Darienne Lake
American drag queen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greg Meyer (born November 27, 1971), better known by the stage name Darienne Lake, is a drag queen and television personality. Lake began performing in drag in 1990 in Rochester, New York before rising to prominence after competing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing fourth. After appearing on the reality television show, Darienne Lake toured internationally, released a comedy album, and performed in film, television, and numerous web series.
November 27, 1971
Darienne Lake | |
|---|---|
Lake at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2022 | |
| Born | Greg Meyer November 27, 1971 Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations | Drag queen, television personality |
| Years active | 1990–present |
Early life
Lake was born on Long Island, New York and moved to Rochester at age eleven.[1] As a middle child of five, she felt ignored growing up.[2] At age eighteen, her mother kicked her out of her home due to her sexual orientation; her mother has since apologized.[3]
Career
Early work
Lake’s drag career began in Rochester, New York following her first year of college in 1990.[1] She was inspired by a drag queen’s performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a local production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.[4] When her friends put her up in drag, they said she resembled Ricki Lake in Hairspray (1988); the stage name Darienne Lake is an homage to her as well as to the Six Flags Darien Lake amusement park.[4] Lake later appeared on a 1997 episode of The Ricki Lake Show about plus-sized drag queens.[5][6] Lake's drag mother, Naomi Kane, was also the drag mother of Mrs. Kasha Davis.[7]
Since the 1990s, Lake has been active in the New York drag community and has performed across the United States and internationally.[4][8] Lake held the title of Miss Gay Rochester in 1998–1999.[9][10]
In 2003, she appeared in a VH1 documentary about drag titled Boys Will Be Girls, alongside her drag daughter Pandora Boxx, who went on to become a contestant on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race as well as the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[4][8]
Drag Race
Lake rose to international prominence after winning the fan vote to appear on the sixth season of Drag Race. During the series, Lake won a main challenge (episode three) and ultimately finished the competition in fourth place behind Adore Delano, Courtney Act, and eventual winner Bianca Del Rio.[4]
In 2018, Lake appeared in Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate.[11]
Lake has been praised for her lip syncing skills, having survived three lip syncs for your life on Drag Race.[12][13] IndieWire wrote that Lake "lip syncs like the rent is due".[12] Vulture ranked Lake as one of the top 100 most powerful drag queens in America in 2019.[14]
Darienne Lake competed on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2023).[15] She ultimately finished the competition in ninth place.
Personal life
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Altered Boy[17] |
|
Singles
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Shade: The Rusical" (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race, season 6) |
2014 | Shade: The Rusical Album[18] |
| "Oh No, She Betta Don't! (Team Panty Ho's)" (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race, season 6) |
2014 | Non-album single |
| "Money, Success, Fame, Glamour" (Glam Rock version) (with the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, season 8) |
2023 | Non-album single |
Other appearances
| Song | Year | Other Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Lick It Lollipop" | 2014 | RuPaul | RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz[21] |
| "Christmas is Coming" | 2015 | Ivy Winters & Pandora Boxx | Christmas Queens[22] |
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Boys Will Be Girls | Herself | |
| 2008 | Mrs. Kasha Davis: The Life of an International Housewife Celebrity | Gladys Butts | Short film, credited as Greg Mayer |
| 2015 | This is Drag | Herself | |
| 2018 | Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate | Gorky Park |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Ricki Lake | Herself | Episode: "Get a Grip Doll... You're Too Fat to Be a Drag Queen" |
| 2014 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Season 6, Contestant; 4th place | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked! | |||
| 2018 | Hey Qween! | ||
| 2023 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Contestant;[23] 9th place | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked | |||
| Drag Me to Dinner | Hulu original reality series[24] |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Meet the Queens | Herself | Stand-alone special RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 |
[25] |
| EW News Flash | Guest | [26] | ||
| BuzzFeed Celeb | [27] | |||
| Give It To Me Straight | [28] | |||
| Very Delta | [29] | |||
| 2024 | House of Laughs | WOWPresents Plus original | [30] |
