Russella (also known as The Fabulous Russella[1]) is a British actor, dancer, model, choreographer, singer and comedian often performing in character drag.
Russella | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | dancer, actor, singer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Website | fabulousrussella |
Career
editRussella is considered one of 200 cultural icons by i-D magazine[2] and was considered one of the UK's top 30 talents by The London Paper[3]
Russella studied dance at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds where he met singer and actress Paloma Faith.[4] Russella later moved to London to live with Faith.[5] Russella appeared in the music video for Faith's debut single Stone Cold Sober.[6] Faith cites Russella as one of the inspirations for her style,[7] a style which is thought of as Dynasty Glam[1] and Alexis Carrington 1980s.[8]
After moving to London, Russella worked in fashion PR for vintage clothes retailer Beyond Retro.[9] before meeting performance artist Jonny Woo whom he performed with regularly after winning a competition hosted by Woo[8][10]
After a chance meeting at London nightclub Madame Jojo's, a then unknown French singer Héloïse Letissier befriended Russella and two lesser known drag queens who encouraged her to sing. After a period of suffering from depression, Letissier was inspired by the drag queens—to the extent that she named her pop persona Christine and the Queens in appreciation.[11] In an interview with the New Statesman, Letissier explains that whilst Russella taught her 'how to be a woman', the two have not remained in contact.[12] Lettessier claims that Russella is one of the drag queens who 'saved [her] life'[13]
Modelling career
editEven though Russella claims not to care about beauty "everyone is so obsessed with beauty and glamour right now; everyone wants to be perfect. I know I am perfect – I'm fabulous – but I don't particularly care. I just want to be looked at"[14] – he has modelled for award-winning photographers including Nick Knight,[2] Alice Hawkins[15] Jodi Bieber[16] and Gregoire A Meyer[17] as well as modelling for brands including Joseph Corré's A Child of the Jago,[18] and milliner Piers Atkinson.[19][20] Russella has also appeared in photo shoots for magazines including i-D magazine[2]Attitude Magazine,[21] The Independent Magazine,[15] The British Journal of Photography,[22] and Time Out[23]
Acting career
editRussella appeared as 'Terry Crystal' in Trevor Miller's film Riot on Redchurch Street which was released in 2012[24] He also featured on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 in January 2012 as guest choreographer.
Comedy
editIn 2008 Russella launched 'London's Next Top Tranny' a successful competition to discover up and coming talent in East London [25]
Russella was a finalist in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year awards, 2012[26] hosted by Jo Brand
In 2015 Russella entered Britain's Got Talent performing 'The Pancake Show', and expressed his desire to 'do' a cookery book, much to the dismay of Simon Cowell but with the full support of David Walliams who exclaimed 'I would buy it!'[citation needed]
Writing
editRussella has contributed to online magazines including Societe Perrier[27] and the Sabotage Times[28]
Singing
editRussella released his first comedic single on to iTunes in 2009 – titled – 'Too Fabulous'[29] with an accompanying video on YouTube which featured Sue Tilley Benefits Supervisor Sleeping. Too Fabulous was performed at Lovebox Festival in 2011 [30]
Russella also appeared on episode 6 of Britain's Got Talent 2012 singing Wild Horses
Filmography
edit| Feature films | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Riot on Redchurch Street | Terry Crystal | Movie acting debut |
| Television roles | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | The Weakest Link | Russella | |
| 2010 | The Jonathan Ross Show | Peter Kay | |
| 2010 | The One Show | Marilyn Monroe | |
| 2010 | Britain's Ugliest Models | himself | |
| 2012 | My Super Sweet 16 | choreographer | |
| 2012 | Britain's Got Talent | The Fabulous Russella | |
| 2014 | Toronto Song Project | Singer | |
| 2015 | Britain's Got Talent | The Fabulous Russella | |
| 2016 | Le France a un incroyable talent | The Fabulous Russella | |
References
edit- ^ a b James, Sherwood (9 March 2008). "My Style". The Independent.
- ^ a b c "i-D The 30th Birthday Issue". i-D Magazine. Levelprint Ltd. 1 September 2010.
- ^ Holland, Jessica (4 January 2008). "30 under 30". The London Paper. NI free newspapers ltd. p. 10.
- ^ Brumfitt, Stuart. "You Gotta Have Faith". Boyz Magazine. Windmill Europe Limited.
- ^ The Gentle Author (19 November 2010). "Russella: London's Top Tranny". Spitalfields City Life.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "How Gay are you? Paloma Faith". Attitude Magazine. 20 October 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010.
- ^ Long, Carola (29 May 2010). "Faith: A Cuban Twist on the Retro Look". The Independent.
- ^ a b Maggie, Davis (October 2006). "Drag Queen Shopping Spree". Time Out.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Miles, Matt (May 2006). "Anatomy of a bedroom". AXM. millivres prowler.
- ^ "(Drag) Queen of our hearts". The Gay Times. Millivres Prowler. October 2007. p. 21.
- ^ Medioni, Par Gilles (13 February 2015). "VIDEOS. La voix royale de Christine and the Queens". L'Express.
- ^ Kate, Mossman (8 July 2016). "my love life would've been way better". New Statesman.
- ^ Van Renterghem, Marion (23 November 2016). "Les confessions de Christine and the Queens". Vanity Fair.
- ^ Lock, Isaac (2009). "She's so unusual". Tank Magazine. Tank Publications Ltd.
I just want to be looked at
- ^ a b "Back to Black". The Independent Magazine. Vitality Publishing. p. 74.
- ^ "+++ SHOREDITCH UNBOUND :: Online +++". Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "6th Spider Awards | Black & White Spider Photography Awards™".
- ^ "Communique". Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "Hot Voodoo - Vogue.it". Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Dress You Up". Attitude Magazine. Vitality Publishing. p. 50.
- ^ "Hip To Be Square". The British Journal of Photography. Incisive media. p. 21.
- ^ "Shopping and Style". Time Out. p. 29.
- ^ http://riotonredchurch.com/supporting_cast.html. Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ the gentle author (4 October 2010). "The Trannies of Bethnal Green". Spitalfields Life.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Bartholomew, Emma (19 January 2012). "Flip Side of Drag Star". Hackney Gazette.
- ^ Fabulous, Russella (11 January 2013). "Fabulous Russella'a Love Letter To London". Societe Perrier. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014.
- ^ Fabulous, Russella (14 February 2014). "Why I Love the Word Tranny". Sabotage Times.
- ^ "Introducing...Fabulous Russella". Attitude Magazine. Millivres prowler. 20 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010.
- ^ Hackney Gazette, 19 January 2012, Emma Bartholomew