Kameron Michaels

Dane Young She is also noted for her tattoos, which cover her forearms, her chest and part of a leg.

Early life Young was born on July 23, 1986, They lived in Massillon, Ohio, until he was five years old. After this, they briefly resided in Michigan before moving to Columbia, Tennessee, where Young spent the majority of his youth. He realized he was gay in his early teens, and he came out to his mother at age 14. She reacted supportively. In high school, he was bullied for his sexuality and body language, and he developed introverted tendencies in response to this. He studied photographs and videos of himself to identify effeminate gestures that he then learned to modify or avoid. Because he felt more at home in Nashville's queer community than in the conservative environment of Columbia, he relocated to Nashville when he was 21.

Career

Beginnings and style

quote=I always say that my drag is a mix of old-school and new drag. I grew up around old-school drag—fringe costumes and dance. Dancing is a big thing for me.... I am definitely influenced by that, [but I also] take part in crazy makeup sometimes and newer songs. I don't do a whole lot of old-school stuff besides my costumes. salign=right — —Michaels, in an interview with Dallas Voice After a few months, he switched the name to Kameron Michaels, as he wanted an androgynous first name paired with a last name used by no other drag queen in Nashville. He credits the Southern variety of drag he learned in Nashville with making him well-rounded, stating that it equipped him with diverse skills such as dancing and costume-making. After developing a gym habit in his mid-20s, he became known as a muscle queen due to his built physique. Before appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, Young worked full time as a hair stylist, doing drag only on weekends. She then auditioned for the tenth season in an effort to overcome a difficult breakup. She was selected to participate, and her season aired in 2018. She finished as a runner-up, together with Eureka O'Hara, behind winner Aquaria.

Some media outlets and fellow contestants dubbed Michaels the season's lip sync assassin, She also won the finale's first Lip Sync for the Crown but lost the second one to Aquaria, bringing her lip sync total to six. On the show, she was noted for her introversion, which set her apart from her competitors. Following criticism she received in the season's reunion episode for appearing more extroverted on social media than in person, Michaels learned about ambiversion. She has stated that this description fits her well.

Music and tours

As part of season 10's final challenge, Michaels and the other top four contestants wrote and recorded their own verses for RuPaul's song "American". In summer 2018, Michaels participated in the 10s Across the Board Tour, traveling around the U.S. with other queens from the season. Later that year, she recorded the track "Let It Snow" on Christmas Queens 4, a compilation album featuring Christmas songs sung by former Drag Race contestants. Following the album's release, she embarked on the Christmas Queens tour of Europe in November and December 2018. She then returned to Europe for a solo tour in January 2019. The following month, she released a lip sync music video in which she performs Mark Ronson's "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart". In June of that year, she released her debut single, "Freedom", and its corresponding music video.

Since the second half of 2018, Michaels has traveled around the Americas, Asia, and Europe for several legs of Werq the World, and she appears in a docuseries about that tour. She also co-stars in RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue, a VH1 miniseries about the live show. In May 2020, Michaels participated in a live-streamed version of Werq the World to raise money for drag entertainers out of work due to the pandemic. Since July 2020, Michaels has been on tour with Drive 'N Drag, a drive-in drag show held outdoors to accommodate social distancing restrictions imposed due to COVID-19.

Personal life Young is gay. He began visiting the gym with a boyfriend who pressured him to stop doing drag. In the months that followed the airing of Drag Race season 10, his workout routine temporarily fell by the wayside as he adjusted to life on tour. When asked about them in an interview, he said, "I started getting tattooed when I was around 26 or 27. All my tattoos are by the same artist, and they were all done in about a year and a half. [They depict] favorite movies from my childhood and sentimental things in my life." Young later stated that he had removed the posts during a period of mental distress, which he attributed to prolonged time spent home alone due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to reflection about the ongoing George Floyd protests. He subsequently restored some of the content. The following month, he purchased a home in Las Vegas and moved there with his French Bulldog, Lilo.

While starring in RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, Young dated fellow cast member André Hurtado, who died in December 2022. Young subsequently went on hiatus from social media for 10 months, until October 2023. When he resumed posting on TikTok, he published a reel sharing that he had been diagnosed with ADHD. Around the same time, he shared on Instagram that he was in a relationship.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Album "Let It Snow" 2018 Christmas Queens 4

Filmography

Television

Music videos +YearTitle Notes 2019"Nothing Breaks Like a Heart"(Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus) Lip sync video