WARNING: Contestants are listed in order of elimination and there are unmarked spoilers on this page, potentially including spoilers for previous seasons.
Main (RuPaul, hosts and judges)
RuPaul's Drag Race (USA) seasons:
Drag Race around the world:
All Stars & Vs. the World
All names, ages, and locations stated are at the time of filming.
Penny Tration (14th)
Age: 39
From: Cincinnati, Ohio
"Everyone needs a little Penny Tration!"
- Filming for Easy Dub: When she didn't know the lyrics during her lip sync, she'd turn around and sing to the back of the house so the judges couldn't see her mouth (not) moving. This apparently is an old drag trick, and the other queens were quick to call her out on it.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: Being a veteran drag queen, Detox was sure Penny was gearing up to slay Serena in the lip sync ... but instead spent half the song ("Party In The U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus) turned around to hide the fact she didn't know the lyrics.
- Punny Name: Penny Tration/Penetration.
- Shameless Self-Promoter: In her very brief time on the show, she reminded us during every single piece-to-camera that she was "chosen by the fans"....
- Underdogs Never Lose: Major aversion. Penny was chosen to be on the show as the result of lobbying for votes on the show's Facebook page and was a major underdog, but was also the first contestant eliminated.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: The season’s first out, after she fluffs the words in her lip-sync against Serena.
Serena ChaCha (13th)
Age: 21
From: Tallahassee, Florida
"I'm from Panama, it's one of the top destinations for retired Americans. You should consider moving there."
- Bratty Half-Pint: The youngest queen on the show (and proud of it), talked a good game but couldn't back it up, none of the other queens got along with her, and generally was a pain in the ass.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: One of her runway looks had what appeared to be granny panties exposed from the back. Ivy Winters even likened her to an old lady who accidentally tucked her skirt into her underwear after using the bathroom.
- Hated by All: She was universally despised by the other queens for her bitchy behavior. Needless to say, none of the queens were upset to see her go.
- Hong Kong Dub: Her performance in the lip-sync challenge was filled with mismatched lip movements, to the point where Detox compared it to "watching an old Chinese movie."
- Insufferable Genius: Would bring up her college background whenever she got the chance, even though several other queens have degrees as well...
- Jerkass: Throughout her run, she was rude, insulted most of the other queens, acted like she was better than everyone, and was overall hateful. None of the other queens were upset to see her leave.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Despite having a degree in design and acting like she's better than the others, she was the second queen eliminated. All we saw of her in the competition was a horrific dress that she claimed to make using "soft-sculpting techniques", and a lip-synching/acting challenge that was painfully off the mark.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Her first runway look lacked any breast illusion or padding, as a result the judges told her from the waist up she read "pure boy".
- Mistaken for Racist: Was called out when she claimed that the other queen's drag slang sounded like they were "speaking ghetto". Although she does apologize for crossing the line, she continues to harp on it via Confession Cam.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Telling the other queens to "go read a book."
- Rummage Sale Reject: Her Trash Couture was shoddy, gaudy and lacked any padding or breast illusion, resulting in her placing in the bottom.
- Uncanny Valley Makeup: At one point the judges actually told her with how she does her make-up, that she looked like a female doll's head stuck onto a G.I. Joe doll's body.
Monica Beverly Hillz (12th)
Age: 27
From: Owensboro, Kentucky
"Excuse my beauty."
- The Ditz: She had trouble remembering her lines for the kids show challenge while she had them open in front of her.
- Missing Mom: Due to her mother's addiction, Monica was separated from her at a young age. During the second episode of Untucked, her mom calls in to apologize and say how proud she is.
- Nervous Wreck: She has promise, but the judges repeatedly point out that she can't get out of her own head.
- Prone to Tears: Monica spends a lot of her screen time crying, as the stress of Drag Race and her angst over being trans gets to her.
- Shrinking Violet: Admits that she had a hard time opening herself up to the other girls before confessing that she was trans.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: Hillz, thankyouverymuch.
Vivienne Pinay (11th=)
Age: 26
From: New York City, New York
"I will always be the fishiest queen. Today, tomorrow, next month, the past seasons, and the next seasons to come."
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Even Ru said she was probably the fishiest queen in the entire season.
- Epic Fail: Both she and Honey Mahogany end up becoming the victims of the first ever double elimination after they gave an underwhelming lip-sync performance to "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Britney Spears.
