This RuPaul's Drag Race trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers covering the show that brought drag into the mainstream. It runs from the 2009 Logo premiere through the MTV era, taking in the winners from BeBe Zahara Benet to the most recent crownings, the judges (RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Santino Rice, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, Ts Madison), and the rituals fans quote by heart, from 'shantay, you stay' to the C.U.N.T. acronym and 'if you can't love yourself'. There are rounds on the signature challenges, above all Snatch Game and its most-impersonated celebrities, plus the Reading challenge, Rusicals and the Lip Sync for Your Life. The queens get their own questions: Sharon Needles, Jinkx Monsoon's two crowns, Bianca Del Rio at Wembley, Trixie and Katya, Sasha Velour's rose-petal reveal, Chad Michaels as Cher and many more. It also covers All Stars, the Untucked aftershow and the global spread of the format to the UK, Canada, Australia and beyond. Questions run from easy for anyone who has watched a season to hard for the fans who have seen every Untucked. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and each question shows its source once you have answered, so it is ready for a viewing-party quiz or a solo test of your herstory.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On which network did RuPaul's Drag Race first premiere in February 2009?
Logo
It later moved to VH1 for season 9 and to MTV from season 15. Logo devised it as a replacement for the sitcom Rick & Steve.
Q 02What title is the winner of each regular season of the show crowned with?
America's Next Drag Superstar
The 'Queen of All Queens' title was used only for the all-winners seventh season of All Stars.
Q 03The acronym C.U.N.T. the judges look for stands for charisma, uniqueness, nerve and what?
Talent
RuPaul repeats the phrase every season; on All Stars 1 a fifth word, 'synergy', was added for the team format, making it CUNTS.
Q 04Which recurring maxi challenge tests celebrity impersonation and parodies a 1970s panel show?
Snatch Game
RuPaul says it separates 'the basic bitches from the fierce-ass queens'. It has appeared every season since season 2.
Q 05Which 1990 documentary popularised the Reading challenge, where queens trade playful insults?
Paris Is Burning
RuPaul introduces it by reminding the queens that 'reading is fundamental'.
Q 06'Rusical', the name for the show's musical-theatre challenge, is a portmanteau of 'musical' and what?
RuPaul
Rusicals began in the sixth season and became a highly anticipated staple of the show.
Q 07The two lowest-placing queens each week must perform which final act to stay in the competition?
Lip Sync for Your Life
The winner of the lip sync stays; the judges tell the loser to 'sashay away'.
Q 08Who was crowned the winner of the very first season of RuPaul's Drag Race?
BeBe Zahara Benet
The Cameroonian queen beat runner-up Nina Flowers; she later returned for All Stars 3.
Q 09Which season 2 queen, eliminated first, started the tradition of leaving a lipstick message on the mirror?
Shangela
She was brought back as a surprise returnee in season 3 and later reached the All Stars 3 finale.
Q 10Which season 4 winner is a horror-themed queen whose real name is Aaron Coady?
Sharon Needles
She was crowned in April 2012 and released the album PG-13 the next year. Her final featured the show's first three-way lip sync.
Q 11Which season 4 contestant became the first queen ever disqualified from the competition?
Willam
In the reunion, Willam said the disqualification followed conjugal visits from her husband in the hotel. She had won two challenges that season.
Q 12Chad Michaels, a season 4 runner-up and winner of All Stars 1, is famous for impersonating which singer?
Cher
He built his career as a Cher impersonator, and used his own name on stage after a Las Vegas revue required masculine stage names.
Q 13Which season 5 winner became the first queen to win two crowns by later taking All Stars 7?
Jinkx Monsoon
She won her second crown in 2022, becoming the show's first two-time winner across all franchises. Her celebrity impressions included Little Edie and Natasha Lyonne.
Q 21Season 16 winner Nymphia Wind made history as the franchise's first winner of what heritage?
East Asian
The Taiwanese-American queen's signature colour is yellow, and her performances often feature bananas and Taiwanese cultural elements.
Q 22Season 15 winner Sasha Colby had already won which major drag pageant back in 2012?
Miss Continental
Born in Waimānalo, Hawaii, she is often called a legendary figure in drag and was raised in a Jehovah's Witness family.
Q 23RuPaul's full birth name is RuPaul Andre Charles. In which city was he born and raised?
San Diego
His mother named him 'Ru' after roux, the base of gumbo. He studied performing arts in Atlanta before moving to New York.
Q 14Which comedian and costume designer won season 6 and later headlined Wembley Arena?
Bianca Del Rio
Roy Haylock's stand-up tour 'It's Jester Joke' brought Bianca to Wembley. He began as a New Orleans costume designer.
Q 15Season 7 winner Violet Chachki is especially known for which performance skill?
Burlesque and aerial
Her name mixes a Jennifer Tilly character with the Yiddish 'tchotchke'. She is also a fashion model and recording artist.
Q 16Which season 8 winner co-hosted HBO's We're Here and released the single 'Purse First'?
Bob the Drag Queen
Christopher Caldwell was introduced to drag by his mother, who owned a drag bar in Columbus, Georgia.
Q 17Drag Race season 9 winner Sasha Velour's finale lip sync released a shower of what from under her wig?
Rose petals
Her finale lip sync was to Whitney Houston's 'So Emotional'. Steinberg once worked as a security guard at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Q 18Season 10 winner Aquaria is the drag daughter of which earlier Drag Race winner?
Sharon Needles
Aquaria distanced herself from Needles after 2020 abuse allegations. She studied womenswear design at FIT before dropping out.
Q 19Season 12's finale was recorded in an unusual way because of what?
The COVID-19 pandemic
The reunion and finale were held virtually from the contestants' homes. Jaida Essence Hall won; Sherry Pie was disqualified over misconduct.
Q 20Season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall hails from which US city, also home to Trixie Mattel?
Milwaukee
She was the third queen from the city to compete and its second winner. She performed at Hamburger Mary's.
Q 24RuPaul achieved international fame in 1993 with which debut single?
Supermodel (You Better Work)
It came from the album Supermodel of the World on the rap label Tommy Boy. In 1994 he became the first drag queen with a major cosmetics campaign, for MAC.
Q 25Which longtime friend of RuPaul joined the judging panel in season 3 and never left?
Michelle Visage
She replaced Merle Ginsberg. Before Drag Race she sang with the dance-pop group Seduction.
Q 26Which Project Runway alum served as a Drag Race judge from seasons 1 through 6?
Santino Rice
From season 7, two rotating judges alternated in his former seat.
Q 27Which Drag Race judge from season 15 is the first Black trans woman to executive-produce her own reality series?
Ts Madison
She joined as an alternating judge after recurring guest spots. Law Roach joined the panel from season 17.
Q 28Which former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star joined Drag Race's rotating judges in season 7?
Carson Kressley
He and Ross Mathews took over the vacated third judging seat from season 7 onward.
Q 29What is the name of the workroom where queens get into drag before each challenge?
The Werk Room
Behind its mirrors runs a hidden hallway for cameras; the set's clocks do not work, so producers give time checks.
Q 30The companion aftershow that follows backstage drama while the judges deliberate is called what?
Untucked
It began in season 2 and has aired variously on TV and as a web series; early seasons had an Absolut Vodka-sponsored lounge.