I went to 'The Nutcracker' every year with my grandma and aunt. Then, in my early teen years, I thought I wanted to be a ballet dancer. I went real gung-ho in that direction, and I started performing in 'The Nutcracker.'
Coming out as nonbinary was a response to a lot of criticism I got when it leaked that I'd be playing a nonbinary character on 'Steven Universe.' I never really had the words like nonbinary or gender fluid or gender nonconforming until after 'Drag Race' and that's when I first started identifying publicly as nonbinary.
I think there's something for anyone who wants to be a performer in Seattle.
That openness to experimentation in Seattle is how I learned a drag queen doesn't have to just be in her pageant gear and lip syncing to top 40. Drag can be off-the-wall, ridiculous, profound.
I always say better busy than dead.
There was a time when I said I wouldn't do something like that but I've seen so many of my friends go on the 'All Stars' seasons and they seem to be having a lot of fun for the most part.
I like to write my shows coming up with the stupidest things I can think of then finding a way I can incorporate a running theme or an underlying message that takes a stupid idea and gives it something worth watching.
Most people tell me that what they are surprised about the most is that I sing really well, I always find it funny.
I guess it wasn't really part of my story on 'Drag Race' but I'm a trained actor and singer.
I call myself a gorgeous anachronism.
Don't be afraid of wearing a lot of makeup. Like, a lot. Your eyes deserve to be showcased. I think it's important to just remember that whatever you think you hate about yourself, there's a way to counter that with makeup and make that part of you beautiful.
I used to hate that my lips are gigantic, and now I have huge red clown lips, and I love it.
When your career and your passion one in the same there is very little downtime.
When you become your own boss, and your artwork becomes your livelihood, it becomes the only thing you think about.
Everyone should be able to express themselves in the way that best suits them - life is too short to spend it unhappy.
Drag queens, our whole art form is about taking inspiration from artists we adore.
When I found the 'Human Nature' music video as a teenager - I've been a drag queen since 15 - I just loved that music video so much because it's such a celebration of her femininity and her sexuality. I thought it was so powerful.
With Jinkx Monsoon, I strive to make her pretty and likable and have this bubbly, lovely personality. But then she can also be the most crass, out of the blue, kooky character.
It's not just putting on a little bit of makeup and putting on a dress. Some drag queens duct tape their heads, some drag queens are bound and strapped and pulled in every which direction. To be in drag is no small endeavor.
It used to be that I'd do drag, then get out of drag, and try and be as much of a boy as possible. That didn't feel entirely authentic for me, but it felt like what I had to do at the time.
