Alyssa Edwards | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Alyssa Edwards in 2019 | |
| Born | Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson (1980-01-16)January 16, 1980 (age 45) Mesquite, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | West Mesquite High School |
| Alma mater | University of North Texas |
| Occupations | |
| Known for | |
| Website | thealyssaedwards |
Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson (born January 16, 1980), best known by thestage nameAlyssa Edwards, is an Americandrag performer, choreographer, and businessperson.[1] Edwards was known for competing indrag pageantry (notablyMiss Gay America 2010) before rising to international attention as a contestant on thefifth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race,[2] becoming a fan favorite during and after her time on the show. Edwards subsequently appeared on thesecond season ofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and starred in her own web series,Alyssa's Secret.[2] She won the first ever season ofRuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars, making her the first queen to be inducted into the "Newly Constructed International Pavilion At the Drag Race Hall of Fame".
Johnson lives inMesquite, Texas, where he owns and operates a dance studio, Beyond Belief Dance Company. Johnson and his dance studio are the centerpieces of a docuseries,Dancing Queen, produced byRuPaul andWorld of Wonder that premiered on October 5, 2018, onNetflix.[3][4]
Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson was born on January 16, 1980, to Jimmy Harold Johnson and Sherrie Ann Laye inMesquite, Texas.[5] He was one of seven children in the working-class family, and has described his mother as "the wind beneath (his) wings" and his father as "very, very masculine." Growing up, Justin's sisters werecheerleaders, and he often found himself wishing he could join in on their practices. Described as a shy and creative child with no interest in sports, he enjoyed watchingThe Wizard of Oz and dancing and singing tunes such asRod Stewart’s "Forever Young" in his front yard, to the discouragement of his father. Justin was supported by his openly gay Uncle Bobby, who supplied him with a role as an extra in a local production ofBrigadoon and financed his enrollment in an all-boysjazz dance class at the Joy Sharp School of Dance in Mesquite, and was only allowed to attend when his father was informed that the son of a local baseball coach attended the class as well.[5] Johnson’s parents divorced around the time he was in high school, when he attendedWest Mesquite High School and volunteered as an instructor and choreographer for the local peeweedrill team. After high school, he attendedRanger College before transferring to theUniversity of North Texas, where he was briefly a part of the college cheer squad and came out asgay. While at UNT, Justin made friends with fellow gay people and was taken toOak Lawn, a neighborhood inDallas that is commonly known as Dallas' "gayborhood". It was there, at the Rose Room lounge in theVillage Station, where he saw his first drag show. Johnson began going to the Rose Room regularly, and performed in drag for the first time there for an amateur drag competition, where he utilized the makeup skills his sisters had taught him and slicked back hisplatinum blond hair "likeAnnie Lennox". When asked by the emcee for his drag name, Johnson chose "Alyssa", afterAlyssa Milano, who he'd watched onWho's the Boss? while growing up. His surname, Edwards, was given to him later by his mentor anddrag mother, Laken Edwards.[6]
Johnson performs under thestage name Alyssa Edwards. He chose his name in homage toAlyssa Milano and to his drag mother Laken Edwards, a former drag queen.[7][5] Edwards is part of the drag family "the Haus of Edwards," and serves as drag mother to fellowRuPaul's Drag Race contestantsShangela Laquifa Wadley,Laganja Estranja,Gia Gunn,Vivienne Pinay, andPlastique Tiara.[5][7] Edwards was one of the judges of the 2010 California Entertainer of the Year pageant, which Shangela won.[8]
Edwards appeared in the 2008 documentaryPageant.[9] The film focused on the 34thMiss Gay America pageant of 2006.[10] On December 9, 2010, Edwards was stripped of her 2010 Miss Gay America title[11] for having business dealings in conflict with obligations to the Miss Gay America organization. First alternateCoco Montrese replaced Edwards as the winner of Miss Gay America.[12] That same year, Edwards was also stripped of her title asAll American Goddess.[13]
In November 2012,Logo announced that Edwards was among 14 drag queens who would be competing on thefifth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race. Also performing on the show was pageant friend and rival Coco Montrese.[2][14]
Edwards performed and won in the ballet-themed main challenge in the "Black Swan: Why It Gotta Be Black?" episode of Rupaul's Drag Race.[15] As part of the show, Edwards sang on the "We Are the World"-inspired song "Can I Get an Amen?" The song's proceeds helped benefit theLos Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.[16] Edwards was eliminated in episode nine, following a lip sync against Coco Montrese, and finished in sixth place. Edwards has also been a special guest on the podcast series run by RuPaul andMichelle Visage calledRuPaul: What's The Tee?[17]