- Never My Fault: Moaned a lot about being over-shadowed by some of the other queens, but never really did anything to make herself standout in any other way apart from her looks.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Although 'Awesome' probably wouldn't be the word she'd use, she complained that in team challenges she'd look bad next to Roxxxy Andrews, who always gave a larger than life performance.
- The Quiet One: Especially when compared to the loud personalities of some of the other queens.
- The Resenter: Whilst she was always a bit of a moaner, towards the end of her time on Season 5 she began constantly complaining about how she felt she was being shouted down and over-shadowed, rightly or wrongly.
Honey Mahogany (11th=)
Age: 29
From: San Francisco, California
"My parents never really understood — they sent me to Africa."
- Epic Fail: Both she and Vivienne Pinay end up becoming the victims of the first ever double elimination after they gave an underwhelming lip-sync performance to "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Britney Spears.
- In-Series Nickname: Was given the title of "Bed Bath & Beyoncé" based on her love of wearing bedsheet-esque caftans on the runway.
- Limited Wardrobe: The judges got sick of seeing this same type of dress on her week after week, leading to her landing in the bottom two.
- Starbucks Skin Scale: Her drag name is a pair of poetic terms for black skin, honey being light and mahogany being darkish.
Lineysha Sparx (9th)
Age: 24
From: San Juan, Puerto Rico
"Lineysha is so fierce, so flawless, so a-sparkling. Lineysha's in the house so wash out, bitches!"
- Attention Whore: Was called such during the Lip Synch challenge, where she'd ham it up even if it wasn't her scene, to the irritation of the rest of her team.
- Bad Impressionists: Her Celia Cruz impression ended up being this. After her original Snatch Game choice of Michelle Obama was doubted by Ru due to Lineysha's accent being way too thick, she decided to switch to Celia at the last minute. Needless to say, it didn't pay off, as her inaccurate look and lack of any real jokes landed Lineysha in the bottom where she was eliminated.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: While making a banana split with Ivy Winters, she somehow mistranslated a cherry as "fresa", or strawberry in Spanish. It should be noted that Spanish is supposed to be Lineysha's first language.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: She's one of reportedly seventeen drag daughters of season 4 contestant Madame LaQueer
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Was accused by the other queens of pretending she doesn't know English when it meant getting away with things.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: When asked by Ru, she admitted to having no idea who Diana Ross is (despite the fact she would be playing her in the ballet). Something of a major faux pas on her part since Diana Ross is one of RuPaul's biggest idols.
- The Unintelligible: Doubles as the Elective Unintelligible, as the queens were dubious if Lineysha's language barrier was played up to her advantage on occasion.
Jade Jolie (8th)
Age: 25
From: Gainesville, Florida
"Serving up fish, tuna on a platter!"
- Beware the Nice Ones: Jade generally had a sweet disposition, but the "Backrolls" incident with Alyssa Edwards showed that even she could summon her inner bitch.
- Celebrity Resemblance: In drag, she's a dead-ringer for British singer Paloma Faith.
- Celebrity Impersonator: Capitalized on her Snatch Game choice of Taylor Swift and became a professional Taylor impersonator after her elimination
- Fake-Hair Drama: She's a young queen who hasn't amassed an expensive hair wardrobe yet. In her most memorable Untucked moment, Alyssa roasts her for her cheap wig.
- Girly Girl: Her style was once likened to a Lisa Frank notebook.
- The Hyena: She'd laugh constantly with her cute, girly giggle.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Her name is a combination of Jade from Mortal Kombat and Angelina Jolie.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted, as she is the second Jade on the show.
- Proud to Be a Geek: She's a proud video gamer.
-
So Okay, It's Average: She used to hold the record for going the longest without being one of the best or worst at a challenge (five weeks in a row). - Vocal Dissonance: Her voice and laugh were very sweet and girly, the judges even said outright her Snatch Game pick of Taylor Swift was the perfect choice for her. Out of drag, though, this trope was most certainly in effect.
Ivy Winters (7th + Miss Congeniality)
Age: 26
From: New York City, New York
"I make dresses out of cassette tape, paper cups, condoms. I will figure out a way to turn it into a costume."
- Circus Brat: Worked as a clown for eight years before her Drag Race debut, and put her circus skills to good use on the main runway. In one memorable scene, she strutted out on huge stilts dressed as a giant butterfly.
