RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 cast and release date confirmed

Dec 02
Written by Marcus Wratten

RuPaul’s Drag Race is back, back, back again in January for season 18. (World of Wonder/MTV)

RuPaul's Drag Race is back, back, back again in January for season 18. (World of Wonder/MTV)

As a wise woman once said, many, many times: start your engines! The 14 brand new queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 have just been revealed, and they’re here to slay, slay, slay.

It’s hard to believe that we’re almost one year on from drag icons Onya Nurve, Jewels Sparkles, Joella and Suzi Toot being introduced into the world on season 17, and even harder to believe that this is the eighteenth season of the original Drag Race franchise.

As fans well know, Onya Nurve took home the season 17 crown (only seven months ago though, we might add), smashing the competition with four wins. Since then, queens including Bones, Ginger Minj and Mami Watta have entered the Drag Race Hall of Fame, but now it’s time for another inductee: the OG Drag Race franchise Ruturns to our screens to crown a new winner from 2 January.

As revealed this afternoon (2 December) by Onya, the season 18 cast features 14 instantly iconic queens, including a whopping five Florida-based divas, two relatives of season 16’s Morphine Love Dion, and a Lizzo impersonator. All of them will by vying for the title of title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” and a delightful $200,000 cash prize. Let’s meet them.

Athena Dion

Athena Dion, hailing from Miami, Florida via her home country of Greece (hence the name) is a pretty big deal: she’s the mother of the prestigious drag empire The Dion Dynasty, which counts Drag Race season 16 star Morphine Love Dion among its members. In season 18, she’ll be competing against a family member – Juicy Love Dion – and to put it simply, we can’t wait to see how this turns out.

Briar Blush

Boston-based Briar Blush – try saying that when six shots in – describes herself as “equal parts conceptual artist and local street clown,” who will be bringing both humour and high fashion to the competition. She’s a Latina diva, and a Latina queen hasn’t won the original Drag Race franchise since Bianca Del Rio in 2014, so maybe now is her time.

Ciara Myst

Ciara Myst, the self-described drag shapeshifter of Indianapolis, is a multi-hyphenate: she’s a prosthetics pro, knows her way around politics, and is a performer of “theatrical stagecraft”. Her advocacy in politics includes working with Michelle Obama’s “When We All Vote” campaign and being an ambassador for Drag Out the Vote, which promotes participation in democracy via drag. Here’s hoping she gets RuPaul’s vote.

Darlene Mitchell

Darlene Mitchell is all about the three Cs: “Country C**ty Camp,” as per her Instagram bio. The queen, who is repping Los Angeles via Indiana, is a hairstylist by day and a drag diva by night.

DD Fuego

Self-dubbed “Dragtrepreneur” DD Fuego is a Mexico-born, New York-based, quintuple threat. She’s a fashion queen, having worked with designers who’ve collaborated with the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. She’s a theatre set and costume designer. She’s released her own colouring book and her own music. Plus, she knows her way around a TV set, having previously appeared on The Real Housewives of New York City. So Drag Race will be just another notch in her expertly bedazzled belt.

Discord Addams

Florida’s Discord Addams describes herself as a “high-fashion punk rock maximalist” who will be bringing chaos, looks, and an “unapologetic attitude” to season 18. She’s a punk rocker in a band, and will be serving “dark, raw” energy in all of her Drag Race performances.

Jane Don’t

Jane Don’t will be hoping to match the success of her sisters Bosco and Irene The Alien, who thrived on All Stars 10 this summer (Bosco is a two-time finalist). She’s a comedy queen from Seattle – much like Drag Race legends Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme – so there’s a lot for her to live up to.

Juicy Love Dion

Juicy Love Dion is the second Dion diva to enter the Drag Race season 18 battle for the crown, alongside Athena Dion. Juicy is Athena’s drag granddaughter, and the drag daughter of season 16’s Morphine Love Dion, but she’ll be hoping to do a little better than her mother by going all the way to the final. She describes herself as “Miami’s Afro-cuban Dancing Doll”, and appeared as a competitor on 2024’s season of So You Think You Can Dance.

Kenya Pleaser

Kenya Pleaser makes niche RuPaul’s Drag Race history as the first queen to compete from South Carolina. She’s in the running for this season’s best pun name, but she’s more than just punny: by day, she’s a professional Lizzo impersonator. She was also one of the very lucky queens to be hand chosen by Chappell Roan to open her The Midwest Princess Tour.

Mandy Mango

Mandy Mango is “The Sweetest Fruit in Philadelphia,” a registered sexual health nurse, and the winner of Pensylavnia’s Miss Gay Gettysburg 2024 contest. Now, she’s looking ahead for her next crown.

Mia Starr

It’s another Florida queen! Mia Starr is the “gangstar mob wife” of the state, with an apt for hosting and hair-flipping.

Myki Meeks

It’s Florida girl number five, Myki Meeks. Myki is known for winning: earlier this year, she was crowned Miss Glamorous Newcomer 2024/25. She’s a comedy queen, thesp, and co-host of Orlando-based drag contest The Gig. Oh, and she opened for Chappell, too. She’s busy, busy, busy, but about to get busier.

Nini Coco

An anagram for Icon Icon, Nini Coco is a Denver-based costume designer and another pre-Drag Race winner; in 2023, she was crowned the champ of The Denver Drag Olympics.

Vita VonTesse Starr

Alabama babe Vita VonTesse Starr was a lovely alternate at the National Entertainer of the Year drag contest in 2022 and 2023. She’s a pageant powerhouse who promises to bring “elegance, precision, and a flair for the dramatic to every performance”.