Darius Jeremy Pierce, known by his stage name Shangela Laquifa Wadley, or simply Shangela (born November 22, 1981), is an American drag queen, personality, actor, and recording artist.
Shangela is best known for her many appearances throughout the Rupauls Drag Race franchise. She was notably eliminated first in season two, but returned the next year and placed sixth overall. She later came back for the third season of All Stars and finished as second runner-up. That same year, she also participated in the Holi-slay Spectacular and "won" with the rest of her fellow queens. As of the special, she holds the record for most appearances on the show with Latrice Royale.
Outside of Drag Race, Shangela has a very prolific acting carer, having made many guest appearances in television shows, such as Community, Glee, and The X-Files. In 2018, she began her regular role as Scarlet in the English dub of the Brazilian animated series Super Drags.
She's also acted in films, particularly the Hurricane Bianca series, opposite many of her fellow Drag Race alumni (she's, ironically, the only one who appears entirely out of drag), and a minor role in the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga remake of A Star is Born, alongside Willam Belli.
Selected filmography
- Rupauls Drag Race (2010, 2011, 2012) as herself
- RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2018)
- RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular (2018)
- Terriers (2010) as Mikaela (episode: "Pimp Daddy")
- Detroit 1-8-7 (2011) as Drag Performer (episode: "Legacy/Drag City")
- Dance Moms (2011, 2015) as himself
- Community (2011) as Miss Urbana Champaign (episode: "Advanced Gay")
- Toddlers & Tiaras (2012) as himself
- The Mentalist (2012) as Drag Queen (episode: "Ruby Slippers")
- 2 Broke Girls (2012) as Hallelujah (episode: "And the Hold-Up")
- Glee (2012) as Drag Queen (episode: "Thanksgiving")
- The Bold and the Beautiful (2013) as Steve
- Bones (2014) as Kimmy Moore (episode: "The Drama in the Queen")
- R.I.P.D. (2013) as Drag Queen Avatar
- Hurricane Bianca (2016) as Stephen
- Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia with Hate (2018)
- The X-Files (2016) as Annabell (episode: "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster")
- Eurovision Song Contest (2018) as himself (US commentator)
- A Star Is Born (2018) as Drag Bar Emcee
- Super Drags (2018 — 2019) as Scarlet (English dub)
- Broad City (2019) as herself
- We're Here (2020 — 2022) as herself
- Katy Keene (2020) as Devereaux (episode: "Chapter Six: Mama Said")
Shangela provides examples of:
- The Cameo: Shangela's voice can be heard briefly in the intro of Ariana Grande's "NASA", which happened because she just so happened to be in the studio when the song was being recorded.
- Catchphrase: "Halleloo!"
- Ghetto Name: Shangela Laquifa Wadley.
- My Greatest Second Chance: Played straight with her placings on Drag Race, with every appearance on the show improving on the last: last place in season two, sixth place in season three, third place in All Stars 3, and "winner" of the Holi-Slay Spectacular.
- Sassy Black Woman: In drag, Shangela is very sassy.