- Costume Porn: As per her page quote. Not only was she was constantly praised for her looks, from the Victor/Victoria and Finding Nemo shout outs to the all-pink showgirl and butterfly goddess look, she made them all herself. Bonus points for having made Manila’s legendary pineapple dress.
- Dumb Blonde: Unfortunately played straight during the Snatch Game, since her impersonation of Marilyn Monroe missed landing any of the easy jokes.
- Impractically Fancy Outfit: Ivy's headshot dress, which was made completely out of paper pictures of her face. The judges even joke that she better not stand near a paper shredder or open flame. It's so impractical that when she got eliminated, she didn't even take the dress with her, since it wouldn't fold or store very easily.
- Jack of All Trades: She has dabbled in various performing outlets; she's an accomplished singer and designer, and even skilled in several circus acts like fire-eating and stilt-walking.
- Nice Girl: Season Five's Miss Congeniality.
- Oblivious to Love: Had no idea Jinkx was attracted to her. This may have been because she already had a partner back home.
- Phrase Catcher: "Iveeeeeeee Winterrrrrrrs!" Ru got it from Latoya Jackson introducing Edgar Winters this way during a variety show in the 80's.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: During her impersonation of Marilyn Monroe for Snatch Game, she didn't try to imitate Monroe's famous accent, and did not get Ru's John F. Kennedy reference (the two allegedly had an affair). Jinkx's character Little Edie happened to be JFK's cousin-in-law, so she swooped in to save the joke, which only helped cement her own victory.
- Proper Lady: Effortlessly poised, elegant, and pleasant but unable to throw shade. Deconstructed in that it damages her in the comedy challenges such as the snatch game and the roast.
- Redhead In Green: Her look for the RuPaul Roast. Notably it is one of the few times Michelle Visage praises a queen for wearing green. It likely saves Ivy from placing in the bottom two.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: One of the most accomplished seamstresses on the series so far.
Alyssa Edwards (6th)
Age: 32
From: Mesquite, Texas
"I am known as the Vanessa Williams of drag. I'm here to show people that I've still got it." note
- Blessed with Suck: Alyssa is one of the most hilarious and memetic queens in the history of the show...except for when she has to be funny. She has a naturally campy personality, but doesn't do well with improv, stand-up, or comedic acting, and these challenges are where she struggles the most.
- Catchphrase: "Yes Gawd!" and as revealed during the Clip Show, "Not on tonight!"
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: After bombing her Katy Perry impersonation during the Snatch Game, she couldn't be up for elimination because she had immunity after winning the previous challenge. Instead, Ru made her tweet an apology to Perry herself.
- Distracted by My Own Sexy: She certainly had no lack of narcissism, as the queens would complain she could spend hours just making faces at herself in the mirror. At one point she gets distracted by her own face while talking to Ru, completely ignoring her!
-
Enforced Method Acting: When she is picked by Coco for her team in the ballet challenge, they cast themselves in the roles of Good and Bad Ru (essentially a battle between Enemies Within). The pre-existing rivalry between the two translates in a tension-filled performance, which gives Alyssa the win. - Freudian Excuse: Had a verbally abusive and unaccepting father growing up, which may have been a major factor towards her loud and bitchy attitude.
- My Greatest Failure: Outright says that being stripped of her title of Miss Gay America 2010 was the most career-damaging and humiliating moment of her life. The commonly accepted version of events is that Alyssa was dethroned after missing multiple club and other public appearances as the winner without notice at all to club promoters or the Gay Miss America organizers. Therefore by default, and the by-laws, they gifted the first runner-up, who just so happened to be Coco Montrese, her crown.
- My Greatest Second Chance: Considered Drag Race this after being stripped of her title as Miss Gay America. Although she didn't win the competition, she did become a fan favorite, leading to her own webseries on World of Wonder called Alyssa's Secret
. - Named After Somebody Famous: Alyssa Milano.
- Noodle Incident: The exact reason she was stripped of her crown.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: While impersonating Katy Perry for the Snatch Game, Ru asks her if she's ever kissed a girl (based on Perry's famous song, I Kissed a Girl) and Alyssa just sits there dumbfounded for a moment before saying "Ru, never!" You can see the shock on RuPaul's face that Alyssa missed such an easy pop reference to her own celebrity.
- The Rival: With Coco Montrese.
- Signature Move: The 'Point and Walk', where she points in the direction she's going to walk in during her runway.
