Laila McQueen

Laila McQueen
Laila McQueen at RuPaul's DragCon LA, 2022
Born
Tyler Devlin

(1993-06-22) June 22, 1993 (age 31)
Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Occupations
Years active2016–present
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race (season 8)

Laila McQueen is the stage name of Tyler Devlin, a drag performer and make-up artist based in Gloucester, Massachusetts.[1] McQueen competed on season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2016.[2] She has won a Primetime Emmy Award as a make-up artist for the HBO reality series We're Here.[3]

Early life

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Devlin was born in New Hampshire to Cathy and Michael Devlin,[4] and raised in Manchester. She moved to Gloucester as a teenager. McQueen was artistic in school, which led to bullying from her peers.[5] She started cross dressing in high school at age 15 to ignore the bullying and to showcase her creative outlet before doing drag as a career at 18.[1][6][5] She graduated from Gloucester High School in 2011.[6]

When asked about describing her drag, McQueen said "I'm an idiot, I'm such an idiot. I just like to have fun and for other people to have fun, too. I started doing drag from a negative place to replace those feelings. I've always wanted to be a rock star and this is my way to express that, and I'm an artist above all else. Drag gave me an extension to capture those dreams you didn't think would happen, and I've gotten a lot of things I never thought I'd be able to."[1]

Laila graduated from New Hampshire Institute of Art in 2015,[7] before she moved back to Gloucester.[8]

Career

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Laila McQueen (right) at RuPaul's DragCon NYC, 2017

In 2016, McQueen was cast for season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race. On the first episode, she placed in the bottom with Naysha Lopez and won a lip sync to "Applause" by Lady Gaga.[9] On the second episode, she placed in the bottom again with Dax ExclamationPoint. Both were eliminated after a lip sync to "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.[10] McQueen has said she wanted to impersonate Betsey Johnson, Courtney Love, or Theresa Caputo for the Snatch Game challenge.[11]

After Drag Race, she worked as a make-up artist from RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race with Shannel and Mayhem Miller.[12] McQueen did make-up for Jordan Connor on the show. Later on, she also did make-up for the cast of We're Here. In 2022, McQueen won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program for her work on the episode "Kona, Hawaii".[13]

Personal life

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McQueen has a rare anxiety disorder called misophonia.[14] She has lived in Chicago, Illinois, since 2017,[15] but works in many locations.[16] When she was 19, she was banned from the University of Maine for a performance that involved a Bible being covered in blood.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "What's it like to be a drag queen in Gloucester? Ask Laila McQueen. - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 8 Cast and Premiere Date — Meet the Queens of the New Season". Yahoo News. February 2, 2016. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "Tyler "Laila McQueen" Devlin". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ McCarthy, Gail (September 9, 2022). "Gloucester man wins Emmy for makeup on HBO series". Gloucester Daily Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Gurl Talk: A chat with Laila McQueen". OUT FRONT. March 18, 2016. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Gloucester man wins Emmy for makeup on HBO series". Yahoo Sports. September 9, 2022. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Allen, Timothy (March 30, 2016). "10 Things You Never Knew About Laila McQueen". Queerty. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "Gloucester's Laila McQueen on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Gloucester Daily Times. March 7, 2016. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  9. ^ March 08, Stephan Lee; EST, 2016 at 04:09 AM. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' premiere recap: Meet the 12 new queens in the show's 100th episode". EW.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ March 15, Stephan Lee; EDT, 2016 at 01:52 AM. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' recap: Get ready for one aca-mazing episode". EW.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Whatcha Packin': Laila McQueen | S8 E2 | RuPaul's Drag Race". Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  12. ^ "These Queens Actually Did 'Celebrity Drag Race's Makeovers". www.out.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "Gloucester 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Alum Wins Makeup Emmy For Popular HBO Show". Essex Daily Voice. September 12, 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  14. ^ Allen, Timothy (March 30, 2016). "10 Things You Never Knew About Laila McQueen". Queerty. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  15. ^ McCarthy, Tim. "Laila McQueen returns to Gloucester for one-night drag queen spectacular". Wicked Local. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  16. ^ "Gloucester man wins Emmy for makeup on HBO series". Yahoo Sports. September 9, 2022. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  17. ^ Patterson, Denny (June 8, 2017). "Laila McQueen Set to Slay BlowPony During Pride". OUT FRONT. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
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