Shangela Laquifa Wadley, American drag queen, comedian and reality television personality
Shangela Laquifa Wadley (born Darius Jeremy Pierce), known mononymously as Shangela, 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 fifth. 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. In June 2019, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed Shangela second on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former RuPaul's Drag Race contestants.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. 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. The series has received acclaim from critics.