Jeffree Star is one of the biggest beauty gurus in the world, with over 18 million YouTube subscribers and a makeup brand valued at $1.5 billion. RuPaul is the most famous drag queen in the world, having transcended the nightclub stage circuit to become a pop culture icon. Since the duo have been photographed together, many people might be wondering if Jeffree Star and RuPaul are friends.
Jeffree Star and RuPaul aren’t thought to be close friends. They are acquaintances who have been photographed together while Jeffree Star was promoting his brand at RuPaul’s DragCon.
Read more below about how Jeffree Star became a makeup mogul, RuPaul became the host of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and how the duo wound up working together at DragCon.
The Makeup Mogul
Jeffree Star’s career began as a Myspace music artist when Star moved to Los Angeles after high school to work on his music career.
During this time, Jeffree Star recorded one studio album, Beauty Killer, but eventually left the music industry when a record deal with Akon fell through. Instead, Star transferred his social media base to YouTube and began filming makeup tutorials and product reviews.
In 2014, Jeffree Star established Jeffree Star Cosmetics, which went on to be one of the most successful makeup brands in history. Star has also gone on to be one of the top YouTubers with over 18 million subscribers to his channel, with millions of views each time he uploads a video.
The Darling of Drag Queens
RuPaul’s career began on the nightclub drag scene in New York City. With the release of his hit single, “Supermodel (You Better Work),” RuPaul rose to international fame, becoming the first drag queen to score a major cosmetics contract with industry giant, MAC Cosmetics.
RuPaul worked steadily throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, making appearances in television shows, movies, and even hosting his own talk show on VH1. RuPaul released several albums during this time as well, though none of them achieved the success of his first single.
Drag Race and DragCon
In 2004, RuPaul began producing and hosting RuPaul’s Drag Race, a competition reality show on Logo, where drag queens battled it out through a series of challenges in an attempt to be crowned, “America’s next drag superstar.” In addition to his hosting duties, RuPaul acted as a mentor and head judge to the contestants.
The show was an instant hit, becoming a pop culture phenomenon, which has aired for 12 seasons and spawned RuPaul’s DragCon. DragCon is a yearly exposition which is held in multiple cities, noted for being a “convention that celebrates ‘the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all.”
DragCon debuted in 2015 and features contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race, in addition to other famous drag artists, musicians, and makeup artists. Like any convention, there are discussion panels, meet and greets, as well as merchandise booths.
Though Jeffree Star is not a drag queen, he is known for his exquisite, larger-than-life makeup looks. Not only that, but Star has hosted many former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants on his YouTube channel, such as fan favorite, Trixie Mattel.
Star has also been a sponsor of DragCon multiple times, with the official DragCon Twitter account posting about his return, writing, “Jeffree Star Cosmetics returns as an official #DragCon NYC sponsor! Come meet @JeffreeStar on Sept 9 & 10 & shop.” Jeffree Star’s booth at DragCon is always one of the biggest and best, with fans lining up to meet the makeup mogul and buy his coveted items.
You can watch a video of Jeffree Star prepping for and attending DragCon in the YouTube video below.
Though Jeffree Star and RuPaul are not friends in real life, they do both work with many of the same people, and both have an indelible impact on DragCon every year.