- This Is a Competition: "It's not personal, it's drag."
- We Used to Be Friends: With Coco, before Alyssa lost her title of Miss Gay America and it was given to Coco as the first runner-up, instead.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Was read by the judges for her Spanish accent in the Telenovela challenge, saying that most of the time they had no idea what she was saying, and occasionally sounded like she was channeling Dracula.
- White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: Her character, calling herself a "Good Christian Woman".
- You Are Fat: Usually came off as rather sure of herself, but calling her out on her weight seemed to be the one thing that could shake her confidence. What was strange is that Alyssa really wasn't overweight at all.
Coco Montrese (5th)
Age: 37
From: Las Vegas, Nevada
"Bitch, all T, all shade."
- Bald Mystic: Although it didn't appear during the show, Coco had said in the before-season interview that she loved to rip off her wig and perform with a bald head, in that it gave her drag a very 'alien' look.
- Boring, but Practical: The overall opinion of her Janet Jackson impression, as she nailed the look and voice but couldn't bring the funny, leading to a lukewarm response from the other queens and the judges.
- Celebrity Impersonator: She's a professional Janet Jackson impersonator outside the show. She naturally did her Janet routine for the Snatch Game, which the other queens accused her of playing it safe, though she at least was praised by the judges for her flawless look.
- Distracted by the Sexy: In the Telenovela, when here scene involved her playing opposite Wilmer Valderrama she took one look at her co-star and promptly forgot all her lines ... more than once!
- Drama Queen: Was accused of being as such, especially when dealing with the whole Alyssa Edwards thing.
- Eye Colour Change: Due to her oft-parodied love of color contact lenses.
- Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Her pink runway features a teddy bear.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: She did not like any challenge where she was given a small role instead of being the star of the show, and would only half-ass her performance in said situations. As can be expected, this put her up for elimination three separate times.
- Hypocritical Humor: Although the whole ordeal with Alyssa was a Berserk Button when targeted at her, she had no qualms in trying to read Alyssa on the exact same thing. It got to the point where Alyssa said the whole thing confused her, since Coco would always want the topic dropped, but would bring it back up to try and harass her.
- It's All About Me: As she explained, in Vegas she was always the star of the show so that's what she had come to expect ... however she was often delegated to smaller roles during team challenges, and would complain and turn in a lackluster performance as a result.
- Lame Comeback: During the Snatch Game she got upset when Jinkx Monsoon's impersonation of Little Edie got her pick of Janet Jackson's name wrong (this was actually Self-Deprecation on Jinkx's part, as Little Edie was known to be a bit of The Ditz). Coco then tried to embarrass Jinkx by pointing out Little Edie suffers from Small Reference Pools, and when that doesn't get a rise out of her, tries to insult her name by saying that Little Edie "isn't that little". In the end, instead of bringing Jinkx down, she just made herself seem petty and uneducated.
- Playing a Tree: Wound up playing a ventriloquist dummy during one challenge to her great displeasure, and was critiqued on the runway for missing a great opportunity to steal the show.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Despite her rivalry with Alyssa, she respects her work as a professional dancer and choreographer, and when Coco is team captain for the ballet challenge Alyssa is her first pick.
- The Resenter: Resented the fact that Alyssa won the Miss Gay America pageant and then lost the title to her by a technicality, as it meant to her that Alyssa had stolen her Awesome Moment of Crowning.
- The Rival: With Alyssa Edwards.
- Uncanny Valley Makeup: Would be read by the other queens due to her ungodly orange foundation making her look like a Dorito, the most humorous during a confrontation at the make-up table with Alyssa Edwards in which a few fans likened Coco to a "samurai oompa loompa". To her credit, she has since had fun with the whole Dorito look, including selling a Dorito-shaped and -branded compact which she brought with her into the Werk Room for her return in All Stars 2.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: When she wins the roast challenge, she couldn't help but gloat about it over the "Comedy Queens" of the competition, Jinkx and Alaska.
- We Used to Be Friends: With Alyssa, until she had to claim the crown for Miss Gay America after Alyssa was unable to fulfill her duties.
Detox (4th)
Age: 27
From: Los Angeles, California
"I'm like walking tupperware, girl! I'm part of the Glad family of products."
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Due to the fact they've worked together in the past, Detox would often use Willam's "Sorry 'bout it!"
