Trixie Mattel

Brian Michael Firkus was born on August 23, 1989, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in Silver Cliff, Wisconsin.[9][10][11][12] He is Ojibwe and comes from a Native American family in Crivitz, Wisconsin.[13][14] He had an abusive stepfather who would call him a "Trixie" when he acted feminine, which later inspired his drag name. Her last name was inspired by her affinity for the Barbie doll and toy company Mattel.[14] Before deciding on "Trixie Mattel" as his drag name, he originally considered the name Cupcake.[15] He moved in with his grandparents at age 15.[16][17] His grandfather was a country musician who taught him how to play the guitar.[18]

After graduating from high school, Firkus studied at the Peck School of the Arts in the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where he received a BFA in musical theatre and was introduced to drag while performing in a production of The Rocky Horror Show at the Oriental Theatre.[17][19] He first performed in drag at LaCage NiteClub in Milwaukee, becoming a regular performer in Milwaukee's drag scene.[20] He would perform with fellow drag queens Kim Chi and Shea Couleé in Milwaukee,[21][22] and would also occasionally perform in Chicago.[23] He attended beauty school in 2014 before withdrawing to participate in RuPaul's Drag Race.[23] Outside of drag, he worked in cosmetics at the time, freelancing at Sephora and working at Ulta and MAC.[24]

Mattel first gained widespread attention as a competitor in Season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race, in 2015. She was first eliminated in episode four and later reentered the competition in episode eight by winning the "Conjoined Twins" challenge with Pearl Liaison. Mattel was once again eliminated in episode 10,[25] placing sixth overall and becoming the first queen to last more than one episode after returning to the competition.[25] After her run on the show, Mattel performed her stand-up comedy tour Ages 3 and Up from 2015 to 2017.[26]

Trixie and Katya's High School Reunion in November 2017

In October 2015, Mattel guest-starred in a special edition of WOWPresents' Fashion Photo Review[27] with fellow season seven contestant Katya Zamolodchikova. World of Wonder later launched UNHhhh, a comedy web series featuring the duo. The series became one of the most successful shows on the WOW Presents YouTube channel and earned them their first Streamy Award nomination for Show of the Year at the 7th Streamy Awards.[28] In November 2016, Mattel had a guest appearance as herself on American Horror Story: Roanoke. Mattel self-released her debut studio album Two Birds on May 2, 2017.[29] The album debuted at number two on the Heatseekers Albums chart, number six on the Independent Albums chart, and number 16 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart.[30][31][32] In December 2017, Mattel released Homemade Christmas, an EP of three recorded Christmas songs that featured Zamolodchikova.[33][34]

In October 2017, it was announced that UNHhhh would come to an end after its second season. Shortly after, a television spin-off of UNHhhh for Viceland called The Trixie and Katya Show premiered. The show ran until March 2018. Midway through the season, Zamolodchikova suffered a mental health crisis triggered by a relapse into addiction, which caused her to be replaced by Bob the Drag Queen for the remainder of the season.[35][36] Mattel and Zamolodchikova later reunited in October 2018 for a third season of UNHhhh.

In November 2017, Mattel and Zamolodchikova starred in a drag stage adaptation of the 1997 cult film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, entitled Trixie and Katya's High School Reunion.[37][38] Also in November 2017, Mattel produced a video for GQ Magazine Trixie Mattel Makes a PB&J (and More Importantly, a Cocktail),[39] earning a nomination from the James Beard Foundation Awards in the humor category.[40]

Mattel later returned to the Drag Race franchise for the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, which started airing on January 25, 2018. On March 15, 2018, her fellow competitors voted for her to advance to the final two, where she ultimately won against runner-up Kennedy Davenport in the final lipsync battle.[41][42] In December 2018, she competed on the television special RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular and won in a tie with the other competitors.[43][44]

On February 3, 2018, Mattel released an acoustic version of her song "Moving Parts", which is also the name of her documentary, as a tease for her upcoming album. It became her first charting single, peaking at number 83 on the Scottish Single Chart.[45] She dropped her second studio album, One Stone, on March 15, 2018, the same night as the All Stars finale.[46] The album peaked at number 16 on the Folk Albums chart, number ten on the Independent albums chart, and number one on the Heatseekers chart, becoming Mattel's first album to reach the top spot on a Billboard chart.[31][30][32]

Trixie Mattel – Moving Parts Documentary

In April 2018, she launched her new comedy world tour Now with Moving Parts, followed by the Super Bowl Cut tour later that same year.[47] A documentary film titled Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2019, and screened until May 2019. It documents Mattel as she embarks on her "Moving Parts" tour following her All Stars win, as well as her personal struggles.[48] The documentary was made available on Video On Demand platforms on December 3, 2019. An accompanying acoustic soundtrack was released later in December.[49] Mattel's first comedy special, Trixie Mattel: Skinny Legend, aired on OutTV in Canada on September 26, 2019.[50]

In a September 2018 interview with Billboard, she announced that she was working on her third studio album, Barbara, featuring an "electro-folk" sound.[51] "Yellow Cloud" was released as the first single from the album on May 17, 2019, though it did not make the final cut. "Malibu" was released as the official first single on January 24, 2020, and the album was released a week later through Producer Entertainment Group and ATO Records.[52] The album later received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Best Breakthrough artist.