She was one of thirty drag queens featured inMiley Cyrus's 2015VMA performance.[18]
Edwards is also known for her web series titled "Alyssa's Secret".[19] The series stars Alyssa Edwards speaking on a multitude of subjects and often features guests including other members of the Haus of Edwards. The webseries is produced and premieres through World of Wonder Productions.[20][circular reference]
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In 2016, Edwards returned as one of 10 contestants inSeason 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, ending in fifth place.[2][21] Edwards won the main challenge of the third episode titled "HERstory of the World", playing Annie Oakley in a performance featuring other famous women throughout history. She was then eliminated in episode four "Drag Movie Shequels", after playing Bland in "Wha' Ha' Happened to Baby JJ", a parody of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", withAlaska as Baby JJ.
Edwards returned in episode five "Revenge of the Queens" by winning a chance to reenter the competition, winning a comedy challenge with Alaska followed by a lip sync ofRihanna's "Shut Up and Drive", in which both Edwards andTatianna won. Edwards was then controversially eliminated a second time by Detox in episode seven "A Family that Drags Together", coming in fifth place overall.[22]
In 2018, Edwards hosted a three-day promotional retreat forTazo, called "Camp TAZO".[6]
In 2019, Edwards released a makeup palette in collaboration withAnastasia Beverly Hills.[23] In Episode 2 ofAll Stars 5, Alyssa made a guest appearance as a "Lip Sync Assassin", where she lip-synced againstShea Couleé, but lost. Edwards was shortlisted for thefourth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race but was cast as an alternate and instead was on thefifth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race.[24]
Edwards appeared on thetenth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race as achoreographer forPharmaRusical and on the seventh episode of theeleventh season ofRuPaul's Drag Race as a runway coach. In June 2019, a panel of judges fromNew York magazine placed her fifth on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 formerRuPaul's Drag Race contestants.[25]
In 2021, Edwards appeared on the16th season ofAmerica's Got Talent, accompanying members of Beyond Belief as they auditioned for a spot in the competition.[26] In June 2021, Edwards had a one-woman show[27] onLondon'sWest End entitledAlyssa: Memoirs of a Queen. The autobiographical show ran for eight performances,[28] featuring tales from her childhood to "reality TV apotheosis".[29]
In 2024, Alyssa was crowned as the winner of the first ever season ofRuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars, making her the first queen to be inducted into the "Newly Constructed International Pavilion At the Drag Race Hall of Fame".
Edwards competed in and won numerous pageant titles. They include:
In 2012, It was announced that Edwards had been cast on thefifth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race.[34][2] Where she was cast alongsideCoco Montrese, who she had fallen out with over Edwards being unable to complete her run asMiss Gay America 2010 and being replaced by Montrese.[citation needed] The two's history led to many arguments and dramatic moments throughout the season. Aballet challenge win in the fourth episode gave Edwards immunity, saving her from being in the bottom two in the following episode after a negatively receivedKaty Perry snatch game performance, but RuPaul still asked Edwards to apologize to Perry onTwitter due to the performance.[35] In episode 7, after Edwards performed weakly in a stand-up roast challenge she was placed in the bottom two alongsideRoxxxy Andrews, where both would be allowed to stay in the competition after a strong lip-sync toWhip My Hair byWillow Smith.[36] Edwards would fall in the bottom two for a second time in the following episode where she would send homeIvy Winters in a lip sync toGwen Guthrie'sAin't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent.[37] Alyssa's time on the season would come to a finish in episode 9, where another poor challenge performance lead to a close lip sync toPaula Abdul'sCold Hearted against rival Coco Montrese, where Montrese emerged victorious and Edwards was eliminated in sixth place.[38]
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Due to positive fan reception, in 2016 it was announced that Alyssa Edwards had been cast on thesecond season ofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. The cast included four other queens from season 5, including her season 5 nemesis,Coco Montrese.[39] However, upon Montrese's entrance, it is revealed that the pair had since forgiven each other. A solid performance in the episode 1 talent show meant that Edwards was safe, yet her former enemy was less lucky asRoxxxy Andrews eliminated Montrese first. In episode 3, Edwards's strong performance asAnnie Oakley in a "rusical" challenge placed her in the top 2 for her first time in the season againstDetox, where Edwards would win the lip sync toTaylor Dayne'sTell It to My Heart and chose to eliminateGinger Minj overKatya.[40] In the following episode, Edwards was eliminated byAlaska over Roxxxy Andrews and Katya.
