What You Need to Know About ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Finalist Eureka!
Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic Reading Time: 4 minutes
As we know, RuPaul’s Drag Race has no shortage of fabulous queens. Standout star Eureka, has definitely made an impact on the franchise. Known previously as Eureka O’Hara, the queen is best known for competing in the ninth and tenth seasons of Drag Race. Now, she has returned to the runway this season on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6. Here’s everything you need to know about the fierce competitor.
1. Eureka! Identifies as Non-Binary
Prior to appearing on seasons nine and ten of Drag Race, Eureka lived as a trans woman for a number of years. Years later, the queen ultimately realized that was just one piece of their identity, not their true self. Today, the self-proclaimed “Elephant Queen” identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. In 2018, the queen took to Instagram to openly discuss their place on the gender neutral spectrum.
“I lived as an openly Trans Woman for almost 5 years. And I found a place in the Gender Neutral Spectrum after moments of suicide attempts and social injustice,” Eureka wrote. “It’s a hard path to live and to discover your truth. I don’t speak on this often because I always felt so embarrassed that I was not strong enough to fight for identity as a Trans Individual. What I now have learned is Gender comes in many forms. Erica is still apart of who I am. David is who I was born as. Eureka is who I have created to blur all the lines.”
2. Their Season Nine Injury Forced Them to Leave The Competition
On season nine of Drag Race, Eureka suffered an injury that forced them to withdraw from the competition. On week two, during a cheerleading-based challenge, they attempted to do a split, which resulted in major consequences. After hearing a pop, the performer later discovered they tore their ACL. While Eureka remained in the competition for an additional few episodes, RuPaul ultimately sent them home on week five. The intention was for the queen to recover and return for season ten.
3. The Queen Releases Music
Besides being a dominant on stage performer, Eureka also takes their talent to the recording booth. As per YouTube and Spotify, the drag superstar has six singles available. In April 2017, Eureka premiered a single and music video for “Body Positivity.” Fellow Drag Race finalist, Kandy Muse is also featured on the track.
The video showcases appearances from other Drag Race contestants like Charlie Hides, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, and reality TV star, Farrah Abraham. Eureka also released the singles “Stomp,” “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,” “Pretty Hot and Tasty,” “The Big Girl,” and most recently, “Come Together.”
As part of the final challenge of RuPaul’s Drag Race season ten, Eureka and the remaining finalists also wrote and recorded their own versus for Ru’s song, “American.” The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
4. Eureka Stars in We’re Here on HBO
Last year, Eureka starred in this six-part unscripted series on HBO. The queen along with fellow RuPaul’s Drag Race Stars, Bob the Drag Queen and Shangela Laquifa Wadley, dispatched to Red State American locations in outlandish vehicles. With sass and attitude, they gathered up the town residents to come participate in a drag show they organized in a couple of days. On each episode of We’re Here, the queens helped prepare their “drag daughters” by teaching them how to step outside of their comfort zones. The series has been renewed for a second season.
5. The Self Proclaimed “Elephant Queen” Stands at 6’4″
Without heels, Eureka stands at a statuesque 6’4″ tall. As stated on their website, the queen represents all the “big guys, girls and gender-fluid beautiful beings.” As a Plus Size Drag Supermodel, one of Eureka’s goals is to give people of all sizes around the world the confidence to go out and live their dreams. In an interview, Eureka explained that they were inspired by their mother who also stands at 6-feet tall.
“I was taught and raised around really powerful, strong semi-masculine females, they explained. “Really because my mom was such a huge and aggressive personality. Everyone knew who she was, but also really tall and affirming in size too, taking up a lot of space. I was also taught what a confident woman looked like. I was very lucky in that sense.”
On the most recent episode of All Stars, Eureka was crowned the winner of the lip-sync smackdown. On their road to Ru-demption, Eureka earned their place back into the competition fair and square. The other queens weren’t too happy to have the powerhouse performer back in the race, but things just got interesting. Tune in next Thursday on Paramount + to see Eureka thrive on All Stars.