In January 2019, Mattel and Zamolodchikova launched the fourth season of UNHhhh. In June 2019, Mattel was one of 37 drag queens featured on the cover of New York magazine. The magazine ranked the 100 most powerful drag queens in America and placed Mattel at number 4.[53]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, filming of the fifth season of UNHhhh was put on hold. In its place, Mattel and Zamolodchikova launched Trixie and Katya Save the World, a spin-off filmed from their homes. Mattel also took the time to start building her YouTube channel, which previously featured make-up tutorials and music videos, and expanded to include content reflecting her pastime as a toy collector, with videos reviewing new Barbie collections, talking about doll history, or baking with Easy Bake Ovens.[54] Mattel and Zamolodchikova resumed filming the fifth season of UNHhhh later in 2020 and launched their podcast The Bald and the Beautiful.[55] On July 14, 2020, Mattel and Zamolodchikova released Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood, an affectionate parody of women's self-help books. The book was a New York Times best-seller.[56]

In September 2020, Mattel released a cover of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games", which charted at number 66 on the Scottish singles chart and number 89 on the UK Downloads chart. In December 2020, it was announced that Mattel and Zamolodchikova would co-host the 10th Streamy Awards in Los Angeles. In the same ceremony, the duo was nominated for Show of the Year and Unscripted Series for UNHhhh, winning the latter category.[57][58]

In February 2021, Mattel released a cover of the Violent Femmes track "Blister in The Sun", and announced the EP Full Coverage, Vol. 1, which included the two aforementioned singles, as well as a cover of "Jackson" with Orville Peck. The EP was released on April 30, 2021.[59] In May 2021, it was announced that Mattel would star in Trixie Motel, a reality series on Discovery+ that would follow Mattel's efforts to renovate an old motel in Palm Springs.[60][61] In mid 2021 it was hinted, then formally announced on July 1, 2021, that Mattel will co-star in a dating show with Zamolodchikova, to help her find a partner.[62]

In August 2021, Mattel and Zamolodchikova launched a newsletter, including light-hearted advice, Gooped.[63] In November 2021, Mattel announced "The Trixie Doll", a collectible fashion doll in her likeness, in collaboration with Integrity Toys.[64]

In December 2021, the drag queen singing competition Queen of the Universe premiered, featuring Mattel as one of the four judges. The second and final season, which premiered in June 2023, also featured Mattel on the judging panel.[65] On November 12, 2021, Mattel released the single "Hello Hello" which is loosely inspired by 60s power pop. The music video was choreographed by fellow drag race alumna Laganja Estranja.[66] Joseph Longo of Them said: "With “Hello Hello,” Mattel makes her case for pop star status — elaborate choreography, suave backup dancers, expressive makeup, and a sparkly mini-dress."[67] The single "This Town" featuring Shakey Graves followed on January 28, 2022, along with the announcement of her fourth studio album, a double album called The Blonde & Pink Albums. The third single "C'mon, Loretta" was released on April 15, 2022, with the full 14-track album following in June 2022.[68]

In fall 2021 Trixie Mattel began renovating a motel in Palm Springs with her partner David Silver. The renovation process was documented in the Discovery+ limited series Trixie Motel, which premiered on June 3, 2022.[69]

On April 8, 2022, it was announced that Trixie and Katya's second book, Working Girls: Trixie & Katya's Guide to Professional Womanhood will be released on October 25, 2022. The book will include "advice for people entering the modern workplace, including satirical tips for choosing a career path, navigating the 'Nine Circles of Retail Hell,' corporate culture, grappling with suspicions that your colleague 'doesn't really hope their emails finds you well,' and the inevitable sailing into one's retiree era." as well as quizzes and an aptitude test.[70][71]

In 2023, Mattel announced partnerships with Etsy, Maybelline, LinkedIn and The Sims.[72][73][74][75]

Mattel was featured on the cover of the June 2023 edition of Los Angeles magazine.[76]

On May 1, 2019, Mattel announced that she would be releasing her make-up brand, Trixie Cosmetics, later that month and it would be available at RuPaul's DragCon LA on May 24, 2019.[77] Mattel had previously dipped into the makeup industry with her Oh Honey! collaboration with independent makeup brand Sugarpill Cosmetics in 2018.[78]

In 2020, Trixie Cosmetics launched a collaboration collection with Zamolodchikova called "Red Scare".[55] The brand has also released collaboration collections with Juno Birch[79] and Laganja Estranja.[80]

In February 2021, Mattel announced that she had become co-owner of Wisconsin's oldest LGBTQ+ bar, This Is It!, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[81]

Mattel and her partner David Silver bought a motel in Palm Springs, California, originally named the Coral Sands Inn for $1.9 million. She had planned to transform it into an AirBnB to rent out, but changed her mind after viewing the property, and decided to renovate the motel to reflect the aesthetics of her drag persona, enlisting designer Dani Dazey to collaborate on the project. The renovation process was the subject of the Discovery+ original docuseries Trixie Motel, which aired in 2022.[82]