Meet Drag Race's First Bearded Queen: Madame Madness

Drag Race is the ride that never ends — it goes on and on my friends. To wit, Drag Race Holland (the latest addition to the franchise) has its queens painted down and ready to go. And buried within the group of 10 performers, who were debuted to the show’s global audience this weekend, is a herstoric addition: a bearded queen.

“Now that’s some herstory-making scruff,” World of Wonder, the company that created RuPaul’s Drag Race, wrote to Instagram in introducing Madame Madness. When she walks through the Werk Room on September 18th, Madness will become the first bearded queen to do so. (Milk famously played with gender while on the show and wore a beard on the mainstage, but is not considered a bearded queen.)

While a lot of queens may put on drag for the first time for Halloween, Madness first started three years ago when she hosted a gender-bending party for her friends where everyone was expected to dress as the opposite gender.

“My friends loved it so much that I decided to continue exploring in drag,” the performer tells PRIDE. “That was the beginning of what Madame Madness is today.” At the time, the persona was a bit of a Madonna fantasy.

“That was soon over once I realized that I have to shave every time I wanted to play with makeup,” Madness says. The realization prompted them to think more about what they wanted their drag to be. The result took them back to that initial party and ideas around deconstructing what it means to be masculine or feminine.

“With my drag I hope to inspire young kids out there that you can just be yourself,” they say.  “No matter what.” And having appeared in an H&M campaign, a Phillips One Blade ad, and spoken at the Nike headquarters, they are in the prime position to do that. They’ve even founded the House of Madness, serving as an inspiration to their drag children. But don’t think they aren’t capable of whipping out the knife.

“Sometimes I have the crazy idea to shave it all off and work with a bare face for make up just for one or two looks I have in mind,” they say. “I would love the results but regret shaving the next day! It takes up to a full month to have a good beard again.”

Madame Madness will appear on the debut season of Drag Race Holland which premieres on September 18. The season will air on WOW Presents Plus. See all the queens here.