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RuPaul's Drag Race has slowly turned into a phenomenon since its inception in 2009. The franchise, which started with a reality show, has now expanded into conventions and a live show that takes viewers inside the Las Vegas Strip scene.
The encouragement the show was able to garner for the drag scene is now reflected internationally, with countries like Thailand, the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands making their own versions of it.
The center of all the credit for such a big uprising in the drag world is RuPaul, who envisioned the impossible and worked hard to achieve it. His presence is easily noticeable not only because of his flamboyant style, but also because of his towering height. RuPaul stands at 6 feet 4 inches without heels and is often the tallest person in the room.
RuPaul, the tallest of them all: Details about his height explored
RuPaul's height is accentuated even more because of his co-judge Michelle Visage, who has stuck to the show for 16 seasons now. She is 5 feet 3 inches. It's when both Ru and Michelle are in one frame that their heights become apparent.
The other two judges, Carson Kressley and Ross Matthews also stand nowhere close to Mama Ru as both their heights are 5 feet 10 inches. There was a past contestant though, who wasn't as tall as Ru but came very close.
Brooke Lynn Hytes, the runner-up of season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race, and the host of the show's Canada version stands at 6 feet 2 inches, the only person to talk eye to eye with Ru. Their estimated height after adding six to 8 inches of heels came close to 7 feet!
Who is RuPaul Andre Charles?
Ru, 63, was born in San Diego on November 17, 1960. He was raised as a Catholic and studied at Patrick Henry High School. He moved to Atlanta with his sister to study performing arts at the age of 15.
He started his performance career in Atlanta, where he acted at the Plaza Theatre. He then gradually began venturing into the gender-bender-type performances across states, before starting to work at clubs in Georgia. He then started performing at clubs in New York City.
1993 marked the start of Ru's fame as he released his first recorded album. It was called Supermodel of the World, and its song Supermodel peaked at 45 on Billboard Top 100.
RuPaul's Drag Race began in 2009. The show's amalgamation of art, culture, and performances, became the reason for its year-on-year renewal, and its Emmy wins. That year, Ru also made appearances on other TV shows like Project Runway and Paula's Party. He has since appeared on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and Saturday Night Live.
RuPaul's Drag Race's ongoing season 16 has proven gripping so far, with a fashion design challenge and a skit challenge that eliminated two. The upcoming episode 5 brings a challenge that asks the contestants to write their own verses on the songs from Ru's latest album, Black Butta, which is to be released on February 2.
