RuPaul’s Drag Race is a massive mainstream launching platform for drag queens. Since the show began in 2009, it has propelled many drag queens to superstardom, turning them into beloved celebrities and household names. However, one former Drag Race contestant has carved out a fascinating career for themselves post-Drag Race, as they’ve become RuPaul’s personal makeup artist.
Which Drag Race star is RuPaul’s makeup artist?
David Petruschin, most known to Drag Race fans as Raven, is RuPaul’s personal makeup artist. Raven competed in the second season of Drag Race and came in second place, narrowly losing to Tyra Sanchez.
They would return to the show for the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, where they would again come in second place, losing out to season 4 runner-up Chad Michaels. Raven has also been featured in several other RuPaul projects, acting as an instructor on RuPaul’s Drag U and as a co-host on RuPaul’s Drag Race Fashion Photo RuView.
Raven has also made guest appearances in other Drag Race shows. They have appeared in seasons three, four, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen of Drag Race, seasons two and seven of Drag Race All-Stars, all four seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and on both seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. Meaning that Drag Race fans are deeply familiar with this legendary queen.
How did Raven become RuPaul’s makeup artist?
In an interview with Variety, David Petruschin discussed how he went from a contestant to RuPaul’s employee. He said:
“In 2016, I was asked to come and do Ru’s makeup. Up until then, I had only seen RuPaul in drag when the whole monster was done. I never thought I would see the inner workings. I remember saying no [at first, but] I thought about it and here we are, five years later. We’ve done the U.K, “Saturday Night Live” and all these different things. It’s a crazy thing to wrap your head around when you are responsible for getting the queen of drag into drag.”
Since getting the role, David Petruschin has received loads of praise and acclaim for their makeup work. They have been nominated for Best Contemporary Makeup in Television and New Media Series at the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards in 2018 and 2022. On top of this, Petruschin has also been nominated for Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special and Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program at the Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2020, they won a Primetime Emmy in this category for their work on Season 12 of Drag Race.