Kameron Michaels facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kameron Michaels
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Kameron Michaels at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2019
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Dane Young
July 23, 1986 Massillon, Ohio, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Other names |
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| Occupation | Drag queen |
| Years active | 2004 or 2005 – present |
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Dane Young (born July 23, 1986), known professionally as Kameron Michaels, is an American drag performer. She became famous after competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Kameron started her career in Nashville around 2004 or 2005.
Since her TV show appearance in 2018, Kameron Michaels has been part of many tours. These tours feature contestants from Drag Race, like Werq the World and Christmas Queens. She has also appeared in online video series made by World of Wonder. In June 2019, she released her first song and music video, "Freedom." Since January 2020, she has been a regular performer in RuPaul's Drag Race Live!. This is a live show in Las Vegas. She also stars in the TV show RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue, which is about the live show.
Kameron Michaels is known as a "muscle queen." This means her drag style includes a strong, muscular body. Because of her physique, she is sometimes called "The Bodybuilder Barbie." She is also known for her many tattoos. These tattoos cover her forearms, chest, and part of one leg.
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Growing Up and Early Life
Young was born on July 23, 1986. He was the only child of his parents. They lived in Massillon, Ohio, until he was five years old. After that, they lived briefly in Michigan. Then they moved to Columbia, Tennessee, where Young spent most of his childhood.
In high school, he faced challenges because of his personality. This made him become more quiet and reserved. He even studied himself to change certain gestures. When he was 18, Young started visiting Nashville on weekends. He worked in local entertainment venues. This is where he first met drag queens and began performing in drag himself. He felt more comfortable in Nashville's welcoming community than in his hometown. So, he moved to Nashville when he was 21.
Kameron Michaels' Career Journey
Starting Drag and Her Unique Style
When Young first started his drag career, another experienced performer helped make his costumes. But he taught himself how to do makeup. His first drag name was Arianna St. Claire. After a few months, he changed it to Kameron Michaels. He wanted a first name that could be for anyone. He also wanted a last name that no other drag queen in Nashville used.
Young found ideas for his drag look from movies and video games. He describes his drag style as very feminine. He believes that learning drag in the Southern style helped him become a well-rounded performer. This style taught him many skills, like dancing and making costumes. In his mid-20s, he started going to the gym often. Because of his strong body, he became known as a "muscle queen." Before appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, Young worked full-time as a hair stylist. He only performed drag on weekends. He regularly performed at Play Dance Bar in Nashville.
Becoming a Star on RuPaul's Drag Race
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Michaels tried out for the seventh season of Drag Race in 2014 but was not chosen. She then tried out for the tenth season to help her through a difficult time. In her audition video, she showed that as a muscle queen, she was a new type of performer for the show. She was chosen to be on the show, and her season aired in 2018. She finished as a runner-up, along with Eureka O'Hara. The winner was Aquaria.
Some people and other contestants called Michaels the season's "lip sync assassin." This is because she had to lip-sync for her life four times in a row without being sent home. No other contestant has survived more than three lip syncs. She also won the first lip sync in the finale but lost the second one to Aquaria. This brought her total lip syncs to six. On the show, she was known for being quiet. This made her different from the other contestants. After the show, she learned about being an "ambivert." This means someone who is both quiet and outgoing. She has said this description fits her well.
In August 2021, Michaels appeared on the ninth episode of the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. She was the "Lip Sync Assassin" for that episode. She lip-synced against the top performer of the week, Ra'Jah O'Hara, and won.
Music and Live Performances
For the final challenge of season 10, Michaels and the other top four contestants wrote and recorded their own parts for RuPaul's song "American." The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In summer 2018, Michaels joined the 10s Across the Board Tour. She traveled around the U.S. with other queens from her season.
