Drag Race Down Under star Maxi Shield dies five months after cancer diagnosis
Drag Race Down Under star and Sydney drag legend Maxi Shield has died. (Getty)
Drag Race Down Under star Maxi Shield has died, five months after being diagnosed with cancer. She was 51.
Multiple friends of the Sydney-based drag star, born Kristopher Elliot, have paid tribute to her on social media.
Dillion Shaw of Sydney’s famed LGBTQ+ nightclub Universal wrote in a post on social media that the community was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the drag star’s death. Shaw honoured her “big personality” and “heart of gold”.
“In all my years in this community, there has never been a time I can remember when Maxi wasn’t an iconic presence (and she’d absolutely smack you for reminding her of that),” Shaw wrote.
“Maxi worked across every queer venue in Sydney, touching hearts not only across the country but around the world through her appearance on Drag Race Down Under. This Mardi Gras will feel different. It will be more solemn, as so many of us gather carrying the space left by her smile, her quick wit, and her remarkable spirit.”
Australian drag wig company Wigs By Vanity confirmed the news on Instagram, writing: “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our dearest sister, Maxine, has passed away.
“We are all mourning the loss of an incredible icon, friend, and our beloved sister. Thank you for the laughs, the cackles, and the magic you brought into our lives.
“I will cherish every second of our 30 year friendship and I’m so grateful that I was a part of your chosen family. You will be forever loved and deeply missed. I love you old girl.”
Maxi Shield appeared on the first season of Drag Race Down Under in 2021 and quickly became a fan favourite. She came in sixth place.
Prior to becoming a global drag star via Drag Race Down Under, Maxi Shield was a veteran of the Australian drag scene, performing across the country. In 2000, she performed at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She was one of the entertainers opening the Gay Games in the city in 2002.
She was a regular performer at venues across Oxford Street, Sydney’s notable LGBTQ+ area.
In August, Maxi had been performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland alongside her season one sister Art Simone when she was hospitalised.
She was forced to pull out of her show Fountain Lakes In Lockdown: A Drag Parody Play and taken to hospital due to a swollen gland pushing blood vessels in her throat.
In September, she shared a health update with fans, confirming that the growth had been diagnosed as cancerous.
She spent the following months undergoing treatment for the growth, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Maxi had also been using social media to share frequent health updates with her fans.
The drag entertainer returned to performing earlier this month for the first time since her diagnosis.
In a post on Instagram, Drag Race Down Under season one winner Kita Mean remembered Maxi Shield as “the kindest queen that has ever been”.
“Your love for drag, your wicked sense of humour, your giving spirit. There will forever be a void in my heavy heart where your fabulousness hit me like a tonne of bricks,” she wrote.
“Your strength over the last few months has been incomprehensible and I will go forward with such pride in my heart knowing I was friends with the best sister in the business.”
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