- Broken Ace: She was labeled as The Ace early in the competition for having a great sense of humor, a fabulous sense of style, and more than a few tricks to shock the judges ... behind the scenes, however, she had to deal with a life-threatening car crash that nearly destroyed her face (she still couldn't grow eyebrows), a boyfriend who stalked her and committed suicide in her own apartment, and as revealed during All Stars 2 the fact her father was on his death bed.
- Catchphrase: "I've had it!" and when she's really ticked off, "I've had it - officially!"
- Country Matters: Her full name, "Detox Icunt" — which, for obvious reasons, meant she had to go by Only One Name on the show.
- Deliberately Monochrome: Her outfit for the reunion special was a black dress with grayscale makeup, contact lenses, wig, and jewelry, making her look like she stepped out of a 40's movie.
- I Call Him "Mister Happy": Rare non-genitalia example, but still in the same vein as she coins her mouth with the promiscuous moniker of the "Black & Decker Pecker Wrecker".
- Lady Swears-a-Lot: Detox has one of the dirtiest mouths of the season, and even gets in a bit of trouble for swearing during the recording session of "Can I Get An Amen?"
- Long List: When she gives a rundown of her various plastic surgeries—some reconstructive after a horrific car accident, some out of sheer vanity—and jokingly compares herself to tupperware due to having so much plastic in her.
- The Lost Lenore: Had an ex-boyfriend turned stalker who ended his life, despite the drama at the end she still remembers him fondly and is sad he is gone.
- Only One Name: Because the last part of her drag name, Icunt, had to be censored.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Roxxxy Andrews, who (in her own words) was so cute she just wanted to shit all over the floor because of it.
- Power Trio: Rolaskatox, a clique comprised of the pageant/beauty queen Roxxxy Andrews, the comedy/camp queen Alaska, and Detox, who was something of a mix between the two styles.
- Self-Deprecation: Over the amount of plastic surgery she's had, and made a song about it.
- Signature Move: Her mouth-wiggle during lipsynchs.
- Tempting Fate: During the entrances, Detox notes via Confession Cam: "I dunno about that Jinkx yet; she's a little kooky." Guess who sends Detox home.
Roxxxy Andrews (runner-up)
Age: 28
From: Orlando, Florida
"Where my people at?"
- Aesop Amnesia: Admitted that when frustrated she will lash out at others, with Jinkx being her usual target. However, despite owning up to doing this she continues picking on and putting down Jinkx right up to the final three.
- Big Fun: Although she admits to being more "Juicy" than "Big" after the weight loss.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Even after the Snatch Game, Roxxxy would occasionally borrow Tamar Braxton's "Dot com". During the Reunion Show Tamar would hilariously counter this by borrowing Roxxxy's own Catchphrase, "Where my people at?"
- In any private conversation with her best bud, Detox, she'd often swipe Detox's "I've had it!", in fact, they'd usually go back and forth with it.
Roxxxy: "You know what I've had?"Detox: "It?"Roxxxy: "It." - The Bully: Due to her own insecurities, she picked on Jinkx pretty mercilessly during the final phase of the competition — which led to her being pilloried online for her behaviour.
- Catchphrase: "Where my people at?"
- Formerly Fat: Now she's thick and juicy!
- I Am Big Boned: She's not fat, she's "Thick and Juicy".
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: She stupidly berates Jinkx's superior acting abilities in the courtroom challenge, and has seemingly no concept of creating a character different from her own drag persona.
- Manipulative Bastard: During the final three, she proudly confessed to trying to throw Jinkx off her game and force her to sabotage herself. It doesn't work, however, and Roxxxy has since apologized for her behavior.
- Missing Mom: Tearfully revealed on the main stage that her mother left her and her sister at a bus stop when they were little.
- Nice Mean And In Between: Of both Rolaskatox and of the top three, the mean.
- Phrase Catcher: "The queen on everybody's lips ... Roxxxy Andrews!"
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Detox, although with the way the two gushed over each other, the other queens were quite sure there was something more there.
- Power Trio: Rolaskatox, a clique comprised of the pageant/beauty queen Roxxxy Andrews, the comedy/camp queen Alaska, and Detox, who was something of a mix between the two styles.
