A common theme of the drag world is for the performer in question to look as "fishy" - as feminine - as possible. This leads to pretty burly and often quite masculine-looking guys totally transforming their appearance with makeup or even in extreme cases cosmetic alterations. The "before and after" shots will genuinely take your breath away!

Even those queens who don't go for a traditionally 'feminine' style tend to look crazily different when they're not in-character. The fact that they can make themselves look like totally different people is a testament to the talent and effort that goes into their aesthetic. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, RuPaul - aka, the world's most famous drag queen - confessed that his transformation can take up to four hours to complete! Here are 20 more drag queens who clearly put that amount of effort into their art - you'll barely recognize them out of drag!

20 Pearl / Matthew James Lent

In the past, PaperMag has referred to Matthew James Lent - aka, RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 contestant Pearl - as one of the best-looking queens out of drag. Honestly, it's easy to see why! While Pearl looks totally stunning in full drag, Lent himself is pretty easy on the eyes.  His nose ring and facial hair give him a totally different look when he's not in full makeup and a gorgeous blonde wig.

Despite RuPaul initially criticizing Pearl for her apparent lack of effort at the start of her Drag Race season, she eventually pulled out all the stops to make it into the Top Three. While she admitted in an interview with Dazed that she never actually intended to make drag her career, it's certainly worked out well for her!

19 Miss Fame / Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen

Miss Fame truly lives up to her name. As noted in an interview with The Llama Post, she's known all around the world for her incredible makeup skills, painting the faces of numerous other queens as well as her own. However, Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen - the male model and actor behind the Miss Fame persona - looks pretty different sans makeup! He's not afraid to let his stubble grow when he's not in drag, and his bushy eyebrows are pretty different to Fame's sleek arches!

Dam-Mikkelsen's journey through life has been a remarkable one, to say the least. During his time on RuPaul's Drag Race, he told the world all about his humble origins on a California chicken farm! In an interview with FOP Magazine, he credited his upbringing with inspiring his creativity and broadening his imagination. Decades later, Miss Fame is now living it up in New York City as one of the most lauded queens out there. She still loves her chickens, though, as she made clear on Drag Race!

18 Ivy Winters / Dustin Winters

Fans of Drag Race remember Season Five contestant Ivy Winters for two main reasons: the hilarious way that RuPaul said her name, and the fact she was voted Miss Congeniality. However, it's perhaps time that we started paying attention to Ivy when she's not in drag! 31-year-old Dustin Winters rocks a beard, a nose ring, and hipster glasses when he's not dressed up as his glamorous alter-ego Ivy. You'd never believe that these two photos were of the same person!

Despite revealing to Creep Magazine that he first watched RuPaul on television when he was a kid, Winters' career hasn't always been in drag. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, he revealed that he worked as a clown for eight and a half years! To date, Ivy is the only queen to have walked on stilts down Drag Race's famous runway. Talk about a multitalented queen!

17 Tatianna / Joey Santolini

Where to even begin with Tatianna? This Season Two and All Stars Two star has had Drag Race fans talking since 2010. As the RuPaul's Drag Race Wiki notes, right from the onset Tati was controversial, to say the least. For one, she was technically too young to be competing on the show: she lied and said she was over 21 in order to get selected! Then, when she actually got to filming, Tatianna had high-profile feuds with fellow queens Tyra Sanchez and Raven. Many queens disliked the fact that Tati generally has a "ladylike" bone structure in her face, something that the queen herself addressed in an interview with The Observer.

"Ladylike" cheekbones or not, Tatianna certainly looks very different when her wig and makeup are removed. Just like RuPaul, Joey Santolini - the performer behind Tatianna - has chosen to keep his head bald. He tends to sport some stubble, too - a far cry from his ultra-feminine drag look! It's one seriously impressive transformation.

16 April Carrión / Jason Carrión

Drag Race Season Six contestant April Carrión may have kept her real-life surname when creating her drag persona, but that's where the similarities between her and Jason end. She's barely recognizable when the stylish makeup and glossy wigs make way for a beard and adorably scruffy boy-hair! Dragaholic crowned Jason the "cutest boy" of Season Six back when it first aired, and it's easy to see why - although the man himself seemed genuinely shocked when he was awarded the title!