Inepisode 5, eliminated queens were given a chance to re-enter the competition by pairing up with a queen who was still in the game. Edwards was paired with Alaska, and the pair were in the top 2 alongside Detox and the previously eliminatedTatianna. In a lip sync toRihanna'sShut Up and Drive, both queens were allowed to re-enter the competition and eliminate one of the bottom two. Both chose to eliminatePhi Phi O'Hara.[citation needed] In the seventh episode, Edwards was controversially eliminated by Detox over Andrews and Alaska on the anniversary of her mother's death and one episode before the finale, a move which many saw as unfair as Detox, Alaska, and Andrews had a strong friendship and many thought that Edwards had not deserved to be in the bottom for the episode. Edwards finished in fifth place onAll Stars 2.[41][42][43][44]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Pageant | Herself | Documentary |
| 2016 | Hurricane Bianca | Ambrosia Salad | Comedy |
| 2018 | Hurricane Bianca 2 | Ambrosia Salad | Comedy |
| 2020 | The Queens[45] | Herself | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | My Life as Liz | Self | Episode: "Liz's Got Talent? (Part 1)" |
| 2013 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Season 5 - 6th place | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | Companion show toRuPaul's Drag Race | ||
| NewNowNext Awards | |||
| 2015–16 | Skin Wars | 2 episodes | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Season 2 - 5th place | ||
| 2016–17 | Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen[46] | Guest | |
| 2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Season 10, Episode 2 | |
| Dancing Queen[4] | Docuseries, 8 episodes | ||
| 2019 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Season 11, Episode 7 | |
| The Bachelorette[47] | Season 15, Episode 2 | ||
| 2020 | RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race | Mentor, 2 episodes | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 5) | Guest ("Lipsync Assassin") | ||
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked (season 2) | |||
| MTV Cribs[48] | Season 2, Episode 4 | ||
| 2021 | America's Got Talent[49] | Season 16 | |
| 2024 | The GOAT[50] | Season 1 - 9th place | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars[51][2] | Winner | ||
| Drag Race España | Guest ("The Grand Grand Finale") |
| Year | Title | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "The Supreme | Herself | [52] |
| 2020 | "I Can't" | Rigel Gemini | [53] |
| "Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrubs" | Todrick Hall | [54] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–present | Alyssa's Secret[55] | Self | Produced byWorld of Wonder |
| 2014 | Be$tie$ For Ca$h[56] | Guest | |
| Transformations: with James St. James | |||
| 2017 | Once Upon A Crime[57] | Princess Belle | Produced byTodrick Hall |
| 2019 | Werq the World[58] | Self | Produced by World of Wonder |
| Alyssa Raw[59] | |||
| 2020 | Headlines with Alyssa Edwards | ||
| Served! withJade Thirlwall[60][4] | Produced byMTV | ||
| God Shave the Queens | Produced by World of Wonder | ||
| 2021 | Drag Queens React[61] | ||
| 2023 | The Pit Stop[62] |
| Year | Award-giving body | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | WOWIE Awards | People That Inspire Us | Herself | Won | [63] |
| 2019 | Best TV Moment | The Bachelorette (withAlaska Thunderfuck) | Nominated | [64] | |
| Queerty Awards | Drag Royalty | Herself | Nominated | [65] |