- The Resenter: Infamously this, toward Jinkx.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: After Detox's elimination she started to lash out more at Jinkx, and would even put her former clique-mate Alaska down from time to time, stating what they were doing with comedy was not real drag, and they were just humiliating themselves and the profession.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After watching the season—particularly the incident in the final episode and realizing what a Jerkass she had become—Roxxxy visibly attempts to reconcile with the other girls, apologizing for her behavior on Twitter and being much nicer to Alaska and Jinkx backstage and during the reunion.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: Spells her first name with three Xs.
Alaska (runner-up)
Age: 27
From: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"Hiiieeeee!"
- Always Second Best: Was constantly bested in challenges during the first half of the competition, of particular note were her losses of the Snatch Game and the telenovela challenge, both to Jinkx who would eventually win the entire competition.
- Ambiguous Gender: She gets called out by the judges for playing the male character "Buffalo Bill" in the "Draggle Rock" kid's TV show challenge, despite it being clear that the character was meant to be ambiguously gendered through Alaska wearing makeup and playing the role in a very effeminate manner, like an even camper Pee-Wee Herman.
- Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress: Her outfit for the pink-themed runway was a pink gun and a white wedding dress that was splattered in pink "blood".
- Breaking the Fellowship: Ended her clique with Detox and Roxxxy after the judges told her she was not standing out in the competition because of it.
- Catchphrase: "Hiiieeee!"
- Consistent Clothing Style: Her main criticism on the runway was that she tended to employ a very similar silhouette over and over again, e.g. a skin tight dress coupled with big, untamed hair. When she made a concious effort to mix her runway look up by wearing a shorter red wig and a skirt and tube top combo, it became the week that she finally won her first main challenge.
- Deadpan Snarker: She arguably has the season's funniest Confession Cam moments, constantly having a dry, snarky putdown to hand when one of the other queens is acting foolish or annoying.Alaska: Oh my God, Serena did a split! Oh, wait... she already did that last week.
- The Determinator: Has submitted auditions every single season when they were accepting, and even sometimes when they weren't. By her own admission it got to the point where it became a personal vendetta to get on the show.
- Enfant Terrible: Not Alaska herself, but her memetastic creation "Lil' Poundcake" in the child pageant mini challenge.Alaska: Lil' Poundcake enjoys riding dirty, and being a straight-up motherfuckin’ dick pig.
- Enraged by Idiocy: Despite being a silly and campy queen, she had a very little patience when the rest of Rolaskatox would be goofing around instead of working.
- Filming for Easy Dub: Invoked, when she was lip syncing Phi Phi O'Hara from the previous season she says it's lucky Phi Phi waves her hands in front of her face so much, so she could do the same thing to hide her mouth if her lip sync was lacking.
- Gag Penis: In the first episode she strips and dances around the work room naked, prompting Coco to comment that it's not surprising that she entered the competition wearing a horse mask because, "she is a horse."
- Heroic BSoD: Suffers a minor one after Ru (rather coldly) compares her to her other half (and season four winner) Sharon Needles and criticizes her for not displaying the same amount of heart and vulnerability in the competition. She later breaks down in tears in Untucked and admits that she doesn't know what to do to please the judges, but this ends up leading to her...
- Heroic Second Wind: Won her first challenge past the midpoint of the competition and was the last queen to do so but still made it to the finale and even won the difficult Ball challenge.
- I Can't Dance: Her biggest fear was bombing the ballet challenge for this reason. It is fortunate that she never had to lipsynch for her life (being one of only 3 queens in 5 seasons who never had to do so).
- In-Series Nickname: Detox calls her "Lasky".
- Innocent Beta Bitch: She never outright bullies Jinkx and, instead, criticizes Roxxxy’s insecurities during the confessionals. However, she stands by her friends until the end, even as she tries to distance herself from the clique.
- Nice Mean And In Between: two versions
- Of Roslakatox, the nice.
- Of the top three, the in-between.
- Official Couple: With Season 4 winner Sharon Needles, they were in a relationship for four years until they broke up in late 2013. At the time the two of them were known by Drag Race fans as the "Royal Couple of Drag" after Alaska placed as runner-up in season 5.
- Only One Name: Because the last part of her drag name, Thunderfuck, had to be censored.
- Pet the Dog: Was the only member of Rolaskatox who took Jinkx aside and told her the reason she was being targeted by the other queens was because she was so talented, not because she didn't deserve to be there. It showed that Alaska had a lot of heart, especially compared to how mean her clique sometimes came off being.
- Phrase Catcher: "The 49th state ... Alaska!"