Although April exited Season Six surprisingly early on in the competition - something that she confided deeply upset her during her Dragaholic interview - she's still become a firm fan favorite. Shockingly, though, the world was almost deprived of this vivacious queen! Carrión told Dragaholic that for years, she actively avoided the drag scene, despite numerous friends encouraging her to give it a go. This all changed after a trip to art school encouraged young Jason to let his creative juices flow through the medium of drag. The rest, as they say, is history!

15 Vanessa Vanjie Mateo / Jose Cancel

Vanessa Vanjie Matteo - aka, Miss Vanjie - is the queen on everybody's lips at the moment. She was the first contestant to be eliminated from the currently airing tenth season of Drag Race, and boy, did she go out with a bang. Simply by repeating her own name three times, Miss Vanjie has become an icon. In an interview with Billboard, Vanjie herself acknowledged that she wanted to do something memorable as she left the stage, and is consequently lapping up all of her new-found fame. She loves the memes that her exit has spawned, and she's even hoping to release her own merchandise soon. It's a surprising success story for a quickly-eliminated queen!

While Vanessa looks every inch the sassy lady in drag, the performer behind this queen is pretty much as masculine as you can get. Jose Cancel is covered in tattoos, sports a beard, and just looks like a typical guy. You'd never guess he was actually one of the world's most famous drag performers right now! Also, those bushy eyebrows are ON FLEEK!

14 Latrice Royale / Timothy Wilcots

This queen's transformation from Timothy Wilcots to Latrice Royale is frankly astounding, in terms of both appearance and personal growth. Wilcots is a 46-year-old Florida native who admitted during his time on Drag Race that he's also an ex-con. While he never revealed exactly why he served jail time, it clearly affected Wilcots - he went on to make a documentary for Logo TV about the experiences of LGBT individuals in jail. Luckily, Wilcots managed to put his life back together following his sentence - a process that culminated in his Drag Race stint as Latrice Royale.

The visual difference between Timothy and Latrice is pretty incredible. Latrice looks like a total diva: her incredible hair and dazzling makeup give her a distinctly feminine look. Wilcots' own natural larger stature is used to his advantage in his drag persona, helping to create Latrice's beautiful curves. She may have come just fourth in her season of Drag Race, but she's a winner in our eyes.

13 Alyssa Edwards / Justin Johnson

Having appeared on the show as a contestant, an All-Star, and a mentor, Alyssa Edwards is most definitely RuPaul's Drag Race royalty. Her tongue-popping and straight-talking ways have made her plenty of fans, as have her infamous "back rolls". Alyssa may have been eliminated from Drag Race three times in total, but she's not one to sit down and take defeat easily. In an interview with The Observer, she admitted that she sees competitions as a place to earn your legacy rather than to win. Well, she's certainly carved out an impressive reputation for herself - her web series Alyssa's Secret is hugely popular among drag fans!

Out of drag, Alyssa is a 38-year-old Texas native named Justin Johnson. The difference between Johnson and his fabulous alter ego is pretty striking! While he can still pull all of the same hilarious facial expressions, he's a totally different person without his dramatic eye makeup and sumptuous wigs. Is that what Alyssa's Secret is - the art of disguise? We think so.

12 Phi Phi O'Hara / Jaremi Carey

While RuPaul's Drag Race has featured its fair share of controversial queens over the years, none have become quite as infamous as Phi Phi O'Hara. This queen brought her own unique brand of shade to not one but two seasons of the show and has earned herself plenty of critics in the process. She's particularly notorious for trying to "expose" the Drag Race producers in an interview with Vulture, claiming that to RuPaul, the contestants are just "game pieces in her show". Ouch! No wonder Ru unfollowed Phi Phi on Twitter…

Out of drag, Phi Phi is better known as musician and television personality Jaremi Carey. The difference between Carey's everyday and drag style is mindblowing: he goes from a full-on showgirl to a pretty cute-looking guy with bushy eyebrows and stubble. She may be best-known for stirring up drama, but Phi Phi is clearly incredibly talented at painting her face too!

11 Ginger Minj / Joshua Eads-Brown

During her time on Season Seven on RuPaul's Drag Race, Ginger Minj affectionately referred to herself as a "glamour toad". Well, that's one way of putting it! To be honest, such a label really doesn't do this queen justice. The transformation from Florida-based entertainer Joshua Eads-Brown to totally glamorous showgirl Ginger is a remarkable one! While Ginger's looks often include Eads-Brown's trademark red hair, her sparkling outfits, and exaggerated makeup make her a totally convincing drag queen.

