Miss Fame | |
---|---|
Born | Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen March 30, 1985
Templeton, California, U.S. |
Occupations | |
Years active | 2011–present |
Spouse | Patrick Berschy (m. 2013) |
Musical career | |
Genres |
|
Labels | Sidecar Records |
Website |
missfamenyc |
Miss Fame (born March 30, 1985) [1] is the stage name of Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen, [2] an American model, makeup artist, drag queen, recording artist and reality television personality best known as a contestant on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race. After appearing on the show, Dam-Mikkelsen as Miss Fame launched a music career, releasing his debut single, "Rubber Doll" on April 28, 2015. His debut album, Beauty Marked, was released on June 9, 2015. [3] Miss Fame appeared in numerous fashion publications.
Dam-Mikkelsen worked as a male editorial model in California before moving to New York in 2011, following the advice of fashion photographer Mike Ruiz. He then started working as a makeup artist under industry icon Pat McGrath while building a celebrity clientele. At the same time he started modeling and performing in drag as "Miss Fame". [4]
Miss Fame was noticed by photographer Mary McCartney who featured her in her book Devoted. She has also appeared in Half-Drag, a photo series by Leland Bobbé which attracted international attention and was featured in Vogue Italia. [5] Miss Fame was also photographed for Gorgeous, a project by photographers Rob Lebow and Masha Kupets that involved Armen Ra, Candis Cayne, and Tammie Brown. [6] Dam-Mikkelsen works as a celebrity makeup artist in New York City, and has worked on models and celebrities including Marc Jacobs, Ève Salvail, Snooki and JWoww, Martha Wash, Wendy Williams, and Michael Urie. [7]
On December 7, 2014, during the "Ru-Veal" of the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Miss Fame was the first queen announced to be a contestant on the show. [8] She was eliminated in the ninth episode, " Divine Inspiration," placing her seventh overall. [9] Following her elimination, she released the music video for "Rubber Doll", which was the first single from her debut album, Beauty Marked. [10] The album was released June 9, 2015, and featured appearances from fellow Drag Race contestants Alaska Thunderfuck and Violet Chachki. [3]
In 2016, Miss Fame signed with IMG models Paris. [11]
Miss Fame has been celebrated for her high-fashion editorial work and collaborations with world-renowned photographers like Steven Klein, Giampaolo Sgura, Paola Kudacki, Armin Morbach, Ali Mahdavi, and others. Miss Fame has been featured in publications including Vogue Germany, Vogue Portugal, Vogue Paris, [12] Vogue Japan, CR Fashion Book, PAPER, [13] V Magazine, [14] LOVE, CANDY, Tush, OUT, ELLE, and others.
She contributed to the compilation album Christmas Queens 3 in 2017. [15]
In September 2018, Miss Fame performed as a background dancer behind Christina Aguilera for Opening Ceremony's Spring 2019 collection, with other Drag Race alumni. [16] She released her own makeup line called "The Fetish of Fashion" later in October. [17]
In September 2022, Pinned into a Dress, a documentary about Kurtis' life premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. The short-film highlights Kurtis journey and breakthrough in fashion, despite his trauma and addiction, growing up in a broken family. Opening the Settimana Internazionale della Critica the documentary was co-directed by Gianluca Matarrese and Guillaume Thomas. [18]
Dam-Mikkelsen was born to Dolly Silveira [19] in San Luis Obispo, California. [4] He has also stated that he was raised by his grandmother, Gloria, as her own son. [20] Kurtis lives with his husband Patrick Berschy and their pet dachshunds, Mina and Shaya. [21]
In 2020, Kurtis moved to Zürich, Switzerland, with his husband. [22]
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US Dance [23] |
US Heat [24] | ||
Beauty Marked |
|
17 | 25 |
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Rubber Doll" [25] | 2015 | Beauty Marked |
"InstaFame" [26] | ||
"I Run the Runway" (with Violet Chachki) [27] |
2016 |
Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Drag Race Theme" [28] | 2015 | RuPaul | RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz2 |
"Toyland" [29] | Various Artists | Christmas Queens | |
"Poo" | 2016 | Lucian Piane, Pearl, Violet Chachki | RuPaul's Drag Race: The Rusical |
"Chicken" | Alaska Thunderfuck | Poundcake | |
"Christmas Waltz" | 2017 | N/A | Christmas Queens 3 |
Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | A Change of Heart | Himself | [30] |
2022 | Pinned into a Dress | Himself | [31] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Snooki & Jwoww | Himself | Episode: "What a Drag!" | [32] |
2015 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Himself (Contestant) | Season 7 – Placed 7th | [33] |
2021 | Germany's Next Topmodel | Himself (Guest Judge) | Season 16 – Episode 11 | [34] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014–present | Painted by Fame | Himself | Makeup tutorials | [35] |
2015 | Untucked | Himself | Companion show to RuPaul's Drag Race | [36] |
Title | Year | Director | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
"Drag Race Theme" | 2015 | Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen | [37] |
"Rubber Doll" | 2015 | Ben Simkins | [38] |
"InstaFame" | 2015 | Ben Simkins | [39] |
"Toyland" | 2015 | Carlos Maldonado | [40] |
"I Run the Runway (feat. Violet Chachki)" | 2016 | Ali Mahdavi | [27] |
Title | Year | Director | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
"Save the Queen" (Garek) |
2012 | Unknown | [41] |
"
Supermodel (You Better Work)" (2013 Edit) ( RuPaul) |
2013 | Marco Ovando | [42] |
"
Go All Night" ( Gorgon City featuring Jennifer Hudson) |
2014 | Roboshobo | [43] |
"Opulence" ( Brooke Candy) |
2014 | Steven Klein | [44] |
"My Animal" (Garek) |
2015 | Mike Ruiz | [45] |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | The WOWIE Awards | Best Beauty Guru Award (The Painted Award) | Herself | Nominated | [46] [47] |