‘Drag Race’ Star Laganja Estranja Comes Out As Trans

Yes, gawd! RuPaul’s Drag Race star Laganja Estranja is sharing her truth with the world about her gender identity.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly‘s Joey Nolfi, the drag entertainer, singer, dancer, and cannabis activist came out as a proud, transgender woman after a 10-year journey exploring her identity.

“There are so many other women around me who’ve inspired me to come forward today, and it’s because of their fight and their struggle that I’m able to really do this and say that I’m nervous, but I’m not scared,” she says. “I’m not going to live my life in fear anymore.”

The born-and-raised Texan goes on to say, after presenting as a female for the last 10 years as a drag performer, she eased into her identity while on the stage in a way that “made it more explainable to the masses.”

“I do want to be able to express this at all times,” she says. “I just got my hair cut a very feminine cut—and in one week already, my life has changed. I’m able to come off stage and take my makeup off and still see a beautiful woman in the mirror. It’s powerful.”

Honored to help Drag Race legend @LaganjaEstranja *actually* chassé her identity as a trans woman into the world????️‍⚧️

Show her all the love you can today:https://t.co/0Iu3rAEuTm pic.twitter.com/a2vWAtAmTA

— Joey Nolfi (@joeynolfi) June 15, 2021

Rising to prominence in 2014 as a contestant on the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Estranja was known for her epic Werk Room entrance, flamboyant personality, and catchy one-liners. She says she came out to her “incredibly supportive” family one week ago, but has been “comfortably, fully committing” to who she is as a trans woman among her inner circle for one year, after previously revealing her truth to friends on her birthday in 2020.

Estranja also spoke about her transition, stressing that it is import for her to highlight this part of her story. She deliberately came out to the public before beginning hormone therapy and emphasizes that no one’s transition is the same, that each transition is unique, and everyone deserves the space, time, and love to come out on their own terms.

“Glam doesn’t make you a woman,” she says. “It makes you a woman to people outside, in the world. Gender is performative, and what we wear is an extension of what we feel on the inside. That’s the real truth here: once this is out, and once people know, I’m going to be more free to explore what it means to be a woman on the inside. The dressing part? I’ve got it down, but that’s not what makes you a woman.”

Estranja now joins past Drag Race contestants like Gia Gunn, Gottmik, Peppermint, Kylie Sonique Love, Jiggly Caliente, Carmen Carrera, Honey Mahogany, among others, who have come out before, during, or after their time on the show.

OFM wishes Estranja the very best as she continues this journey.

Photos Courtesy of Social Media