Miss Fame

Miss Fame (born March 30, 1985)[1] is the stage name of Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen,[2] an American model, makeup artist, drag queen, recording artist and reality television personality best known as a contestant on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race. After appearing on the show, Dam-Mikkelsen as Miss Fame launched a music career, releasing his debut single, "Rubber Doll" on April 28, 2015. His debut album, Beauty Marked, was released on June 9, 2015.[3] Miss Fame appeared in numerous fashion publications.

Miss Fame
Fame at the Berlinale 2017
Born
Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen

(1985-03-30) March 30, 1985
Templeton, California, U.S.
Occupations
Years active2011–present
SpousePatrick Berschy (m. 2013)
Musical career
Genres
LabelsSidecar Records
Websitemissfamenyc.com

Career

Dam-Mikkelsen worked as a male editorial model in California before moving to New York in 2011, following the advice of fashion photographer Mike Ruiz. He then started working as a makeup artist under industry icon Pat McGrath while building a celebrity clientele. At the same time he started modeling and performing in drag as "Miss Fame".[4]

Miss Fame was noticed by photographer Mary McCartney who featured her in her book Devoted. She has also appeared in Half-Drag, a photo series by Leland Bobbé which attracted international attention and was featured in Vogue Italia.[5] Miss Fame was also photographed for Gorgeous, a project by photographers Rob Lebow and Masha Kupets that involved Armen Ra, Candis Cayne, and Tammie Brown.[6] Dam-Mikkelsen works as a celebrity makeup artist in New York City, and has worked on models and celebrities including Marc Jacobs, Ève Salvail, Snooki and JWoww, Martha Wash, Wendy Williams, and Michael Urie.[7]

On December 7, 2014, during the "Ru-Veal" of the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Miss Fame was the first queen announced to be a contestant on the show.[8] She was eliminated in the ninth episode, "Divine Inspiration," placing her seventh overall.[9] Following her elimination, she released the music video for "Rubber Doll", which was the first single from her debut album, Beauty Marked.[10] The album was released June 9, 2015, and featured appearances from fellow Drag Race contestants Alaska Thunderfuck and Violet Chachki.[3]

In 2016, Miss Fame signed with IMG models Paris.[11]

Miss Fame has been celebrated for her high-fashion editorial work and collaborations with world-renowned photographers like Steven Klein, Giampaolo Sgura, Paola Kudacki, Armin Morbach, Ali Mahdavi, and others. Miss Fame has been featured in publications including Vogue Germany, Vogue Portugal, Vogue Paris,[12] Vogue Japan, CR Fashion Book, PAPER,[13] V Magazine,[14] LOVE, CANDY, Tush, OUT, ELLE, and others.

She contributed to the compilation album Christmas Queens 3 in 2017.[15]

In September 2018, Miss Fame performed as a background dancer behind Christina Aguilera for Opening Ceremony's Spring 2019 collection, with other Drag Race alumni.[16] She released her own makeup line called "The Fetish of Fashion" later in October.[17]

In September 2022, Pinned into a Dress, a documentary about Kurtis' life premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. The short-film highlights Kurtis journey and breakthrough in fashion, despite his trauma and addiction, growing up in a broken family. Opening the Settimana Internazionale della Critica the documentary was co-directed by Gianluca Matarrese and Guillaume Thomas.[18]

Early and personal life

Dam-Mikkelsen was born to Dolly Silveira[19] in San Luis Obispo, California.[4] He has also stated that he was raised by his grandmother, Gloria, as her own son.[20] Kurtis lives with his husband Patrick Berschy and their pet dachshunds, Mina and Shaya.[21]

In 2020, Kurtis moved to Zürich, Switzerland, with his husband.[22]

Discography

Albums
Title Details Peak
chart
positions
US
Dance
[23]		 US
Heat
[24]
Beauty Marked
  • Released: June 9, 2015[3]
  • Label: Sidecar
  • Formats: Digital download
 1725

Singles
Title Year Album
"Rubber Doll"[25] 2015 Beauty Marked
"InstaFame"[26]
"I Run the Runway"
(with Violet Chachki)
[27]		 2016

Other appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Drag Race Theme"[28] 2015 RuPaul RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz2
"Toyland"[29] Various Artists Christmas Queens
"Poo" 2016 Lucian Piane, Pearl, Violet Chachki RuPaul's Drag Race: The Rusical
"Chicken" Alaska Thunderfuck Poundcake
"Christmas Waltz" 2017 N/A Christmas Queens 3

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Ref.
2015 A Change of Heart Himself [30]
2022 Pinned into a Dress Himself [31]

Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014 Snooki & Jwoww Himself Episode: "What a Drag!" [32]
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself (Contestant) Season 7 – Placed 7th [33]
2021 Germany's Next Topmodel Himself (Guest Judge) Season 16 – Episode 11 [34]

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014–present Painted by Fame Himself Makeup tutorials [35]
2015 Untucked Himself Companion show to RuPaul's Drag Race [36]

Music videos
Title Year Director Ref.
"Drag Race Theme" 2015 Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen [37]
"Rubber Doll" 2015 Ben Simkins [38]
"InstaFame" 2015 Ben Simkins [39]
"Toyland" 2015 Carlos Maldonado [40]
"I Run the Runway (feat. Violet Chachki)" 2016 Ali Mahdavi [27]

