RuPaul's Drag Race first took over the world in 2009, bringing the art of drag to the attention of viewers all across America. RuPaul Charles invites a dozen or so contestants to compete as their drag queen personas and show off their creativity in the form of hair, makeup, and costumes, as well as "lip-syncing for their lives."
Season five premiered in January of 2013, and it produced some of the most popular drag queens to date. Fourteen drag-ilicious ladies were featured, more than any of the seasons prior. It's been seven years since the stars made their big debut, and they've been up to some fabulous adventures.
Penny Tration
Penny Tration was the first queen of Drag Race to come in 14th place, as she was the first to be eliminated in season five. Since the show, Penny has been making her own drag wigs, promoting them on her Facebook, and even selling some on eBay.
She has also made various appearances, primarily in her home state of Ohio, and even has taken part in charity events, such as The Cabaret Cares, where she donated all of her tips to a family in need. According to a post on Reddit, Penny was working at an Olive Garden as a waiter (out of drag) in 2018.
Serena ChaCha
Coming in at 13th place was Serena ChaCha. In the same year that she was on the show, she released a single and music video called "ChaCha," which includes some of her quotes from the show remixed into the song.
Around five years later, she released another song entitled, "Drag Money," which is a parody of Cardi B's "Money." These days, Ms. ChaCha has her own line of wigs that come in many voluminous and colorful styles.
Monica Beverly Hillz
Monica Beverly Hillz made history as the first contestant to come out as transgender on the show, and since then, she has been involved in a lot of activism. She's appeared on a podcast called Feast of Fun, and she was also featured among other drag queens in a music video, "(Here It Comes) Around Again," covered by Glenn Stewart.
Monica has spoken out against transphobic remarks made on Drag Race in later seasons, and she was blacklisted by WowPresents after discussing the company's transphobic policy of forcing transitioning individuals to stop taking their medication while filming.
Vivienne Pinay
Vivienne Pinay was accused of "resting on pretty" during her time on the show, and she was eliminated fourth. Unlike many other season five queens, Michael Donehoo (Vivienne's real name) no longer performs as a drag queen.
In 2015, he appeared on an episode of Face-Off, and he has also been on Skin Wars, hosted by RuPaul, as a model. These days, Michael is a personal assistant to RPDR costar Alyssa Edwards, helping her with things such as hair and makeup.
Honey Mahogany
Honey Mahogany was also voted out fourth in the show's first double elimination. After lip-syncing for her life, Honey tested her pipes for real by auditioning for The Voice, but she was unfortunately not chosen as one of the contestants. She didn't let this stop her though, releasing her own EP in 2014.
This past year, she showed her political side, earning a seat on the Democratic County Central Committee in California. Honey came out as transgender, and she helped in the foundation of the first legally recognized transgender district on the globe.
Lineysha Sparx
Lineysha Sparks took ninth place in season five of Drag Race, and according to her Facebook, she now performs at Senor Frogs in Orlando (however, her page has not been updated since March of 2019).
She has made other appearances at clubs, more recently, such as Pan Dulce in San Francisco, where she performed for their Latin Hump Day Fiesta. Lineysha is occasionally active on her Instagram, where she mentions places she will be performing.
Jade Jolie
Jade Jolie was eliminated seventh in her season, but that didn't keep her from continuing drag! She appeared in several artists' music videos, including RPDR stars Pandora Boxx and Alaska, as well as Taylor Swift's video, "You Need To Calm Down," where she dressed up as Taylor.
She also was one of the dancers featured on stage with Taylor when she opened for the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, and Jade was even seen with Taylor when they won video of the year. Jade also had a cameo in RuPaul's Netflix series AJ and the Queen.
Ivy Winters
Ivy Winters was voted Miss Congeniality by her fans during her time on the show, but she was the eighth to be sent home. After the show, Ivy was featured in a Buzzfeed video about drag queens in 2013, and three years later, she was in the documentary Dragged.
She also released a few singles and has appeared in other artists' music videos. In 2017, she launched an arts and crafts web series called Queen Acres with season six queen Darienne Lake. Winters no longer does drag as of 2020.
Alyssa Edwards
Alyssa Edwards came in sixth place for season five, and she has been very busy since leaving the show. She started her own web series entitled, Alyssa's Secret, and she was a guest on RuPaul's podcast, RuPaul: What's the Tee?
Alyssa came back to Drag Race for the second season of All Stars in 2016, placing fifth. RuPaul produced a docuseries in 2018 called Dancing Queens about Alyssa and the dance studio she owns, and in 2019, she released her own makeup palette.
Coco Montrese
Coco Montrese placed fifth after being in the bottom two, four times. In the time since being on the series, she has appeared in a couple of music videos and has been a guest on several web series.
She took part in Drag Race All Stars season two, alongside her rival Alyssa Edwards, although Coco only lasted for three episodes. She appeared in a Vegas show called RuPaul's Drag Race Live, which is set to return in 2021.
Detox
Fourth place queen Detox chose to add a little something to her name after the show and now goes by an explicit name. She has been in music videos for artists including Lizzo and Lady Gaga, and she has also released several of her own singles since RPDR.
Like a few of her season five competitors, she was invited back to Drag Race for the second season of All Stars, where she was a runner up. She's been on the cover of New York Magazine, which ranked her as one of the top 20 Drag Race superstars.
Roxxxy Andrews
Roxxxy Andrews was one of the runners up this season, and she appeared later on season 2 of All Stars, where she came in fourth place. Roxxxy has performed drag at Pulse, a nightclub that became known after the 2016 shooting, and she got a tattoo in honor of the victims a few days after the incident.
Roxxxy was a guest on the web series Ring My Bell in 2013 and Queen to Queen, along with Detox, in 2016. She was also in the 2020 documentary, The Queens.
Alaska
Alaska was the other runner up of this season, and like Detox, she also added to her name, which is now Alaska Thunder**** 5000. Alaska is yet another contestant who came back for All Stars season two, which she ended up winning, and she also competed in Scared Famous, where she came in sixth place.
Alaska has had a big music career, releasing three albums since her time on season five. She also hosts a web series with her brother called Bro-laska, she's appeared in the stage production of Sex and the City, and she is even a spokesmodel for American Apparel.
Jinkx Monsoon
The winner of season five is none other than Jinkx Monsoon. Like many of her costars, Jinkx has been in plenty of music videos and guest-starred on various web series. Not only that, but she has explored a career with her own music as well, releasing several singles in the years after the show.
She played Edie in an episode of RuPaul's AJ and the Queen this past year, and she has also done some voice acting in shows, such as Steven Universe.