Trixie Mattel isn’t just one of the most beloved RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni; she’s also one of the most successful. This self-styled ‘skinny legend’ is a true modern multi-hyphenate who has her own YouTube channel, makes a web series with and without her Drag Race bestie Katya, and serves as a judge on the Queen of the Universe talent show. She is also an accomplished musician who has recorded everything from country and folk to alt-leaning power-pop. You may have heard her lovely cover of Lana Del Rey’s Video Games while ordering a latte.
She also runs her own motel – the stunning Trixie Motel in Palm Springs, California – and co-owns This Is It!, the oldest LGBTQ+ venue in her home state of Wisconsin. And thanks to her Trixie Cosmetics line, she can put ‘make-up mogul’ on her CV, too. “You know, I spent five years working on a make-up counter watching people shop for make-up, which really helped me understand how to create my own beauty line,” she says.
With all this going on, does Trixie even have time to answer 50 questions? She's a boss, so she makes time – and she answers them all with her trademark wit and self-awareness.
1. Where are you right now? At my house in Los Angeles.
2. What are your plans for after this interview? I’m gonna run six miles, then do some recording. My friend Sia said I can use the vocal booth at her house. I feel like Sia is basically a drag queen herself.
3. What makes your new Camp Trixie collection stand out? It’s such a fun collection. I mean, I’m literally standing there in a scout outfit.
4. What is Trixie Cosmetics’ USP? We can take big swings that other make-up brands might find too crazy. Like, we have a Plant Gay collection which is inspired by gay people growing plants.
5. Of all the people you knew growing up, who had the most beautiful make-up? My great-aunt Diane wore a full-coverage foundation that made her look doll-like and blue shimmer eyeshadow painted on like a garage door. I remember thinking she must be beautiful because she wore so much make-up.
6. Whose make-up do you most admire now? Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Dear Deere both have incredible artistry – as does my OG bestie Kim Chi. You can always tell a Kim look from the shapes, colours and textures, but the inspiration is different every time.
7. What occupation do you put on your passport? Performer.
8. What’s on your rider? Adequate lighting and a secure dressing room. Plus raw almonds, Hi-Chew candy and my favourite Smartfood white cheddar popcorn that’s only 70 calories a bag. And I love a cherry bubly.
9. On a scale of one to ten, how much did you enjoy the Barbie movie? Five or six. For me, it kind of read as a kids’ movie, and I’m not crazy about kids’ movies.
10. Who is your favourite Barbie? 1962 Fashion Queen Barbie, who came in a gold and white swimsuit, or 1971 Malibu Barbie, who is also really timeless.
What advice would you give to your younger self? “God, this is so RuPaul, but your fear of looking stupid is holding you back” – Trixie Mattel
11. What did you learn growing up in Wisconsin? I hate to reverse your question, but the older I get, the more I realise what I didn’t learn. I missed a lot of formative experiences by having no neighbours and growing up in the deep, deep country.
12. What did you learn on RuPaul’s Drag Race? How much my success or failure has to do with how much I believe in myself.
13. What have you learned from running a motel? It comes with all the craziness of running a gay bar – but people don’t go home at the end of the night.
14. Do you consider yourself a private person? Yes. There’s no shortage of content about me, but it’s always on my terms. There are definitely still things in my life that no one knows about.
15. Do you believe in God? No. I think seeing life as a waiting room for something better is really not being grateful for what you have.
16. Do you believe in the concept of a guilty pleasure? Your relationship with what you like is yours alone, and some people definitely feel bad about what they like. But personally, I am proud of everything I like.
17. Do you believe in love at first sight? No. I believe real romance is choosing to be with someone. That’s why breaking up is so sad – because it happens when you stop believing the good outweighs the bad.
18. What was your first job? Scooping ice cream at a restaurant when I was 13.
19. What is the nicest compliment you have ever received? When people say, “I actually think you’re really funny,” like they’re surprised. It’s kind of a backhanded compliment, but I think it’s the realest compliment.
20. What is your finest accomplishment? Nobody has a cooler motel than me. It looks the best and has the best pool, drinks, service, food, everything.
21. What advice would you give to your younger self? God, this is so RuPaul, but your fear of looking stupid is holding you back.
22. When did you last change your mind? Yesterday when I was at my YouTube studio making video content. I was going to call it a day, but then I thought, “You know what, I still have gas in the tank so let’s power through.”
23. Do you go clubbing for fun? I have to be in the mood, but a few times a year I go to Hot Dog Sundays at El Cid in LA.
24. How late do you stay out? I don’t really drink now, so my tolerance for loud drunk people is really small. When everyone starts getting really drunk, I’m like, “This was fun, guys, but I’m heading home.”
