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Shannel is not to be confused with Shannel D'Marko

Shannel is an American drag performer, character illusionist, makeup artist, Las Vegas showgirl and one of the contestants of the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Shannel would later return to compete on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars alongside Chad Michaels[1] , forming Team Shad.

Shannel later returned as a Lip-Sync Assassin in All Stars 8. She won her lip-sync against Jimbo, revealing that the group chose to eliminate Darienne Lake.

Drag Name Origin[]

Her drag name comes from her first Siamese cat named Shannel. Bryan thought that it was suiting, sexy, and sensual.[2]

Track Record(s)[]

Shannel
Statistics USA Season 1 USA All Stars
Season 1
Ranking: 4th Place 3rd/4th Place
Maxi Challenges Won: 0 3 (Eps. 3, 4, 5)
Mini Challenges Won: 0 0
Times as Team Captain: 0 0
Times in Bottom: 2 (Eps. 3, 6) 1 (Ep. 1)
Episode Eliminated: Episode 6 Episode 6

Memorable Quotes[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 1[]

  • “Wooh, my God! Look at this! Wow, crazy, crazy, crazy!” (Entrance Quote)
  • "My persona has always tried to be a little more on the realistic side, but wearing costuming that is super couture."
  • "People call me the Barbra Streisand of drag because I've heard she's a real bitch and she's anal retentive about everything."
  • "Holler!"
  • "I got a whole roll of duct tape with your name on it, kitten!" (to Ongina because she had to tuck)
  • "I am amazed at myself; In my mind... I've already won."
  • "I love you too baby. You're going down!" (to Rebecca after voting her to go home)
  • "Oprah, for me, is God." (to BeBe when preparing for the Oprah challenge)
  • "Well hi there! I am the delicious Miss Mandarin! *gasp* mm.. *lip smacking*"
  • "I'm here because I am a professional entertainer. I want to be able to give and create showmanship; for the world to be able to see that the art of drag is not about putting on a dress and prancing around. There is so much more in what we are and who we are, as men, and as well when we are women."
  • "I'm so glad you asked me this question! I nominate myself because I don't want to be here anymore." (nominating herself for elimination)[3]
  • "Since day one, I have been judged really hard, and I'm very frustrated that you can't see the personality, Because I am so fucking real, you have no idea. And I don't feel that I am being understood here. I am beautiful. I'm a beautiful person internally and on the outside, and its so, so frustrating to me that that image does not seem to be conveyed. Week after week when we come into elimination round, I am so negatively critiqued." (nominating herself for elimination)[3]
  • "That sounds so nice to hear." (after the judges' answer to her nomination)[3]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 1[]

  • "Hello, Hello, what's up? Do you like it?" (Entrance Quote)
  • "To be part of the chosen few, I feel very privileged. When I competed last time, everybody thought I was this arrogant bitch." (intro)
  • "When it comes to two anal-retentive perfectionist bitches, that is myself and Chad Michaels" (After picking each other when forming teams)

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 8[]

  • "Toodles!"

Trivia[]

  • When Bryan is not performing, he likes to sit down at home and watch the "Golden Girls" and "Roseanne".[2]
  • Shannel started doing drag at fifteen years old when she entered a Halloween drag contest and won. A year later, she began working as a makeup artist, hairstylist, and photoshoot coordinator for glamour photography.[4]
  • Shannel owns one of the largest collections of Lucille Ball memorabilia in the world.[5]
  • One of Shannel's memorable performances was getting the opportunity to audition as the host for Cirque du Soleil's show "Zumanity". Out of 88 people, she was chosen to be in the top 5 to do the main audition on stage. She had the opportunity to walk on stage in an auditorium that seated almost 3,000 people and perform in Mugler's finest fashions using a million-dollar microphone.[2]
  • In her shows, Shannel can do tricks such as juggling, tightrope and stilts.
  • She was best known for her makeup artistry, costumes, showing off her body, her tricks on the runway, and for speaking out to the judges about her performances.
  • Shannel revealed in Episode 3 of Season 1 that Oprah Winfrey inspired her to lose 60 pounds.
  • Shannel is not only a drag queen but she is also a character illusionist. She can successfully create the illusions of many celebrities such as Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Cher, Dolly Parton, Madonna, Lucille Ball, Catwoman, the Evil Queen of Snow White, and even Boy George.

Gallery[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 1[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 1 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10[]

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10 Looks[]

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race 1[]

RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race 1 Looks[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 8[]

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 8 Looks[]

Videos[]

Filmography[]

TV[]

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2006 Trantasia Themself Documentary
2009 RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 1 Themself Contestant (Placed 4th) [10]
2010 Halloween on 6th Street Themself Documentary
2010 The Arrangement Themself Guest (Season 1 Episode 6) [11]
2010 RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 2 Themself Episode: "The Main Event Clip Show" (Special guest)
2010-2012 RuPaul's Drag U Professor Shannel Season 1-3, 9 appearances [12]
2012 RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 4 Themself Episode: "RuPocalypse Now!" (Zombie), "RuPaul Rewind" [13]
2012 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Season 1 Themself Contestant (Placed 3rd/4th) [1]
2012 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Untucked (Season 1) Themself
2013 RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 5 Themself Episode: "Reunited!" (Audience)
2014 RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 6 Themself Episode: "The Finale" (Audience)
2016 RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 8 Themself Episodes: "Keeping It 100" (Special guest), "Grand Finale" [1]
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 10 Themself Episode: "10s Across the Board" (Archive footage), "Grand Finale" [7]

Music Videos[]

Year Title Artist Ref.
2012 "Queen" Xelle [14]
2013 "Applause" Lady Gaga [15]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 RuPaul's Drag Race season 1 cast: Where are they now? | Entertainment Weekly — March 3, 2023
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Meet the Queens: Shannel | YouTube, RuPaul's Drag Race — September 27, 2013
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shannel's Shocking Season 1 Confession | YouTube, RuPaul's Drag Race — November 26, 2015
  4. https://www.theofficialshannel.com/biography
  5. https://lasvegasmagazine.com/interviews/qa/2016/oct/21/qa-bryan-watkins-shannel-53x-paris/#/0
  6. A Brief History of Wig Reveals on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ | intomore.com, archived on waybackmachine — May 8, 2018
  7. 7.0 7.1 Lip Sync Eleganza Extravaganza Performance w/ S1 & S10 Queens 💃 | YouTube, RuPaul's Drag Race — June 28, 2018
  8. ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Sets Live Show In Las Vegas | Deadline — September 7, 2019
  9. Madison Beer Tem Ataque De Estrelismo Em Celeb Drag Race | Draglicious — May 18, 2020
  10. RuPaul’s Drag Race Contestant #7: Shannel | World of Wonder — January 30, 2009
  11. The Arrangement Episode 6 | Apple TV — November 10, 2010
  12. RuPaul's Drag U | LogoTV
  13. Drag Race Zombies? Happy Halloween from RuPaul! | LogoTV — October 31, 2011
  14. 20 Music Videos With Drag Queen Cameos | Billboard — November 3, 2017
  15. Lady Gaga's 'Applause' Lyric Video: Drag Queen Tells All! | MTV — August 15, 2013

Navigation[]

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