Editing RuPaul (section)

=== 1980–1995: Beginnings and ''Supermodel of the World'' ===
RuPaul struggled as a musician and filmmaker during the 1980s, working at Atlanta's [[Plaza Theatre (Atlanta)|Plaza Theatre]]. In 1982, he debuted on an Atlanta [[Public-access television|public access]] variety show called ''[[The American Music Show]]'', and went on to appear on the show frequently.<ref name="Autobiography" />{{rp|59}}<ref>{{cite web |date=May 17, 2013 |title=American Music Show (Television show) video recordings, 1981–2005 |url=https://findingaids.library.emory.edu/documents/americanmusicshow1256/ |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616223150/https://findingaids.library.emory.edu/documents/americanmusicshow1256/ |archive-date=June 16, 2013 |access-date=December 11, 2018 |website=[[Emory University#Library system|Emory University Library]]}}</ref> He also took part in [[underground cinema]], helping create the low-budget film ''[[RuPaul Is: Starbooty!|Star Booty]]'' and an album of the same name. In Atlanta he often performed at the Celebrity Club, managed by [[Larry Tee]], as a bar dancer or with his band, Wee Wee Pole.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2871900054.html |title=Rupaul 1960– |publisher=Encyclopedia.com ([[Thomson Gale]]) |first=Ellen Dennis |last=French |year=2005 |access-date=April 24, 2012 |archive-date=January 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130123123203/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/RuPaul.aspx%231-1G2:2871900054-full |url-status=bot: unknown }} Additional [https://web.archive.org/web/20170429084235/http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/rupaul WebCitation archive] on March 10, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Warren |first1=Robert Burke |title=Southern Belles, Latchkey Kids and Thrift-Store Crossdressers |url=http://bittersoutherner.com/southern-belles-latchkey-kids-and-thrift-store-crossdressers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623215100/http://bittersoutherner.com/southern-belles-latchkey-kids-and-thrift-store-crossdressers/#.WMLqGBIrIcg |archive-date=June 23, 2016 |access-date=December 6, 2013 |publisher=[[The Bitter Southerner]]}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/8qHKpF3dYv0 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200503220337/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qHKpF3dYv0&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |last=Nelson|first=Sullivan|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qHKpF3dYv0&t=6m15s |title=Going to Red Zone |date=September 13, 2011 |via=YouTube |quote=RuPaul, Lahoma and Larry Tee went to Red Zone to perform their disco act La Palace de Beaute. This video includes fabulous backup dancing by RuPaul and Lahoma.}}{{cbignore}}</ref> RuPaul also performed as a backup singer to [[Glen Meadmore]] along with drag queen [[Vaginal Davis]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Kot|first=Greg|title=What a Drag |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/09/01/what-a-drag-3/|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=March 12, 2013|date=September 1, 1995| archive-date= April 24, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160424161541/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-09-01/entertainment/9509010298_1_new-york-dolls-angela-davis-glam| url-status=live}}</ref> His first prominent national exposure came in 1989, when he danced as an [[Extra (acting)|extra]] in the video for [[The B-52s]]' "[[Love Shack]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/the-b-52s-fred-schneider-on-rupauls-pre-fame-love-shack-cameo-he-got-the-line-dance-going-204218086.html|title=The B-52's' Fred Schneider on RuPaul's Pre-Fame 'Love Shack' Cameo: 'He Got the Line-Dance Going!'|date=March 31, 2017|access-date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=November 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110113929/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/the-b-52s-fred-schneider-on-rupauls-pre-fame-love-shack-cameo-he-got-the-line-dance-going-204218086.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the early 1990s, RuPaul worked the Georgia club scene and was known by his full birth name. Initially participating in [[gender bender]]-style performances, he performed solo and in collaboration with other bands at several New York City nightclubs, most notably the [[Pyramid Club (New York)|Pyramid Club]].<ref>Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.) "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 59, 152 & 175</ref> He played opposite New York City drag performer [[Mona Foot]] (Nashom Benjamin) in the one-act science-fiction parody "My Pet Homo", written and directed by Jon Michael Johnson for Cooper Square Productions. He performed for many years at the annual [[Wigstock]] [[Drag (clothing)|drag]] festival and appeared in the documentary ''[[Wigstock: The Movie]]''. In the 1990s, RuPaul appeared on the UK [[Channel 4]] series ''Manhattan Cable'', a weekly series produced by [[World of Wonder (production company)|World of Wonder]] and presented by American Laurie Pike about New York's [[public-access television]] system.

In 1993, RuPaul recorded the dance/[[house music|house]] album ''[[Supermodel of the World]]''. It was released through the rap label [[Tommy Boy Entertainment|Tommy Boy]], spawning the dance track hit "[[Supermodel (You Better Work)]]". The song peaked at 45 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. It charted on the [[UK Singles Chart]], peaking on the top 40 at 39. The song found the most success on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Dance Music/Club Play]] chart, where it peaked at 2. Radio airplay, heavy rotation of the music video on [[MTV]], and television appearances on popular programs like ''[[The Arsenio Hall Show]]'' popularized the song. His next two singles/videos, "[[Back to My Roots]]" and "[[A Shade Shady (Now Prance)]]", both went to the top spot on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. His following release "[[House of Love (RuPaul song)|House of Love]]" failed to place on any U.S. charts but peaked at 68 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. In 1994, he released "[[Don't Go Breaking My Heart#Elton John and RuPaul version|Don't Go Breaking My Heart]]", a duet with Elton John.<ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Elton John – Duets |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/duets-mw0000107584 |access-date=18 February 2020 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

RuPaul was signed to a modeling contract for [[MAC Cosmetics]]. Various billboards featured him in full drag, often with the text "I am the MAC girl". He also released his autobiography, ''[[Lettin' It All Hang Out]]''. He promoted the book in part with a 1995 guest appearance on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[All My Children]]'', in a storyline that put it on the set of [[Erica Kane]]'s talk show "The Cutting Edge". The same year, he was featured in his first of two appearances in the [[The Brady Bunch Movie|''Brady Bunch'' movies]], in which he played Jan's female guidance counselor.