Biography

Sasha Velour is a gender-fluid drag queen, actor, television and theatre producer, and creative director, based in Brooklyn, NY.

Velour first came to international attention when she won the 9th season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". Velour's rose-petal-filled lip-sync to Whitney Houston's "So Emotional" at the finale of "RuPaul's Drag Race" became a cultural touchstone and was hailed as the "performance of the year" by the AV Club.

In 2020, Velour executive-produced and starred in an 8 episode docu-series adaptation of her long-running drag review, "NightGowns", for Quibi. The show was produced with the Academy Award-nominated producers at The Documentary Group. The show was renewed for a second season however Quibi ceased operations shortly after the announcement. In 2021, "NightGowns" won the Real Screen award for Short-Form Non-Fiction and was lauded as "among the most life-affirming shows you could find on any platform" by The New York Times. Velour has also appeared as herself on episodes of "The Bold Type" and "Broad City". Velour produced, wrote, co-directed, and starred in "Pirate Jenny" a short film based on the famous Threepenny Opera song (which featured a new translation from Velour).

In 2019, Velour debuted her first one-queen show, "Sasha Velour's Smoke & Mirrors", to critical acclaim. Hailed as "a spellbinding tour de force" (Forbes), the show features 13 lip-sync numbers, personal monologues, and Velour's signature innovative use of video projection. Over the course of the show's first year, it was seen by over 35,000 people in 30 cities across three continents, featuring sold out performances in New York, LA, London, San Francisco, Chicago, Auckland, Toronto, and more. A successful UK/EU tour of the show was cut short in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but will return with an expanded tour across the continent.

Through her namesake production company, House of Velour, Velour has directed, hosted, and produced a New York Fashion Week show, a NYC World Pride float, multiple magazine shoots (including multiple covers), and a 300 page art book about drag (Velour, The Drag Magazine [Collector's Edition]), and much more.

A former Fulbright scholar and drag-historian, Velour often speaks on LGBTQ+ issues and history. She has spoken at The Teen Vogue Summit and The Smithsonian's "The Long Conversation", as well as many colleges and universities. Velour has also spoken on behalf of the US State Department abroad. Her first book will be published by HMH in 2022.
- IMDb mini biography by: House of Velour