Later that year, she recorded the song "Let It Snow" for Christmas Queens 4. This album features Christmas songs sung by former Drag Race contestants. After the album came out, she went on the Christmas Queens tour in Europe in November and December 2018. She then returned to Europe for her own solo tour in January 2019. The next month, she released a lip sync music video for Mark Ronson's "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart." In June 2019, she released her first song, "Freedom," and its music video.
Since late 2018, Michaels has traveled around the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe for many parts of Werq the World. She also appears in a docuseries about that tour. Since January 2020, Michaels has been a regular performer in RuPaul's Drag Race Live!. This is a live show in Las Vegas. The show paused for much of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Michaels was still part of the cast when it started again in August 2021. She also co-stars in RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue, a VH1 TV show about the live performance.
In May 2020, Michaels took part in a live online version of Werq the World. This event raised money for drag entertainers who were out of work because of the pandemic. Since July 2020, Michaels has been on tour with Drive 'N Drag. This is a drive-in drag show held outdoors. It allowed for social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personal Life and Interests
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Young's arms, hands, chest, neck, and left leg have tattoos. These tattoos are visible when he is both in and out of drag. He started getting tattoos around age 26 or 27. All his tattoos were done by the same artist in about a year and a half. They show images from his favorite childhood movies and things that are important to him. His left arm has pictures from Jurassic Park and Aliens. He also has a scarab beetle on his chest. He said the scarab represents a new beginning. It was about him finding himself and doing things for his own well-being.
In July 2020, Young removed much of the content from his Kameron Michaels profiles on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. This happened on the same day that RuPaul did the same. This caused many fans to wonder why. Young later said he removed the posts during a difficult time. He felt this way because of spending a lot of time alone at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also thought a lot about the George Floyd protests. He later put some of the content back.
In July 2021, Young shared on social media that he had a very tough time in November 2020. He said he barely ate or drank. When he started to feel better, his body was very weak. He documented this to remember what happened. He said it still makes him uncomfortable, but he hoped sharing it would help others feel less alone.
As of June 2021, Young lived in Los Angeles. The next month, he bought a home in Las Vegas and moved there with his French Bulldog, Lilo. Young briefly dated fellow season 10 contestant Vanessa Vanjie Mateo while filming RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue. While performing in RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, Young dated fellow cast member André Hurtado, who passed away in December 2022. Young then took a break from social media for 10 months. When he started posting on TikTok again in October 2023, he shared that he had been diagnosed with ADHD. Around the same time, he shared on Instagram that he was in a relationship.
In early 2025, Young announced that he had become a certified personal trainer. He also started a workout program called Kameron Michaels Fitness.
Music Releases
Kameron Michaels has released several songs.
Songs as the Main Artist
- "Let It Snow" (2018) - from the album Christmas Queens 4
- "Freedom" (2019) - a single song not from an album
Songs as a Featured Artist
- "American" (2018) - by RuPaul featuring Aquaria, Kameron Michaels, Eureka O'Hara, and Asia O'Hara. This was a single song.
Appearances on TV and Online
Television Shows
- 2018: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) - Contestant (runner-up)
- 2018: RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (season 10) - Herself
- 2020: RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue - Herself
- 2021: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 6) - Lip Sync Assassin (one episode)
Online Series
- 2018: Whatcha Packin' - Guest
- 2018: Gaymer Guys - Guest host
- 2018: Fashion Photo RuView - Guest host
- 2018: Hey Qween! - Guest
- 2018: How to Makeup - Herself
- 2018: Bestie$ for Ca$h - Herself (with Eureka O'Hara)
- 2018–present: Can Do Queens - Co-host (with Asia O'Hara)
- 2020: Working Out Is a Drag - Featured guest
- 2020: Werq the World - Herself
- 2021: Out of the Closet - Featured guest
- 2021–present: Gay Sex Ed - Co-host (with Vanessa Vanjie Mateo)
Music Videos
- 2019: "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" (by Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus) - Lip sync video
- 2019: "Freedom"
- 2022: "The Motto" (by Tiësto & Ava Max) - Cameo appearance
