RuPaul's Real Name: RuPaul Andre Charles

Quick answer: The entertainer is known professionally as RuPaul. Biography.com and AllMusic independently give the name RuPaul Andre Charles and list a November 17, 1960, birth in San Diego, California.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers support the documented name RuPaul Andre Charles. Biography.com lists that full name and says he was born on November 17, 1960, in San Diego, California, later moving to Atlanta, Georgia, during his teens and attending the Northside School of Performing Arts. AllMusic independently lists the same name under "Also Known As," records the birth as November 17, 1960, in San Diego, California, and says that as a teen he moved to Atlanta to study performing arts.

Career highlights

Biography.com says he rose to fame in the early 1990s with the song "Supermodel (You Better Work)," made a feature-film appearance in Spike Lee's Crooklyn, and later hosted The RuPaul Show on VH1 in 1997, with RuPaul's Drag Race premiering in 2009. AllMusic independently says he broke into public consciousness with the 1993 hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)" from the debut album Supermodel of the World, later duetted with Elton John on a remake of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," wrote the autobiography Lettin' It All Hang Out, appeared on All My Children, and premiered The RuPaul Show, which it says aired from 1996 to 1998. The same AllMusic biography traces earlier work with the Atlanta band Wee Wee Pole, later club work, and a move to New York City, and records later albums including Foxy Lady, the independently released Red Hot (2004), Champion, Glamazon, Born Naked, and Butch Queen, which it says debuted at number three on the Billboard Dance albums chart in 2016. It also notes a 2016 Emmy nomination for best reality host. Biography.com independently describes mid-1980s New York performances connected with the Wigstock festival, a 1991 recording contract with Tommy Boy Records, the 1993 album, and later spinoffs of Drag Race, including All Stars. The same Biography.com account says he appeared regularly on Atlanta's The American Music Show in the early 1980s and later formed RuPaul and the U-Hauls before Wee Wee Pole.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up RuPaul or RuPaul Andre Charles are looking for the same entertainer, including Drag Race and the 1990s recordings most often associated with the name. Biography.com and AllMusic support the name used in the title. Search traffic often uses the professional name alone.