What to know
- Michelle DuBarry died on July 1 at the age of 94.
- Known as Toronto’s First Lady of Drag, she was a pioneer who inspired generations of performers.
- Guinness World Records recognized her in 2015 as the world’s oldest performing drag queen.
- She appeared as a guest judge on Season 1 of Canada’s Drag Race in 2020.
- DuBarry was also a dedicated philanthropist, supporting HIV/AIDS awareness and LGBTQ+ charities.
- Drag artists across Canada are remembering her as a mentor, icon and trailblazer.
Michelle DuBarry, widely known as the First Lady of Toronto Drag and the subject of a 2021 CBC Radio One documentary, passed away on July 1 at the age of 94, leaving a legacy that inspired generations of artists who followed in her footsteps.
A trailblazer and icon, she was still performing weekly at 84, when in 2015, Guinness World Records named her the World’s Oldest Performing Drag Queen.
Although the international honour was contested and surpassed, it underscored her extraordinary longevity and enduring popularity with audiences, and the growing mainstream recognition of drag as an art form, eventually leading to top-ranked television competitions.
In 2020, she appeared as a guest judge on the first season of Canada’s Drag Race (ep. 9).
“I thought I knew everything when I started drag,” Tynomi Banks, an international performer and fan favourite from season one of Canada’s Drag Race, and spinoff, Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World, tells Now.
“Michelle pulled me aside one night and said, “You’ve got the drive. Just be kind and listen to your elders — it’s usually coming from love.’ That advice shaped me. She was a living legend and I am so grateful to have shared time and space with her.”
Enya Dreams, who bills herself as “your boyfriend’s favourite drag queen,” tells Now, “I didn’t know her as well as others, so all I can really say is there are people who perform drag, and then there are people who shaped what drag became. Michelle’s impact went far beyond the stage and her fearless strength has inspired so many.”
DuBarry was born Russell Alldread in Bowmanville, Ontario, and first put on a gown at age nine at the encouragement of his cousins.
As a teenager, he and a friend attended a school dance dressed as women. At 18, he moved to Toronto and began acting in the theatre. After he got divorced from his wife in 1961 and lived the rest of his life as a gay man, he launched his drag career as Anita Modé.
In 1969, inspired by the 1943 film, Du Barry Was a Lady, starring Lucille Ball, Red Skelton and Gene Kelly, he adopted the stage name Michelle DuBarry for the Phase One drag troupe and later performing with a new trio, The Great Impostors, for a decade.
DuBarry was also heavily involved in charitable causes, including HIV/AIDS awareness efforts and fundraising activities for organizations such as Gilda’s Club. She served as Grand Marshal of Toronto’s Pride Parade in 2007.
She was twice named the tongue-in-cheek but prestigious title of An Empress of the Imperial Court of Toronto (TICOT) by The College of Monarchs, a registered not-for-profit organization that raises funds for LGBTQAA charities through donations at a variety of drag performances and social events.
In 2022, having moved to a senior home, Alldread put the accoutrements of DuBarry’s life —costumes, gowns and jewelry — up for sale. A CTV interview said he was showing signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia. “He said being Michelle, performing, and meeting so many people made his life.”