Music video appearances
Title Year Director Ref.
"Save the Queen"
(Garek)		 2012 Un­known [41]
"Supermodel (You Better Work)" (2013 Edit)
(RuPaul)		 2013 Marco Ovando [42]
"Go All Night"
(Gorgon City featuring Jennifer Hudson)		 2014 Roboshobo [43]
"Opulence"
(Brooke Candy)		 2014 Steven Klein [44]
"My Animal"
(Garek)		 2015 Mike Ruiz [45]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2022 The WOWIE Awards Best Beauty Guru Award (The Painted Award) Herself Nominated [46][47]

See also

References
  1. @MissFameNYC (March 30, 2021). "Aging in reverse is a talent .. lol !! Thank you for all the birthday love angels 💕💕💕 #36 photo @GuillaumeAton" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelson". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  3. "Miss Fame – Beauty Marked". Amazon. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  4. "Miss Fame – About Her". Miss Fame. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  5. "Bobbé's Half Drag Shots". Vogue Italia. July 31, 2012. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  6. "PHOTOS: Exclusive Chat with Drag Icons Delta Work, Tammie Brown and Landon Cider". Queerty. December 14, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  7. "Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen – Biography". Kurtis in Beauty. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  8. "Miss Fame Officially Ru-Vealed For RuPaul's Drag Race Season Seven!". WordPress. December 7, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  9. "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode nine – Divine Inspiration". The Guardian. April 28, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  10. "Drag Race Star Miss Fame Releases 'Rubber Doll' Music Video". The Advocate. April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  11. "Miss Fame | IMG Models". IMG Models. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  12. "12 looks qui prouvent que la drag queen Miss Fame est la star de la Fashion Week". March 7, 2022.
  13. Jackson, Jhoni (April 20, 2018). "Miss Fame Is Transforming the Modeling Industry". PAPER. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  14. "Miss Fame Becomes a Screen Queen". Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  15. Christmas Queens 3 by Various Artists, November 17, 2017, retrieved October 10, 2018
  16. "We're Still Screaming: Xtina Performs With Drag Queens at NYFW". PAPER. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  17. Tietjen, Alexa (October 8, 2018). "Miss Fame on the Launch of Her Beauty Brand and the 'Mainstreaming' of Drag". WWD. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  18. "SIC Venezia: Pinned Into A Dress, Directed by Gianluca Matarrese, Guillaume Thomas, France 2022".
  19. @MissFameNYC (May 10, 2015). "Happy Birthday to my Mom dollysilveira6 dollysilveira6 dollysilveira6 I love you so much. You are the…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. @MissFameNYC (August 4, 2015). "This is my Grandma Gloria, she raised me since I was a baby as her son. I call her mom too ❤️ I love…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. "Mina & Shaya (@the_wienas) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  22. "Miss Fame on her journey through beauty and how the industry has influenced her identity". September 9, 2020.
  23. "Billboard Chart Archive" (To access, type "Miss Fame" in the artist bar, then select "Top Dance/Electronic Albums" in the chart name bar). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  24. "Billboard Chart Archive" (To access, type "Miss Fame" in the artist bar, then select "Heatseeker Albums" in the chart name bar). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  25. "iTunes – Music – Rubber Doll – Single by Miss Fame". iTunes. April 28, 2015. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  26. "Miss Fame – Instafame". Amazon. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  27. Miss Fame (February 5, 2016). "I Run the Runway [Official] Miss Fame & Violet Chachiki". YouTube. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  28. "iTunes – Music – RuPaul Presents CoverGurlz2 by RuPaul". iTunes. February 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  29. "Alaska, Katya, "Drag Race" Queens, Spread Holiday Cheer On "Christmas Queens" Album". NewNowNext. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  30. "Exclusive Interview With Miss Fame: Super Model Drag Queen". Llama Post. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  31. "IMDb: Pinned into a Dress". IMDb.
  32. "Drag Queen Miss Fame Teaches Snooki & JWOWW How To Work A Catwalk". MTV. December 19, 2013. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  33. "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode one – the devil wears nada". The Guardian. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  34. "GNTM: Top Quoten für die Top 10 - Streit und Haute Couture". Tz. April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  35. "This Drag Race Contestant Is Also A YouTube Makeup Celebrity". Refinery29. March 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  36. Untucked: RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 1 – Born Naked. YouTube. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  37. Miss Fame – Drag Race Theme: RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz2. YouTube. February 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  38. Miss Fame – RUBBER DOLL (Official). YouTube. April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  39. InstaFame [Official Teaser]. YouTube. June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  40. Miss Fame – Toyland [Official] from Christmas Queens. YouTube. December 10, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  41. GAREK – "Save the Queen" (Official Video). YouTube. June 25, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  42. RuPaul Supermodel 2013 The Drag Race Girls. YouTube. September 13, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  43. "Miss Fame on Twitter". Twitter. November 6, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  44. "Miss Fame on Twitter". Twitter. April 29, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  45. GAREK – "My Animal" (Official Video). YouTube. April 21, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  46. Nguyen, Nikki (May 2, 2022). "World of Wonder's 2022 WOWIE Awards at DragCon: Cast Your Votes Now!". The Wow Report. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  47. "Here Are World of Wonder's 2022 WOWIE Awards Winners". World of Wonder. May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
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