Laila McQueen

Laila McQueen is the stage name of Tyler Devlin, a drag performer based in Gloucester, Massachusetts.[1] McQueen competed on season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2016.[2]

Laila McQueen
Laila McQueen at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022
Born
Tyler Devlin

(1993-06-22) June 22, 1993
Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Occupations
Years active2016–present
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race (season 8)

Early life

Devlin was born in New Hampshire to Cathy and Michael Devlin,[3] and raised in Manchester. She moved to Gloucester as a teenager. McQueen was artistic in school, which led to bullying from her peers.[4] She started cross dressing in high school at age 15 to ignore the bullying and to showcase her creative outlet before doing drag as a career at 18.[1][5][4] She graduated from Gloucester High School in 2011.[5]

When asked about describing her drag, McQueen said "I'm an idiot, I'm such an idiot. I just like to have fun and for other people to have fun, too. I started doing drag from a negative place to replace those feelings. I've always wanted to be a rock star and this is my way to express that, and I'm an artist above all else. Drag gave me an extension to capture those dreams you didn't think would happen, and I've gotten a lot of things I never thought I'd be able to."[1]

Laila graduated from New Hampshire Institute of Art in 2015,[6] before she moved back to Gloucester.[7]

Career
Laila McQueen (right) at RuPaul's DragCon NYC, 2017

In 2016, McQueen was cast for season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race. On the first episode, she placed in the bottom with Naysha Lopez and won a lip sync to "Applause" by Lady Gaga.[8] On the second episode, she placed in the bottom again with Dax ExclamationPoint. Both were eliminated after a lip sync to "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.[9] McQueen has said she wanted to impersonate Betsey Johnson, Courtney Love, or Theresa Caputo for the Snatch Game challenge.[10]

After Drag Race, she worked as a make-up artist from RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race with Shannel and Mayhem Miller.[11] McQueen did makeup for Jordan Connor on the show. Later on, she also did makeup for the cast of We're Here. In 2022, McQueen won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program for her work on the episode "Kona, Hawaii".[12]

Personal life

McQueen has a rare anxiety disorder called misophonia.[13] She has lived in Chicago, Illinois since 2017,[14] but works in many locations.[15] When she was 19, she was banned from the University of Maine for a performance that involved a Bible being covered in blood.[16]

References
  1. "What's it like to be a drag queen in Gloucester? Ask Laila McQueen. - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  2. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 8 Cast and Premiere Date — Meet the Queens of the New Season". Yahoo News. 2016-02-02. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  3. McCarthy, Gail (2022-09-09). "Gloucester man wins Emmy for makeup on HBO series". Gloucester Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2022-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  4. "Gurl Talk: A chat with Laila McQueen". OUT FRONT. 2016-03-18. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  5. "Gloucester man wins Emmy for makeup on HBO series". Yahoo Sports. 2022-09-09. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  6. Allen, Timothy (2016-03-30). "10 Things You Never Knew About Laila McQueen". Queerty. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  7. "Gloucester's Laila McQueen on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Gloucester Daily Times. 2016-03-07. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  8. March 08, Stephan Lee; EST, 2016 at 04:09 AM. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' premiere recap: Meet the 12 new queens in the show's 100th episode". EW.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  9. March 15, Stephan Lee; EDT, 2016 at 01:52 AM. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' recap: Get ready for one aca-mazing episode". EW.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  10. "Whatcha Packin': Laila McQueen | S8 E2 | RuPaul's Drag Race". Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  11. "These Queens Actually Did 'Celebrity Drag Race's Makeovers". www.out.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  12. "Gloucester 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Alum Wins Makeup Emmy For Popular HBO Show". Essex Daily Voice. 12 September 2022. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  13. Allen, Timothy (30 March 2016). "10 Things You Never Knew About Laila McQueen". Queerty. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  14. McCarthy, Tim. "Laila McQueen returns to Gloucester for one-night drag queen spectacular". Wicked Local. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  15. "Gloucester man wins Emmy for makeup on HBO series". Yahoo Sports. 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  16. Patterson, Denny (8 June 2017). "Laila McQueen Set to Slay BlowPony During Pride". OUT FRONT. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.