25. How does one become a Skinny Legend? It’s more mental, right? I’m not that skinny and I’m not a legend. Calling myself a ‘skinny legend’ was a way of taking pressure off myself and reminding myself that drag is not that serious.
26. What do you love about running? It’s the only thing I do that isn’t for money or for the audience. Last year I ran over a thousand miles and honestly, no one cares.
27. What is your favourite the B-52’s song? Girl, something about Private Idaho will never not get me going. The opening vocal riff is “Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo, hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo” – that’s magic.
28. What is the song of the summer? Dance the Night by Dula Peep.
29. What songs will we hear in a Trixie Mattel DJ set? A lot of disco, though they go nuts when I play Barbie Girl. I definitely owe Aqua a lot of money.
30. What made you cover Vacation by The Go-Go’s? They’re one of my all-time favourite bands. They have a way of writing sweet, sugary California music with lyrical content that is actually pretty sad.
What is the purpose of drag? “I think of it primarily as a protest” – Trixie Mattel
31. What makes Dolly Parton, Dolly Parton? On a base level, she’s a songwriter. Then on the next level, she’s a singer, then a comedian, then a visual artist. What makes her universally appealing is the fact she has something for everyone.
32. Should you meet your heroes? You know, there’s some you don’t want to. I recently went to see Blondie in LA and my good friend Darian Darling is a good friend of Debbie Harry’s. He was like, “Do you want to come hang with Debbie after?” and I was like, “I just can’t handle it.” The idea of meeting someone I love still really scares me.
33. Who else would be scary to meet? Amanda Lepore and Dolly Parton. And RuPaul still really scares me.
34. What gets you up in the morning? David.
35. What makes you excited? Drag. We had Mistress Isabelle Brooks on my YouTube channel the other day, and I got so excited watching her put her eyeshadow on that I thought I was going to scream.
36. What is your most prized possession? A Gibson Doves in Flight guitar. I self-released my first album Two Birds – it was all very bootleg. And I said to myself that if I made the money back, I would treat myself to this beautiful limited edition electric guitar.
37. When do you feel most beautiful? In drag I feel untouchable. When I look in the mirror and see myself, I’m like, “That's why you’re Trixie Mattel – you’re fucking cool-looking.”
38. What do you do to unwind? Honestly, I try to value my nights and weekends. If I have a DJ gig at 1am now, I’m like, oh my god, my body is not used to this!
39. What do you and Katya talk about when there’s no one else around? Things we don’t want to talk about on camera like plastic surgery, money and sexual experiences. You know, we really respect our friends and the people we sleep with, so we never say anything on camera that could be a violation of privacy.
40. What one make-up product can’t you live without? Out of drag I love Anastasia Beverly Hills brow gels. They make one in chocolate that’s perfect for me because I love having nice full brows, but naturally I have rather fine brow hair.
41. What do you spend your money on? Everything I’ve done with my money is invest. I have four houses, my make-up company, my motel and my bar in Milwaukee.
42. How would you describe ‘camp’ to an alien that just landed on Earth? Camp is knowing and camp is calculated. Camp is swinging big and camp takes itself deadly seriously. If a party prompt says ‘dress camp’ and you just go out and buy a clown wig, you might think that’s enough for people, but I don’t think it is. Camp is about heightened choices rooted in something real.
43. What gay thing can straight people never fully understand? Honestly, that moment in elementary school when you go to bed every night afraid you won’t grow out of being gay. They won’t ever understand the way that fear occupies, like, ten per cent of your brain at all times.
44. Can you ever get over that gay shame, or is it an ongoing process? I mean, I still have hang-ups about it. It’s hard for men to see me as male, I think. And drag sometimes makes it hard for me to feel that way, too.
45. What is the purpose of drag? I think of it primarily as a protest. What appealed to me in the beginning was that it went against all my instincts to hide the ‘gay’ and ‘girly’ parts of myself – the parts that loved Barbie and the colour pink. When I discovered drag, it was like a big door opening. I realised you could be a man and still like what is traditionally called ‘girly stuff’.
46. What is the enemy of drag? Ultimately, it’s drag becoming so self-referential that instead of being punk rock and special it becomes a remix of a remix of a remix. You know what I mean?
47. What is the weirdest thing you have read or heard about yourself? People think I’m rich – like, RuPaul rich. Even RuPaul thinks I’m rich. Good on them for thinking that!
48. Where is the most unexpected place you have heard your music? Starbucks or Urban Outfitters. I hear my version of Video Games a lot because stores love a cover version.
49. What is your favourite cover to have recorded? Well, Orville Peck said his favourite is my cover of Cher’s Believe, because it made him realise that the lyrics are actually so sad.
50. Finally, did you enjoy this interview? I did, I love being interviewed. Everybody who knows me hates hearing me speak because I never stop talking.
The Camp Trixie collection is available now at Trixie Cosmetics.
