Trixie Mattel

“I don't expect a lot of people who love drag to also be like, 'I love 'Drag Race,' and then I got to hear my Chris Stapleton album.' Not necessarily an obvious crossover.”

“I always tell my mom that if she would have just bought me a Barbie when I was little, I would have gone into real estate.”

“Most drag queens, they put on music like it's a costume. It's not in their bones. It's not in their background.”

“I think being young and, like, 14, 15, you feel like a weirdo, and playing guitar with my grandpa in my grandma's kitchen is probably my fondest memories I'll ever have.”

“I grew up playing guitar and writing music, and I always wanted to be a songwriter and a singer and play the guitar. But while I was finishing college, my drag became lucrative, so I had to pursue what was going to pay the bills - and doing comedy as Trixie was something that I was able to market.”

“I'm always myself. Always. The only difference is that I come off as mean out of drag.”

“Drag is pastiche and parody and satire. Drag queens are never meant to be stars. We make fun of stars. Drag queens are the people that 'point' at the star.”

“I remember being obsessed with Christina Aguilera's 'Stripped.' That was her peak, and she is such an amazing singer. Plus, I was a little gay boy, and the music video for 'Beautiful' existed, so obviously I was affected.”

“I guess I just believe in Trixie Mattel, and I believe in the work. I don't think I'm better than anybody else, but I really think that I'm hilarious and beautiful.”

“I think people are slowly realizing that don't have to be looking in a mirror to enjoy something. And they're realizing that watching a show with drag queens in it doesn't make you gay any more then listening to rap makes you black.”

“People don't realize 'Drag Race' is a certain percent competition, but it's also a game show. There's a certain amount of throwing dice and spinning wheels, and there are twists and turns all the time. Part of it is also having the right idea and pulling the right look together that day. We're all making choices in the moment.”

“Northern Wisconsin, where I'm from, is so ridiculously rural.”

“I remember seeing RuPaul in 'The Brady Bunch Movie,' when she says to Jan, 'Girl, you better work.' And I froze it in my mind forever.”

“I was the poorest kid in my school, poorest kid in my town, poorest family. That stayed with me forever.”

“I've always been obsessed with Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, Melissa Etheridge.”

“I didn't start drag because I thought it would be a ticket to anything. I did it for my own narcissistic fulfilment. When I started selling records, going on tour, doing TV... I never expected any of it.”

“I'm like the Justin Bieber of the drag world.”

“I'm not a competitor by nature, and I'm certainly not used to being evaluated.”

“Mental health and sobriety is not a straight line, and 'Drag Race' is a family, and we support our family members through anything.”

“I used to make everything myself. I used to do my own hair, make my own costumes, write my own jokes, and write my own songs. There were definitely some days where I had to choose between having tights that didn't have holes in them or having to buy makeup or something I needed for a show.”