Personality-wise, Ginger likes to make it clear that there's very little difference between her drag self and her everyday self. In an interview with Billboard, she claimed that she'll always be a "little country boy" at heart, whether or not she's wearing a gorgeous gown! She stays true to her roots, and it's part of what makes her so popular with her fans.

10 Katya / Brian McCook

Her full drag name may be Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova, and your dad may call her Katya, but this queen goes by plain old Brian McCook on a day-to-day basis. A veteran of both Drag Race Season 7 and All-Stars Two, Katya's stunning runway looks and wacky personality have made her a firm favorite on the drag scene. McCook is a seriously talented makeup artist: he can totally transform himself from a regular guy from Boston into a self-confessed Russian "lady of the night" in no time at all! You'd barely know the two were actually the same person.

Sadly, McCook has taken a break from drag in the past few months for a pretty tragic reason. In an interview with Life & Style, he admitted that he's been struggling with severe mental health problems following a narcotics relapse that landed him in rehab. While he's now back on the wagon and plans to return to performing soon, we can only hope that things continue to look up for him.

9 Blair St. Clair / Andrew Bryson

Who would believe that baby-faced Indiana native Andrew Bryson is the performer behind stunning drag queen Blair St. Clair? He's practically unrecognizable when he's makeup and wig free! Blair is one of the queens competing in the current tenth season of Drag Race. While she is most definitely a pretty face - fishy queen, anyone? - she's also got a whole host of hidden talents. In an interview with E! Online, St. Clair revealed that she can sing, dance, act, and sew. Whether this is true will become clear as the season progresses!

While Andrew - and his alter ego Blair, for that matter - may have the face of an angel, some of his past sins came back to haunt him when he was selected to compete in Drag Race. Late last year, TMZ reported that Bryson's place in the show had been put at risk by a past DUI conviction that prevented him from leaving his home state. This revelation not only leaked one of Season Ten's castmates early but also upset a lot of Blair St. Clair's avid fans. Luckily, Bryson was able to make it to Los Angeles to film the show. Still - what a close call!

8 Bianca Del Rio / Roy Haylock

If there's one RuPaul's Drag Race success story that stands out above the rest, it's that of Bianca Del Rio. Back in Season Six, Bianca blew the world away with her sharp sense of humor and overstated drag looks. She went on to win the season, gaining an army of fans as she went. As TimeOut New York noted when interviewing Del Rio, she's one of the most beloved Drag Race winners despite her comedy revolving around insulting others. She's got comedic talent in abundance and admits in the interview that she'd rather be a comedian who happens to be a drag queen rather than the other way around.

When she's not dressed in extravagant wigs and over-the-top eye makeup, Bianca is a 42-year-old from Lousiana named Roy Haylock. Roy has a very different look to Bianca's: he's your standard, rugged-looking guy with a fair bit of facial hair. Seriously, these guys must have to shave so often to keep their drag looks as feminine as possible!

7 Kennedy Davenport / Reuben Asberry Jr.

Let's be real: nobody would look at Reuben Asberry Jr. as he's walking down the street and suspect that he makes a living as an ultra-feminine pageant queen. In character as Kennedy Davenport, Asberry becomes unrecognizable as he's draped in jewelry, rhinestones, and frankly ginormous wigs. Add some incredibly fierce makeup skills into the mix and you've got a recipe for an unbelievable transformation.

Despite her obvious talent in the field of drag, Davenport admitted in an interview with Vulture that she often felt like a "second thought queen" in comparison to her more famous drag sisters. Fans would crowd to see other performers first at meet-and-greets, leaving Kennedy crestfallen. However, her strong performance on the most recent season of All-Stars - she came second to Trixie Mattel - has certainly changed all that. Kennedy is a force to be reckoned with - watch out, world!

6 Morgan McMichaels / Thomas White

When it comes to his career options, Scotsman-turned-Californian Thomas White has an impressive range of options. He's a successful male model in his own right, but also has his distinct drag persona - Morgan McMichaels - to keep him going! You'd never know that these two were one and the same individual. White's modeling shots emphasize his status as a ruggedly handsome guy, while Morgan is a decidedly glitzy and glamorous queen. Her dramatic lashes and heavily-lined lips definitely give her a different look to her male counterpart!

While Morgan first appeared on Drag Race all the way back in Season Two, she recently returned to our screens in All-Stars Three. She may have been sent home first, but she still made quite the impression! In an interview with Billboard after her elimination, Morgan stated that she was simply happy to have been given one episode in which to shine. That's the spirit!

