Pearl (drag queen)

Pearl, occasionally known as Pearl Liaison, is the stage name of American drag performer and record producer Matthew James Lent,[1] who came to international attention on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, finishing joint runner-up.

Pearl
Pearl at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018
Born
Matthew James Lent

(1990-09-11) September 11, 1990
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Other namesPearl Liaison
Occupations
Years active2012–present

Early life

Lent grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida with his mother and two sisters.[2] He spent time drawing "rich old ladies with big diamond rings and furs" and female nudes, which eventually morphed into his drag persona.[3][4] When first beginning her drag career, she was unable to afford anything besides "thrift store lingerie" and "cheap furs"; however, Pearl has stated that she cared more about her makeup and wigs than the quality of her outfits, and that the aesthetics of what she previously illustrated translated easier with her cheaper wardrobe than "fashionable garments".[4]

Drag career

After moving to Chicago, Lent began performing in drag in 2012, alongside Kim Chi and Trixie Mattel, using the stage name Pearl.[3] He first went out in public in drag while wearing a "she-devil" outfit for Halloween alongside Kim Chi.[4] He has described Pearl's persona as a "Stepford wife robot bitch".[5] Lent initially only planned to use drag as a hobby, but quickly began booking gigs at increasing frequency. He later moved to Brooklyn, New York.[3]

In December 2014, after a year and a half of performing in drag, Pearl was announced to be a participant on the seventh season of the Logo TV reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race.[6][4] She had hired a friend of hers who had produced videos for other Drag Race queens, such as DiDa Ritz, to create her audition video, and received her acceptance call 3-4 weeks after moving to Brooklyn.[4] Despite a slow start to the competition, Pearl rebounded to win two main challenges, and eventually became a finalist alongside fellow competitors Ginger Minj and Violet Chachki.[7] In the season finale, Violet Chachki was crowned the winner, leaving Pearl as a runner-up.[8] After the series, Pearl claimed that her lack of enthusiasm towards the show while appearing on it was due to an early negative comment towards her by RuPaul which was not filmed - “Nothing you say matters unless that cameras is rolling” - as a result, she says she has not been invited back for an All Stars series.[9]

Pearl has been described as the drag mother of Scarlet Envy, who appeared on season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race.[10] Pearl denied this in an interview in July 2019, describing Scarlet as a good friend of hers.[11]

In mid-2019, she announced the possibility of moving to Hawaii to live with her boyfriend; however, as of 2023, she is located in Phoenix, Arizona.[4][12]

Other ventures

Music

On June 2, 2015, Lent released the album Pleasure, along with a music video for its first single, "Love Slave".[13] Unlike other albums released by Drag Race alumnae, Pleasure does not feature any vocals from Lent; he instead produced the entire album. The album charted at number eleven on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart and number sixteen on the Heatseekers chart.[14]

Perfume

On June 2, 2015, Lent announced the release of a fragrance, Flazéda, with perfume company Xyrena.[15][16] In doing so, he became the first Drag Race alumnus member to release a scent. The fragrance started shipping on June 30, 2015.[16]

Discography
Albums
Title Details Peak
chart
positions
US
Dance
[17]		 US
Heat
[18]
Pleasure 1116
Singles
Title Year Album
"Love Slave"[20]
(featuring Jaylee Maruk)		 2015 Pleasure
Other appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Hey Booty"[21] 2015 RuPaul, Miles Davis Moody RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz2

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself (Contestant) Season 7 - Runner-up [22]

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 Untucked Himself Companion web series to RuPaul's Drag Race [23]

Music videos
Title Year Director Ref.
"Hey Booty" 2015 Matthew James Lent [24]
"Love Slave" 2015 Michael Serrato [25]

Music video appearances
Title Year Director Ref.
"Bettie"
(Violet Chachki)		 2015 Michael Serrato [26]
"Nerves of Steel"
(Erasure)		 2020 Brad Hammer [27]

See also

References
  1. Lock, Isaac (Autumn–Winter 2016). "Pearl: Venus as a Boy". Dazed. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  2. Van Horn, Shea (June 11, 2015). "Shea Van Horn Interviews PEARL". Brightest Young Things. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  3. Lindsay, Benjamin (February 27, 2015). "Flawless Pearl". Next Magazine. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  4. "PEARL: EXPOSED (The Full Interview)". YouTube. July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  5. Fernandez, Cory (May 27, 2015). "A Real Pearl". Out. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  6. Nichols, JamesMichael (December 7, 2015). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season Seven Cast Revealed (PHOTOS)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  7. "RuPaul reveals Drag Race final 3 in holographically dragtastic Born Naked video". Daily Mirror. May 27, 2015.
  8. Lee, Stephan (June 2, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 7 winner talks about being the 'shadiest queen'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  9. "Pearl told she'll 'never return to Drag Race All Stars' following RuPaul drama". August 24, 2018.
  10. Rudolph, Christopher (April 5, 2019), "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE INTERVIEW: SCARLET ENVY: "IF ANYONE WAS THROWN UNDER THE BUS, IT WAS ME"", MTV
  11. Shepard, Joseph. "Pearl: Exposed". Youtube. Joseph Shepard. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  12. @pearliaison (June 23, 2023). "hiii, i'm looking for a sick'ning tattoo artist for large scale pieces in the phoenix, az area 🌵🏜️" – via Instagram.
  13. Nichols, JamesMichael (June 3, 2015). "Violet Chachki, Pearl And Ginger Minj, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Finalists, Release New Music". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  14. "Pearl - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  15. O'Donnell, Carey. "Pearl Releases New Signature Fragrance, Flazéda". Logo NewNowNext. Viacom International Inc. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  16. "Flazéda By Pearl – Extrait De Parfum". Xyrena. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. "Pearl – Chart History – Top Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  18. "Pearl – Chart History – Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  19. "iTunes - Music - Pleasure - Album by Pearl". iTunes. 2 June 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  20. "iTunes - Music - Love Slave - Single by Pearl". iTunes. 2 June 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. "iTunes - Music - RuPaul Presents CoverGurlz2 by RuPaul". iTunes. 3 February 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  22. Malice, Michael (March 3, 2015). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' 7×1 Recap: No Shame in Being Shallow". Observer. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  23. Untucked: RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 1 - Born Naked. YouTube. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  24. Pearl - Hey Booty: RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz2. YouTube. February 3, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  25. Pearl - Pleasure - Love Slave (Official). YouTube. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  26. Violet Chachki - Bettie [Official]. YouTube. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  27. Erasure (August 11, 2020). "Erasure - Nerves of Steel (Official Video)" (YouTube video). Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
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