- Playing Against Type: Invoked when she lipsynched Phi Phi as mentioned above. Detox, her partner for that challenge, reasonably assumed she'd want to do Sharon.Alaska: Honey I've been doing Sharon for years.
- Power Trio: Rolaskatox, a clique comprised of the pageant/beauty queen Roxxxy Andrews, the comedy/camp queen Alaska, and Detox, who was something of a mix between the two styles.
- Pronoun Trouble: Happened whenever the queens would bring up Alaska's then-significant other, season 4's Sharon Needles. They weren't sure whether to refer to Sharon as Alaska's 'boyfriend', 'girlfriend', 'boygirlfriend', 'husband', or 'wife', and would usually just stumble over several pronouns clumsily. Sharon herself referred to Alaska as her "girlfriend with a penis".
- The Quiet One: Not at all in the main show, but she has shades of this in the earlier episodes of Untucked where she doesn't get much focus and appears to be content to sit back and watch the other queens bicker and read each other to filth.
- Recurring Character: Before finally becoming a contestant in the fifth season, she had appeared in every previous season except the second: as a rejected auditioner in the first and third seasons, and appearing a couple times to support Sharon in the fourth. She also appeared in the seventh season to provide commentary during the spring/fall runway.
- Self-Deprecating Humor: She makes her entrance into the Werk Room in the first episode wearing a horse mask, a self-deprecating nod to the fact that she has something of a cute but horsey face.
- Silly Walk: Is quite bow-legged and it showed in her runway walks. Although the judges sometimes critiqued her on always showing them the same kooky walk, they all agreed it fit her look and personality perfectly.
- Squee: She has a couple of such moments during the season.
- Firstly when she gets a video message from her boyfriend Sharon Needles in Untucked which (rather adorably) seems to leave her positively giddy.
- Secondly when she finds out that the celebrity guest judge in the ballet challenge is Chaz Bono.
Alaska: I live for Chaz Bono. Chaz Bono came out of Cher's vagina! - Statuesque Stunner: At 6'3, she ties with Tyra Sanchez and Raja as one of the tallest queens in the entire competition. However, mention must be made of her ex-Marine Drag Sister Mack a.k.a. Nebraska who was noticeably taller than her ... while Alaska was wearing high heels, no less!
- The Stoner: All there in the name, if you couldn't already tell just from her demeanor.
- Streaking: She randomly strips and dances around the work room naked in the very first episode, to much amusement and cries of "Miss Alaska, please put your clothes back on!"
- Super Drowning Skills: Not the only queen this season who can't swim, but she is the only one who forfeited the first mini-challenge photo shoot because she couldn't get her head underwater.
- Take That!: Gets in some hilarious shade at season four villain (and her boyfriend Sharon's nemesis) Phi Phi O'Hara during the second week's lip sync main challenge, painting herself a ridiculous shade of dark orange, putting on a wonky fake eyelash on one eye, and giving major stink face while flailing her arms around dramatically, all things that Phi Phi was (in)famous for.
- Tough Act to Follow: In-universe as pointed out by RuPaul, the other competitors, and herself on occasion, about her coming in on the coattails of her boyfriend (and season 4 winner) Sharon Needles. This actually became her main narrative throughout the season, to break out of Sharon's shadow and show what a fierce queen she was in her own right.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: A less obvious example than usual for this trope, she made her grand entrance in a black and gold dress, the official colors of her hometown of Pittsburgh.
- Wild Hair: Didn't consider herself in proper drag unless she was wearing at least two wigs teased up into a wild coif. (She later released a single, "THIS IS MY HAIR, I DON'T WEAR WIGS".)
Jinkx Monsoon (winner)
Age: 24
From: Seattle, Washington
"I am Seattle's premier Jewish narcoleptic drag queen, thank you!"
- The Ace / Always Second Best: Zigzagged. Jinkx was by far the best performing queen of the season and one of the top across the entire series. She was the first to win two challenges, and her performances in the Snatch Game and in the lip sync against Detox are legendary. However, she was also constantly runner up and lost a challenge each to Lineysha, Detox, Alyssa, Ivy, Coco, Alaska, and Roxxxy.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: Invoked outright when she claimed all the other queens were "cock-hungry dickpigs", and although she doesn't deny being one as well, she was at least more discreet about it.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Her crush on Ivy Winters, however as she later revealed, her feelings for Ivy were more based on the fact they were closed off from the outside world for so long, so she got over it pretty quickly.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Many of the queens were gunning for her, at first claiming it was because she was a "comedy queen" and wasn't glamorous enough to win, but later revealed it was because the rest of the queens really did consider her a serious threat in the competition.
