Kelly Mantle

Kelly Leroy Mantle (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, comedian, musician, drag queen, and reality television personality. Mantle appeared as a contestant on the sixth season of the reality TV show RuPaul's Drag Race.

Kelly Mantle
Mantle in 2014
Born	Kelly Leroy Mantle[1] (1976-07-09) July 9, 1976 (age 48) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US
Education	University of Oklahoma (BFA)
Occupation(s)	Actor, drag queen, singer-songwriter, musician, comedian
Years active	1996–present
Family	Mickey Mantle (uncle)
Musical career
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, drums
Website	kellymantle.com

Early life

Mantle was born to Larry James and Linda Lea Mantle^[2] in Oklahoma City but grew up in New Cordell, Oklahoma.^[3] She has a brother, Garrette. She self-identifies as being of Cherokee descent from Oklahoma.^[4]

Mantle's uncle was professional baseball player Mickey Mantle, who played for the New York Yankees.^[5][6] Mantle graduated with a BFA in Theatre from the University of Oklahoma.^[7]

Career

After college, Mantle went to Chicago to begin a career as an actor. She acted in plays such as The Convention and Royal Flush.^[8][9] Lone Star/Laundry & Bourbon was the first production by OKRA Theatre, a theater company started by Mantle and her friend Tracy Parks, who directed the play.^[10][11]

In 1998, Mantle starred in the Chicago production of Charles Busch's play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.^[12] After two years of living in Chicago, she moved to Los Angeles.^[10] She later auditioned for the Los Angeles production of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, where she was scouted and signed by a talent agent.^[13]

In Los Angeles, Mantle became a member of the band Sex with Lurch, which was formed by singer Robbie Quinne and guitarist Bernard Yin. As part of the group, Mantle used the stage name "Brandy Warhol". The group disbanded in December 2002. Mantle later joined Quinne's follow-up band, the Barbarellatones.^[10][14]

Mantle was also a member of the band Tranzkuntinental. The band was started by Charlie Paulson and Xander Smith and features drag queens Detox, Rhea Litré, Vicky Vox, and Willam Belli.^[15][16]

Currently, Mantle is a member of the band the Rollz Royces with Tammie Brown and Michael Catti. Mantle and Catti have appeared in Tammie Brown's Christmas show Holiday Sparkle at Fubar in West Hollywood.^[17]

In 2014 Mantle starred in Confessions of a Womanizer with Gary Busey. The film was released in 2016. Mantle, who is genderfluid, made history when the film's producers sought both supporting actor and supporting actress consideration for her performance and The Academy granted the request.^[18]

Mantle starred as Sheila on both seasons of the OutTV and Amazon Prime sitcom The Browns alongside Tammie Brown^[19] and in 2022 supported Trixie and Katya on their tour Trixie and Katya Live.^[20]

RuPaul's Drag Race

In December 2013, Logo announced that Mantle was among fourteen drag queens who would be competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.^[21] She was eliminated in the first episode, lip-synching to "Express Yourself" against Vivacious.^[22]

Discography

Albums

• Ever Changing (2002)
• Rock-N-Glow (2004)
• Satellite Baby (2006)

Singles

Song	Year	Album
"My Neck, My Back (Lick It)"	2013	Non-album single
"Main Event"	2014	RuPaul Presents: The Covergurlz
"Eliminated" (featuring Bownce and Wendy Ho)		Non-album single
"Keyboard Courage"	2015	Non-album single

Music videos

Song	Year	Director
"Satellite Baby"	2007	—
"My Neck, My Back (Lick It)"	2013	Andrew Putschoegl
"Main Event"	2014	—
"Eliminated"	2014	Kija Manharé
"Keyboard Courage"	2015	Gordon Cowie

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	The Convent	Dickie-Boy
2000	True Rights	Cleo
2000	Super Duper	Maddie	Short film
2002	Superfag	Apacalipstick	Short film
2004	Straight Eye: The Movie	Herself	Short film
2004	Buds for Life	Sierra Bonita
2006	The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down	Drag Queen
2013	American Dream	Katrina	Post-production
2013	Confessions of a Womanizer	Ginger
2021	The Bitch Who Stole Christmas[23]	Wistful Woman/Madelyn