5 Charlie Hides

Oh, Charlie Hides. You had so much potential in Drag Race Season Nine, but you had to go and ruin it with that frankly awful lip-sync. To be fair, Hides' time on the show was rough: she revealed in an interview with QX that she broke her rib midway through filming the season and barely slept for two weeks as a consequence. Well, that would explain her unenergetic lip-sync! In the same chat with QX, Charlie admitted that the poor lip-sync was deliberate: she knew she was heading home, so she didn't even try. It's a move that's garnered her a lot of criticism.

Charlie is actually the only queen on this list whose drag name is actually just her real name. However, this is one of the few similarities between Hides in her natural and drag forms. Her love of brightly-colored wigs and eccentric eye makeup mean that she's very much distinguishable from her "guy" form. Also, she in no way looks her 53 years of age either in or out of drag! We need those anti-aging secrets!

4 Nina Bo'Nina Brown / Pierre Leverne Dease

Drag Race Season Nine was full of talented queens who left us impressed yet frustrated in equal measure. One of these was Nina Bo'Nina Brown, a contestant whose drag was sublime but whose self-doubt and paranoia consistently threatened her place in the competition. In an interview with The Observer following her elimination from the show, Nina admitted that having a positive self-image is something she still struggles with.

Despite her own insecurities, Nina is undoubtedly an incredibly talented artist and queen who's known for totally transforming herself through drag. It's hard to spot Pierre Leverne Dease underneath such intricate makeup looks as a peach, a monkey, and a skeleton. Incredibly, Nina confessed to The Observer that she's entirely self-taught! To have those kinds of skills without any formal training is seriously impressive.

3 Kim Chi / Sang-Young Shin

Kim Chi has to be one of the most endearing queens to ever appear on Drag Race. She was already a huge star on Instagram before making her Season Eight debut which only served to increase her burgeoning fanbase. The viewing public was nothing short of blown away by Kim's insane makeup skills, with her looks totally masking her "boy" face and turning her into an anime-inspired beauty queen. You'd never know that shy Korean-American Sang-Young Shin was hiding under there!

It became clear pretty early on in Kim's season that her self-confidence was pretty catastrophically low. In an interview with The Korea Herald, she confessed that drag allows her to leave her concerns behind and transform into a totally different person. Her fellow Season Eight queens were aghast that Kim couldn't see her true beauty, and tried to build her up as much as possible. Here's hoping she believes in herself a bit more following her successful stint on the show!

2 Acid Betty / Jamin Ruhren

Some of the most staggering drag queen transformations come from performers who like to break the mold with innovative and quirky looks. Nobody personifies this better than Acid Betty, the mohawk-sporting, neon-loving alter ego of New Yorker Jamin Ruhren. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Betty described her drag persona as a "provocateur" - someone who likes to challenge norms and shock people with her striking fashion sense and no-holds-barred manner of speaking. She certainly did all of that during her Drag Race stint, gaining fans thanks to her on-point looks but critics due to her often barbed comments to other queens.

Whatever you think of Betty, you can't deny that her looks are both striking and totally transformative. Ruhren loves to keep his facial hair stubbly and his eyebrows thick and bushy when he's not in drag, so there contrast between his day-to-day self and drag persona is all the more potent. In conversation with The IB Times, Ruhren suggested that his aim is to challenge people's notions of drag with his looks, something he definitely achieves.

1 Manila Luzon / Karl Westerberg

While talking to the Singaporean magazine Coconut about his drag career, Karl Westerberg rather modestly claimed that his drag persona, Manila Luzon, was nothing more than "me, but with better hair and clothes." However, anyone who saw Manila compete in Drag Race's third season knows that to be a serious understatement of Westerberg's talents. Manila is a glamorous queen with an hourglass figure and seriously enviable makeup skills. No matter what Westerberg claims, the majority of his most masculine features totally disappear when he's fully painted and dressed up as Manila.

While Manila may exude confidence during her performances, pre-Drag Race she was a totally different person. Not only did drag mask her physical features, it also provided her with a character behind which she could hide her massive stage fright. She admitted to Happy Mag that she would regularly throw up after performances due to the stress they caused her. Now, though, her drag persona has become what she calls an "empowering" part of herself that she can use to overcome her fears. Good for her!

References: rupaulsdragrace.wikia.com, chron.com, dazeddigital.com, fopmag.com