Gigi Goode

Gigi Goode^[1] (born December 2, 1997) is an American drag queen and reality television personality known for being a runner-up on the twelfth season of the drag competition series RuPaul's Drag Race. Following her appearance on Drag Race, Goode was cast in the Drive 'N Drag concert series, appeared in multiple music videos, and participated in a Savage X Fenty fashion show. In 2020, she received a People's Choice Award in the Competition Contestant category. Originally from, Illinois, Goode attended Millikin University and, as of 2020, lives in Los Angeles.

Gigi Goode
Gigi Goode at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022
Born	(1997-12-02) December 2, 1997 (age 26) Illinois, U.S.
Education	Millikin University
Occupation	Drag queen
Television	RuPaul's Drag Race (season 12)

Early life and education

Goode was born on December 2, 1997, in Illinois, and has Scottish and Scandinavian ancestry.^[2][3][4][5] She was raised in Woodstock.^[6] Her mother, Kristi, is a costume and interior designer.^[7][8] Goode was introduced to LGBT culture at the age of 12 by her openly gay uncle.^[9] She started doing drag at an early age with the help of her mother, who initially disapproved of it, and she performed in drag in public for the first time at age 15.^[10] She has said that her drag "became very 1950s and 1940s inspired".^[5]

Goode attended Woodstock High School, where she graduated in 2016.^[11] She attended Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, where she majored in art and was awarded the David S. Monroe Art Award in 2017, which honors "outstanding achievement in art, recognizing students for their major, excellence in their work and exhibiting a professional attitude".^[12][13] She later dropped out of Millikin and moved to Los Angeles.^[14]

Career

Gigi Goode in 2019

In 2020, Goode competed on the twelfth season of the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race, where she was the youngest contestant of the season and placed as a runner-up.^[15][16] Goode and her mother collaborated on many of the outfits Goode wore on the show.^[7] Goode won the main challenges in episodes 4, 6, 7, and 12.^[17] During Snatch Game, she impersonated Maria the Robot, a character based on the experimental humanoid robot Sophia.^[18][19][20] Jezebel called her portrayal of Maria "physical comedy gold" and "incredibly witty".^[21] Critics praised Goode's performance on the show, highlighting her fashion and comedy skills.^[22][14][23]

Goode participated in Werq the World Battle Royale, a livestreamed fundraiser and drag show held during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[24] In mid-2020, she was one of a dozen former Drag Race contestants who was cast in the Drive 'N Drag concert series.^[25] Goode appeared in the Halloween-themed World of Wonder variety special Bring Back My Ghouls with other contestants from season 12 of Drag Race in October 2020.^[26]

Goode appeared in the music video for Chester Lockhart's 2018 cover of "I Put a Spell on You".^[27] In 2020, she and fellow Drag Race contestant Valentina appeared in the music video for "I'm Ready" by Sam Smith and Demi Lovato.^[28] Goode and fellow Drag Race contestants Jaida Essence Hall and Shea Couleé appeared in the Savage X Fenty fashion show and Amazon Prime Video special Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2.^[29] At the 46th People's Choice Awards, she won an award in the "Competition Contestant of 2020" category.^[30][31]

Personal life

Initially identifying as genderfluid on RuPaul's Drag Race, Goode came out as transgender and non-binary on August 29, 2021, with a video on Instagram.^[32] She announced that she had started hormone replacement therapy in January 2021 and underwent facial feminization surgery.^[32] Goode uses she/her pronouns.^[32]

During quarantine in 2020 she was living with the Los Angeles–based House of Avalon, which was described by Vogue's Liam Hess as a "troupe of queer creatives", as of April 2020.^[2]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	RuPaul's Drag Race	Herself	Runner-up (season 12)
	RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked	Herself	Contestant
	Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2	Herself
2021	Generation	Drag queen	Episode "There's Something About Hamburger Mary's"
2023	Drag Me to Dinner	Herself	Hulu original reality series[33]
2023	Avalon TV	Herself	World of Wonder original[34]

Web series

Year	Title	Ref
2020	Whatcha Packin'	[35]
2020	Bring Back My Ghouls	[36]
2021	Out of the Closet	[37]
2022	Bring Back My Girls

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist
2018	"I Put a Spell on You"[27]	Chester Lockhart
	"Born to Bleed"[38]	Disasterina
2020	"I'm Ready"[28]	Sam Smith and Demi Lovato
2022	"Let Us Die"[39]	King Princess

Discography

Featured singles

Title	Year	Album	Ref
"I'm That Bitch" (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 12)	2020	Non-album singles	[40]
"Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical" (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 12)			[41]
"I Made It / Mirror Song / Losing Is the New Winning" (Las Vegas Live Medley) (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 12)			[42]
"The Shady Bunch" (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race season 12)			[43]