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Undressed	Howie	Episode: "Love It or Leave It Again"
2003	NYPD Blue	Dan "Monika" Hoffnagle	2 episodes
2003	Nip/Tuck	Transgender Woman No. 2	Episode: "Sofia Lorez Part II"
2003	10-8: Officers on Duty	Raven	Episode: "Badlands"
2003	Cold Case	Drag Performer No. 2	Episode: "A Time to Hate"
2003	Just Shoot Me!	Robert 'Nina Man Horn'	Episode: "The Goodbye Girl"
2004	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Bartender	Episode: "Ch-Ch-Changes"
2004	Judging Amy	Velvet	Episode: "Order and Chaos"
2005	George Lopez	Deep Voice Singer	Episode: "George Buys a Vow"
2005	Eve	Rudy	Episode: "Moral Minority"
2005	Cuts	Peter	Episode: "Strictly Bizz-Nass"
2008	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Sparkle	Episode: "Happy Endings"
2009	Southland	Lacey	Episode: "See the Woman"
2011	One Night Stand Up	Herself	Episode: "Dragtastic NYC"
2011	Mike & Molly	Steven	Episode: "Joyce & Vince And Peaches & Herb"
2011	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Kelly	Episode: "Palestinian Chicken"
2012	Eagleheart	'Maph	Episode: "Little Dude"
2012	Rizzoli & Isles	Kitty	Episode: "Melt My Heart to Stone"
2012	The New Normal	Aubrey	Episode: "Pilot"
2014	RuPaul's Drag Race	Herself	Season 6; 13th/14th place (2 episodes)
	RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked		1 episode
2016	Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul		1 episode
	RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars		Episode: "Revenge of the Queens"
2018	Lucifer	Donovan McCann / Cher	Episode: "Let Pinhead Sing!"
2019	Modern Family	Drag Queen	Episode: "The Last Halloween"
2020–21	The Browns	Sheila	2 seasons

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2013	Love On-The-Line	Himself	Season 1, Episode 9: "The Meet-Cute Part II"
2020	Queen With a Cause	Herself	Episode: "Palm Oil"	[24]
2023	Bodyody of Work	Herself	Episode: "Kelly Mantle Breaks Down Her Acting Career"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre
1994	Eastern Standard[25]	Peter Kidde	Rupel Jones Theatre
1994	Red Scare on Sunset[26]	Malcolm	Sooner Theatre
1994	The Foreigner[27]	Ellard Simms	Rupel Jones Theatre
1994	Holdenville[28]		Rupel Jones Theatre
1995	The Nerd[29]	Willum Cubbert	Weitzenhoffer Theatre
1995	Lysistrata[30]		Weitzenhoffer Theatre
1996	The Convention[8]	Sammy Wilcox	The Comedy Asylum
1997	Royal Flush[9]	Camille	Athenaeum Theatre
1997	Lone Star/Laundry & Bourbon[11]	Ray/Hattie	OKRA Theatre
1998	Four Dogs and a Bone[31]	Victor	Cafe Voltaire
1998	Vampire Lesbians of Sodom[12]	Madeleine	Aaah! Capella Theatre Cafe
2004	Dear Bernard[32]	Jon Meshelle	Court Theatre
2006	Last Easter[33]	Gash	Laguna Playhouse
2007	All This, And Heaven Too[34]	Jo	Macha Theatre
2008	The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode[35]	Blair Warner	Macha Theatre
2010	The Confusion of My Illusion[36]	One-person show	Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center
2010	Love, Connie[37]	Bambi	Cavern Club
2011	Hollywood Dream Role[38]		ACME Comedy Theatre
2011	Charlie! The Death of Nancy Fullforce[35]	Kitty Glitter	Art/Works Theatre
2012	Valley of the Dolls[39]		Sacred Fools Theater Company

