In 2009, RuPaul's Drag Race aired its first season to find America's Next Drag Superstar. Armed with a now-iconic filter, some fierce queens, and a small budget, the show has come a long way since its start. Drag Race has now expanded into several different countries, and the US installment is in its thirteenth season. The show now has a much larger budget from its debut season, which means the grand prize has changed over the show's run.
The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race, also referred to by fans as "The Lost Season", had several grand prizes for the winning queen, Bebe Zahara Benet. She won a feature photo spread in Paper Magazine, which was RuPaul's first national cover. The winning queen also got to be part of an eyewear campaign and headline a pride tour across the US. The cash prize for Bebe Zahara Benet was $20,000 in the first season. Lastly, a queen needs a crown, and Bebe received a crown from Fierce Drag Jewels.
By season two, there was a slightly larger cash prize for the winner, Tyra Sanchez. She collected the grand prize of $25,000, as well as a crown and headlining spot in the Drag Race Pride Tour. Tyra also got a lifetime supply of NYX Cosmetics and an eyewear ad campaign. When Raja won season three of RuPaul's Drag Race, there was a major jump in the cash prize to $75,000. She also got a lifetime supply of makeup and a crown from Fierce Drag Jewels.
Season four's winner, Sharon Needles, received the largest cash prize yet of $100,000. As with the previous winners, she won a crown and got to headline the Drag Race Tour. She also won a vacation as part of the grand prize and a lifetime supply of cosmetics. This became the standard grand prize winnings for the following US regular and All-Stars seasons. Season seven has the intro most fans can recite by heart, when RuPaul says, "The winner of RuPaul's Drag Race receives a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000."
When RuPaul's Drag Race went international, many fans wondered what the new cash prizes would be. For Canada's Drag Race, it was the same amount of $100,000. Drag Race Thailand winners got a cash prize of 500,000 baht, roughly $16,000, along with their crown and scepter. Drag Race Holland received a crown, scepter, photo spread in Dutch Cosmopolitan, and a custom dress.
Surprisingly, when the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK aired, fans thought the winning queen would have a similar grand prize, but they did not win any money. Instead, the grand prize is a trip to Hollywood and a web series from RPDR producers, as well as some "coveted" RuPeter badges. This is largely because the show airs on the BBC, where they do not give away large cash prizes. All of the winners of RuPaul's Drag Race have left their mark on the franchise and have gone on to do great things, with or without the cash prize.