- Badass Boast: Caps off the season with this victory speech.Ru: Do you have anything you'd like to say?Jinkx: Get ready, bitches, 'cause it's Monsoon season! [HUGE cheer]
- Camp: Her aesthetic and persona is classic camp, and she represents the first pure camp season winner across the franchise.
- Catchphrase: "Water off a duck's back."
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Throughout the entire season, many of the other queens bullied, put down, ostracized, and ridiculed Jinkx for her style and looks, constantly saying that she didn't have any glamour to win the competition. Thankfully, she managed to prove them wrong and took the crown.
- Fan Community Nickname: "Ducklings".
- The Gimmick: Invoked by Roxxxy Andrews, who continuously stated that she considered Jinkx's talents (singing, acting, and especially comedy) just gimmicks that distracted the judges from her being one of the weaker queens.
- Handicapped Badass: Although she is suffering from narcolepsy, it did not stop her from being a fierce and threatening queen in the competition. The producers allowed her to take rests from time to time whenever she felt it coming on.
- The Immodest Orgasm: Her 'death by orgasm' for the Telenovela was praised by the judges, even Maria Conchita Alonso said it was the best!
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes: You certainly may think so given her runway critiques, however Michelle Visage (who was harshest on her) even said nothing Jinkx ever turned out was "ugly", but she was desperately hoping to see something glamorous or elegant from Jinkx, when all she could serve was 'pretty' and 'camp' (Jinkx has since hired a stylist after the show and has gotten a lot better at serving elegance, just look at her gown from the Season 6 Reunion).
- Incredibly Long Note: "CAN I GET AN AMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN?"
- In-Series Nickname: "Comedy Queen", a title she sometimes shared with Alaska. It was used as a dismissive term in that some of the other queens felt Jinkx was all comedy and no fashion or glamour.
- Named After Somebody Famous: In addition to being named after the destructive tropical storm, her last name was chosen after the character of Edina Monsoon from Absolutely Fabulous.
- Nice Guy: One of the least shady queens of the show, as she is hardly ever shown insulting or being mean to her fellow contestants. At one point she even calls Roxxxy out on how she can actually enjoy being mean to others.
- Nice Mean And In Between: The nice of the top three, to Roxxxy’s mean and Alaska’s in-between.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: During the Telenovela rehearsal Ru had to question Jinkx's choice of accent, since it sounded more Italian than Spanish.Jinkx: Have I been Italian this whole time?
- Overly Narrow Superlative: Seattle's premier Jewish narcoleptic drag queen!
- Parental Issues: Had a very strained relationship with her mother and felt guilty about leaving her younger brother to be raised by her, though by the time of the reunion the three of them had started talking again and working out their issues.
- Red-Headed Stepchild: Among the other queens.
- Sleepyhead: Has narcolepsy, although she explains it's not like how it's portrayed on television, she can usually feel it coming on and can get to a couch or someplace similar.
- Small Reference Pools: RuPaul showed concern when she revealed her Snatch Game pick of Little Edie of Grey Gardens because of this trope, however Ru's fears were unfounded when Jinkx slayed in the challenge.
- Survival Mantra: A mantra from her grandmother for dealing with harsh criticism, no matter what hurtful things people have to say about you, just let it roll off of you like "water off a duck's back".
- Toothy Issue: Has a chipped tooth, but has been urged not to get it fixed since it adds to her charm.
- Underdogs Never Lose: Got the underdog edit for the season, was underestimated by the other queens, and won the crown. What's interesting though, although the show twisted her around to be an underdog, Jinkx was almost constantly on the top, only stumbling in a single challenge. Statistically, she could be argued as being the best on the show by way of stats. note
- Vaudeville: Her music style, and several of her outfits.
- Vocal Dissonance: She sounds like a middle-aged woman. This works perfectly with her drag aesthetic, but when she's not in drag, it's pretty jarring.
- "Well Done, Gurl!" Queen: To judge Michelle Visage, who time and time again demanded to know if Jinkx could deliver glamour, as well as camp. As a result, Jinkx spent a good chunk of the runways just trying to appeal to Michelle's aesthetic, with mixed results.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: The odd spelling of her first name.