References

1. "Kelly Leroy Mantle". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
2. @thekellymantle (May 13, 2019). "She was always my biggest cheerleader. It's been exactly one month today, and I miss her more than words can say. But I know that her spirit & her love are with me everyday. Happy Mother's Day Linda Lea and to all the Moms with us and beyond, but never far away" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. Normal, Abby (December 29, 2013). "Kelly Mantle Stars on RuPaul's Drag Race". Yahoo! Voices. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
4. "Native American queens who rocked RuPaul's Drag Race". Drag Society. November 10, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
5. Bommer, Lawrence (May 25, 1998). "Mickey Mantle's Nephew Has 2 Gay-Themed Plays in Chicago". Playbill. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. Mantle, Kelly. "About". KellyMantle.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
7. "Kelly Mantle bio". KellyMantle.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
8. Smith, Sid (August 7, 1996). "Chaotic 'Convention' Hopelessly Dated, Unfunny". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
9. Smith, Sid (July 9, 1997). "'Royal' Struggles Under The Weight of Its Ideas". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
10. Deluxe, Bijoux. "Girltalk Magazine". KellyMantle.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
11. Bommer, Lawrence (August 15, 1997). "Oklahoma-texas Laugh Track". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
12. Rauzi, Robin (October 15, 1998). "Campy Neck-Biting: Physical comedy makes lesbian vampires' rivalry hilarious". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
13. Wadewitz, Mikel. "The Right Kind of Attention". Kelly Mantle website. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
14. Debonne, Greg (2007). "TheBarbarellatones". The Music Manor. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
15. Lecaro, Lina (May 2, 2011). "L.A.'s A Drag: The Reign of Raja, Tranzkuntinental (and Adam Lambert) On Stage and the Dance Floor". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
16. Horbelt, Stephan (October 13, 2011). "Scream Queens: Meet the Ghouls of Tranzkuntinental". Frontiers. Archived from the original on October 24, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
17. Spargo, Chris (November 21, 2012). "Tammie Brown's Holiday Show Is The Event of the Season". New Now Next. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
18. Tapley, Kristopher (December 9, 2016). "Gender-Fluid Actor Kelly Mantle Makes Oscar History". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
19. "Drag Duo Tammie Brown and Kelly Mantle Return for Second Season of 'The Browns'". TheHomoCulture. November 2, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
20. Scott, Kate (April 5, 2022). "Review: Trixie and Katya Go Above and Beyond at Auditorium Theatre". Third Coast Review. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
21. Beard, Lanford. "'RuPaul's Drag Race': Check out the sickening season 6 supertease and meet the queens – EXCLUSIVE VIDEO". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
22. "Last Words With RuPaul's Drag Race's Kelly Mantle". February 26, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
23. Joey Nolfi (October 29, 2021). "RuPaul's new Christmas movie unites the largest Drag Race cast in history". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
24. Rudolph, Christopher (September 2, 2020). "Tammie Brown Is a Kick-Ass Action Star in "Queen With a Cause"". NewNowNext. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
25. Brandenburg, John (February 25, 1994). "Comedy of Manners Provides Delights". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
26. Brandenburg, John (May 13, 1994). "Stone Soup's Blacklisting Era Satire Tries a Bit Too Hard". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
27. Brandenburg, John (July 7, 1993). "OU Comedy Rousing Melodrama". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
28. "OU's "Lysistrata" a Comic Treat". The Oklahoman. September 9, 1995. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
29. "The Nerd delivers guffaws, fun". The Oklahoma Daily. June 27, 1995. Retrieved October 29, 2013.^{[permanent dead link]}
30. "OU's "Lysistrata" a Comic Treat". The Oklahoman. April 7, 1995. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
31. Jones, Chris (January 20, 1998). "A Sardonic Look at Hollywood Culture". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
32. Shaner, Madeleine (July 21, 2004). "DEAR BERNARD". Backstage. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
33. Titus, Tom (April 28, 2006). "Comedy, heartache blend in 'Last Easter'". Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
34. Holder, Travis Michael (December 6, 2007). "ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO". Entertainment Today. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
35. "Kelly Mantle Theatre Credits and Profile". About the Artists. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
36. "Theater Reviews: The Confusion of My Illusion, The Psychic, Sweet Sue". LA Weekly. April 1, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
37. Morris, Steven Leigh (July 19, 2010). "Stage Raw: Procreation". LA Weekly. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
38. "ACME Comedy Hollywood :: HOLLYWOOD DREAM ROLE!". ACME Comedy Theatre. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
39. Gans, Andrew (September 17, 2012). "Casting Announced for Staged Reading of 'Valley of the Dolls'". Playbill. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Kelly Mantle at IMDb