Michelle Visage facts for kids

{{Infobox person | name = Michelle Visage | image = Dana Franks and Michelle Visage (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Visage in 2018 | birth_name = Michelle Lynn Shupack | birth_date = (1968-09-20) September 20, 1968 (age 56) | birth_place = Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S.

| occupation =

| yearsactive = 1988–present

| television =

| spouse =

| children = 2

| module = Musical career

Michelle Visage (born Michelle Lynn Shupack, September 20, 1968) is an American singer, TV star, radio host, producer, and actress. She was the lead singer of the R&B and dance group The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.. They had a number-one dance hit in 1993 with the song "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day."

Since 2011, Michelle Visage has been a main judge on the American reality show RuPaul's Drag Race. She also judges its spin-off shows like RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, RuPaul's Drag Race UK, and Drag Race Down Under, which she also hosts. Visage has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for her work as a producer on RuPaul's Drag Race.

She has also appeared on British reality shows. These include Celebrity Big Brother (2015) and Strictly Come Dancing (2019). From 2018 to 2019, she was a judge on the talent show Ireland's Got Talent.

Contents

• Early Life and Beginnings

• New York City Scene

• Career Highlights

• Music and Videos
• Radio and Podcasts
• Television Appearances
  • RuPaul's Drag Race
  • Other TV Shows
  • Strictly Come Dancing
• Theater Roles

• Personal Life
• Discography

• Singles
• Guest appearances

• Filmography
• Awards and Recognitions
• See also

Early Life and Beginnings

Michelle Visage grew up in New Jersey. She knew from a young age that she was adopted. She went to South Plainfield High School and finished in 1986. When she was 16, Michelle won a competition for looking like the singer Madonna.

After high school, she moved to New York City. She studied acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy for two years. Growing up, Michelle admired singers like Madonna, Belinda Carlisle, and Stevie Nicks.

New York City Scene

In New York, Michelle was very active in the club scene. She became well-known in the New York drag ball scene. She learned a dance style called voguing. In 1988, she and Cesar Valentino showed voguing on TV for the first time on a show called The Latin Connection.

Michelle got her last name, Visage, from the people in the New York ball scene. They called her "cara," which means "face" in Spanish. She changed it to "visage," which means "face" in French. This name stuck with her. In the late 1980s, Michelle also met her friend and future co-star, RuPaul. They met at club nights hosted by Susanne Bartsch.

Career Highlights

Music and Videos

Michelle Visage sang as a guest on the song "Crash (Have Some Fun)" with the dance group TKA. She was also the lead singer for another dance group called The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.. Their song "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" was on the soundtrack for the movie The Bodyguard. This song became a number-one dance hit in 1993.

Visage has also sung on several of RuPaul's music albums. She has appeared in many of RuPaul's music videos, including "New York City Beat" and "Glamazon." In 2021, she worked with the pop group Steps on a new version of their song "Heartbreak in This City."

Radio and Podcasts

Michelle Visage in 2009

Michelle Visage has had a long career in radio. From 1996 to 2002, she co-hosted a morning show on WKTU in New York City with RuPaul. She continued to host morning shows in Los Angeles and Miami. In 2007, she became a co-host on SUNNY 104.3 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

On April 9, 2014, Michelle started co-hosting the weekly podcast RuPaul: What's the Tee? with RuPaul. They talk to celebrities and discuss many topics, from their lives to RuPaul's Drag Race. The podcast won a Webby Award in 2018. Michelle also hosts her own show on BBC Radio 2 every Friday night.

Television Appearances

Michelle Visage at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2018

Michelle Visage has worked with RuPaul on many TV shows. In 1996, she co-hosted RuPaul's talk show The RuPaul Show on VH1. When RuPaul was looking for judges for season one, he asked Michelle to join. She couldn't at first because of a radio contract.

RuPaul's Drag Race

Two years later, RuPaul asked Michelle again to be a judge for season three. This time, she was able to join. On January 24, 2011, Michelle Visage became a permanent judge on the show. She has also appeared on all seasons of the spin-off show, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

In 2019, she won her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Competition Program. This was for her work as a producer on Drag Race. That same year, she became a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race UK. In 2021, Visage also judged RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under. In 2024, she became the main host for the fourth season of Drag Race Down Under.

Other TV Shows

On January 7, 2015, Michelle Visage was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. She finished in fifth place. She has also been a commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017.

From 2018 to 2019, she was a judge on Ireland's Got Talent. In 2020, she judged a teen fashion competition called Junk Kouture.

Strictly Come Dancing

On August 5, 2019, it was announced that Michelle Visage would compete in Strictly Come Dancing in the UK. She was partnered with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice. They performed many dances, including the Cha-Cha-Cha, Viennese Waltz, and Quickstep.

• Green number indicates Michelle & Giovanni were at the top of the leaderboard.
• Red number indicates Michelle & Giovanni were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Theater Roles

Michelle Visage made her West End debut in the musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie. She played the role of "Miss Hedge" from October 2018 to January 2019. In February 2024, she played Morticia in a concert version of The Addams Family in the West End.

Personal Life

Michelle Visage lives in California with her husband, David Case, and their two children. She is vegan. In November 2015, she released her first book, The Diva Rules. In April 2019, Michelle shared that she has Hashimoto's disease, a condition that affects the thyroid.

Discography

Singles

Guest appearances

Filmography

Awards and Recognitions

Michelle Visage has won many awards for her work in entertainment. She has received several Primetime Emmy Awards as a producer for RuPaul's Drag Race. She also won a Webby Award for her podcast RuPaul: What's the Tee?.

See also

In Spanish: Michelle Visage para niños

• List of Celebrity Big Brother (British TV series) housemates
• List of Strictly Come Dancing contestants