See also

• List of people with non-binary gender identities

References

1. Sim, Bernardo (October 3, 2022). "Drag Race's Gigi Goode Shares New ID With Updated Gender Marker". Out. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
2. Hess, Liam (April 24, 2020). "Why RuPaul's Drag Race's Gigi Goode Is More Than Just a Fashion Queen". Vogue. Condé Nast. ISSN 0042-8000. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
3. Smith, Reiss (May 1, 2020). "Drag Race star Gigi Goode slated after mocking Britney Spears with 'tone deaf' shaved head joke". PinkNews. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
4. Rouhandeh, Alex J. (May 30, 2020). "Woodstock native reaches Friday's finale of RuPaul's Drag Race". Northwest Herald. Crystal Lake, Illinois: Shaw Media. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
5. Donahue, Ann (February 28, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 12 Premiere: Gigi Goode's Secret Weapon Is Her Mom — Watch". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
6. "Gigi Goode Is Drag's Most Daring Doll". Allure. February 10, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
7. Alter, Rebecca (May 15, 2020). "Designing Drag Race's GiGi Goode, Featuring Mama Goode". Vulture.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
8. Blanton, Kayla (March 20, 2020). "'Drag Race' Queen Gigi Goode's Mom Made Her The Designer She Is Today". Bustle. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
9. Sanders, Wren (April 7, 2020). "Gigi Goode Opens Up About "Fluid" Gender Identity on RuPaul's Drag Race". Them. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
10. Boone, John (September 16, 2020). "Gigi Goode Gets Deep on 'Drag Race' Romance and Her Gender Journey Unfiltered (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
11. Carzoli, Tricia (July 15, 2020). "Finding His Feet". The Woodstock Independent. Retrieved February 27, 2021.(registration required)
12. Clarendon, Dan (November 24, 2020). "Gigi Goode credits their mom for 'feeding the flame' of their identity". Queerty. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
13. "David S. Monroe Art Award". Distinguished Faculty Lecture & Honors Convocation. Millikin University. April 27, 2017. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
14. Bumpus, Jessica (September 1, 2020). "Inside the colourful world of Ru Paul superstar Gigi Goode". Harper's Bazaar. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
15. Eakin, Marah; Scheetz, Cameron (February 27, 2020). "Gigi Goode says she's more than just a look queen". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
16. Quinn, Dave (May 29, 2020). "Jaida Essence Hall Wins RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12: 'If I Can Capture a Dream, We All Can'". People. Meredith Corporation. ISSN 0093-7673. OCLC 794712888. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
17. Sheehan, Paul (May 30, 2020). "'Rupaul's Drag Race': Did Jaida Essence Hall deserve to win season 12 or was Gigi Goode or Crystal Methyd robbed?". Gold Derby. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
18. Jones, Dylan B. (April 5, 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season 12, episode 6 – Snatch Game". The Guardian. OCLC 60623878. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
19. Kulzick, Kate (April 3, 2020). "The strong queens of RuPaul's Drag Race season 12 meet their match in "Snatch Game"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
20. Pearce, Tilly (April 5, 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race's Gigi Goode praised by fans as they come out as gender fluid during show". Metro. DMG Media. ISSN 1469-6215. OCLC 225917520. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
21. Alford, Emily (April 6, 2020). "Gigi Goode Is the Robot Future of Drag". Jezebel. G/O Media. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
22. Boone, John (April 22, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' First Look: Gigi Goode Gets Called Out for Being Cocky (Exclusive)". ET. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
23. Jones, Dylan B. (May 30, 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season 12 finale – she's a winner baby!". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
24. Kaplan, Juliana (May 2, 2020). "The first Gen-Z winner of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' tells us how drag has gone virtual — and how the disrupted current season's finale should work". Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
25. Nolfi, Joey (June 17, 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race queens rev up for 'Drive N Drag' summer drive-in tour". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
26. Damshenas, Sam. "RuPaul's Drag Race season 12 cast to return for Halloween special". Gay Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
27. Megarry, Daniel (October 22, 2018). "Chester Lockhart on queer visibility, horror movies and fierce new single Spell On You". Gay Times. ISSN 0950-6101. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
28. Rudolph, Christopher (April 17, 2020). "Gigi Goode and Valentina Do a High-Heel Dash in Sam Smith's "I'm Ready"". NewNowNext. Logo TV. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
29. Lambe, Stacy (October 1, 2020). "'Drag Race' Queens Werk the Runway During Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
30. Malec, Brett (November 16, 2020). "People's Choice Awards 2020 Winners: The Complete List". E! News. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
31. Nolfi, Joey. "'Drag Race' queen Gigi Goode wins her first People's Choice Award". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
32. Street, Mikelle (August 29, 2021). "'Drag Race's Gigi Goode Just Came Out as Trans, Discusses Transition". Out. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
33. Rice, Lynette (May 1, 2023). "'Drag Me To Dinner': Hulu Announces Premiere Date For Unscripted Series From Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
34. @worldofwonder (September 26, 2023). "Meet Symone, the superstar of this house!" – via Instagram.
35. Whatcha Packin': Gigi Goode – RuPaul's Drag Race S12 on YouTube
36. Bring Back My Ghouls: RuPauls Drag Race Season 12 Queens. YouTube. May 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
37. Gigi: A Tour of the Creative Sanctuary 🤩 S4 E4 | Out of the Closet. YouTube. May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
38. Born To Bleed Official Music Video by Disasterina on YouTube
39. King Princess - Let Us Die (Official Video), July 28, 2022, retrieved September 16, 2022
40. "I'm That Bitch – Single". Apple Store. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
41. "Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical – EP". Apple Store. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
42. "I Made It / Mirror Song / Losing Is New Winning (Las Vegas Live Medley) – Single". Apple Store. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
43. "The Shady Bunch / Bring Back My Girls – Single". Apple Store. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.

External links

• Gigi Goode at IMDb
• Meet Gigi Goode: 'The Life Size Doll' – RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12 on YouTube