Shangela

Shangela Laquifa Wadley
Shangela at RuPaul's DragCon NYC, 2017
Born
Chantaize Darius Jeremy Pierce

(1981-11-22) November 22, 1981 (age 42)[1][2]
Lamar County, Texas, U.S.[2]
Other namesD.J. Pierce
EducationSouthern Methodist University (BA)
Occupations
Known for
Websiteshangela.com

Chantaize Darius Jeremy Pierce,[3] better known by the stage name Shangela Laquifa Wadley or simply as Shangela (born November 22, 1981),[4] is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and actor best known for competing on RuPaul's Drag Race. Shangela was the first contestant eliminated in season two, and returned as a surprise contestant in the series' third season, placing sixth. She returned once again for the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars where she finished in joint-third/fourth place alongside winner of the first season, BeBe Zahara Benet. Shangela has also made several television appearances and regularly performs across the United States and Canada.[5]

After Drag Race, Shangela appeared in numerous television series, including Community (2011), 2 Broke Girls (2012), Glee (2012), Bones (2014), The X-Files (2016), and Broad City (2019). She also appeared in the comedy film Hurricane Bianca (2016), its sequel Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate (2018), and the musical drama film A Star is Born (2018). In 2019, representing A Star Is Born at the 91st Academy Awards, she became the first drag queen to walk the Oscars red carpet in drag.[6] Since 2020, Shangela has co-hosted the HBO reality series We're Here, alongside fellow Drag Race contestants Bob the Drag Queen and Eureka O'Hara.[7] The series has received acclaim from critics.[8][9]

On May 3, 2023, Pierce was accused of rape in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. A former production assistant on Pierce's show We're Here accused Pierce of supplying him with alcohol and assaulting him.[10] On March 18, 2024, a Rolling Stone article was published that details five more alleged cases of sexual assault, spanning from 2012 to 2018.[11]

  1. ^ @itsSHANGELA (November 22, 2018). "I said it first …. Happy Birthday to Me! ❤️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b "Darius Jeremy Pierce". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "WERQIN GIRL". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Shavarebi, Jordan (November 17, 2011). "Catching Up With Shangela". Out. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  5. ^ "On The Move – See Shangela Live!" Archived November 8, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Shangela.com; accessed February 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Street, Mikelle (February 25, 2019). "Shangela Talks Being the First Drag Queen at the Oscars". Out.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Rudolph, Christopher (November 5, 2019). "Drag Race Legends Invade Small Town USA in New HBO Reality Series". NewNowNext. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. ^ "Stream It or Skip It: 'We're Here' on HBO, a Fierce Docuseries about the Power of Drag". Decider. April 23, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. ^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (April 22, 2020). "HBO's heartfelt "We're Here" is the drag show America needs now". Salon. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Shimkus, Ben (2024-03-18). "Actor and Drag Star Shangela Accused of Multiple Sexual Assaults". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-03-18.