While drag transformations have been around since Shakespearean times, this past decade has seen the art of drag pushed to the forefront of pop culture. Today, thanks to the popular VH1 TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, young men who impersonate women on stage have the opportunity to gain large followings across social media platforms, sign modeling contracts, and even record their own music professionally.

At Bright Side we found ourselves in awe of these masters of disguise and wanted to share some of the more incredible drag queen transformations that we’ve come across on social media.

1. Kameron Michaels

Widely known as the Bodybuilder Barbie of drag, Kameron Michaels proves that it’s possible to look soft and feminine with a chiseled torso. Despite looking great in and out of drag, this queen is shy and a withdrawn person who prefers to let their true personality shine during stage performances.

2. Phi Phi O’Hara

Phi Phi O’Hara is a self-proclaimed geek and lover of sci-fi, anime, and comic books. In 2016, the 32-year-old performer started a successful Instagram campaign called “365 Days of Drag,” where every day for 365 days, the queen posted cosplay transformation looks of cartoon characters and geek culture icons.

3. Blair St. Clair

23-year-old Blair St. Clair has been known to shock people with his youthful male appearance. In fact, boy Blair doesn’t look a day older than 15. It is only after hours of makeup, wig styling, and meticulous outfit selection that the glamorous queen Blair St. Clair emerges to take center stage and steal our hearts.

4. Miss Fame

Today Miss Fame is well known in the beauty industry as a professional model and makeup guru to celebrities. After a successful run on Drag Race, this talented transformer has gone on to have photographs featured in editorials of world-renowned publications such as Vogue and Elle.

5. Courtney Act

Courtney Act was the first drag contestant on Australian Idol 2003 and won Celebrity Big Brother UK earlier this year. This star’s transformation is so incredible that Courtney once made the list of FHM’s World’s Top 100 Sexiest Women despite not actually being a woman.

6. Shea Couleé

The stage name Shea means “beautiful boy” in Swahili, but that’s not all this performer brings to the stage. As the evident frontrunner on her season of Drag Race, Shea Couleé repeatedly served gorgeous looks, made us laugh, and owned the stage like a true queen.

7. Pearl Liaison

This Brooklyn queen’s true passion is music. Pearl started their career as a DJ by releasing an electronic music album in 2015, while also dabbling in some side modeling jobs and Youtube makeup tutorials. In fact, we’re going to steal a makeup tip or 2, because that kitten look is surreal!

8. Jujubee

Jujubee is a seasoned performer and stunning Asian drag queen who manages to transform while still retaining key features of their boy-self. When asked to describe his drag persona, Jujubee said, “I feel like I’m a superhero diva and my power is glitter.”

9. Latrice Royale

Chunky yet funky, large and in charge, it’s Latrice Royale! During this 46-year-old’s run on Rupaul’s Drag Race, Latrice showed that you don’t need to be thin to love yourself, to transform into an elegant lady, and to slay a stage performance.

10. Manila Luzon

This Filipino-American drag queen is well known for their bright, colorful, ultra-feminine transformations. What’s most impressive is the fact that the 36-year-old mostly designs costumes themselves, sometimes collaborating with designers like Project Runway’s Marco Marco.

11. Roxxxy Andrews

Roxxxy Andrews is a glamorous drag queen, who truly surprised us with their male appearance. While male Roxxxy often posts pictures and videos from the gym, their drag persona is openly proud of being “thick and juicy.”

12. Kim Chi

Kim Chi started their drag career on Instagram, where the Korean queen gained wide recognition for posting incredible makeup looks. Since then, 30-year-old Kim has posted a lot more than just face selfies, with a number of stunning Asian-inspired head-to-toe looks such as this unicorn one.

13. Farrah Moan

Farrah first gained internet recognition by posting photos on MySpace. Back then, they were known by the alias Cameron Clayton, a popular “scene kid” on social media. After transforming yet again, Farrah is now best known for her spot-on Christina Aguilera impersonations.

14. RuPaul Charles

Of course, this article would not be complete without mentioning RuPaul! The world’s superstar first became a household name after releasing the hit “Supermodel of the World” back in 1993. Since then, Rupaul has played a key role in making the drag scene part of mainstream pop culture.

What do you think of all these drag queen transformations? Let us know in the comments below.

Preview photo credit kameronmichaels / instagram