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Lexi Love

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lexi Love
Born (1990-11-22) November 22, 1990 (age 34)[1]
Other namesLexi V. Love[2]
Lexi Barnes[3]
OccupationDrag queen
Years active2024–present
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race

Lexi Love is the stage name of Lexi Barnes (born November 22, 1990), an American drag performer best known for competing on the seventeenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2025).

Career

[edit]

Love was appointed as the official American ambassador to the United Kingdom-based House of Versace by Drag Race UK winner Krystal Versace. One of her mentors is 2016 Mr. Continental winner Mykul Jay Valentine.[4] An early drag mother of Love's was Nomi Love, and her current drag mother is Jessica Dimon.[5]

Lexi Love is competing on the seventeenth season of competition series RuPaul's Drag Race (2025). She is the fifth queen from Kentucky to compete on the show following Dusty Ray Bottoms (Season 10), Scarlet Envy (Season 11, All Stars 6, and UK vs. the World: Season 2), Monica Beverly Hillz (Season 5, All Stars 8) and Jade Jolie (Season 5 and Dragula: Season 4).[6][7] She is the oldest contestant on her season (age 34) and referred to as “auntie” or “grandma” by her fellow contestants.[8][9]

In the second episode, she debuted her first song titled "She's Giving" while roller skating and doing cartwheels. After lip-syncing against Crystal Envy in the same episode, Lexi Love was announced as the winner. Her debut song was produced and co-written by record producer Drew Louis, and was released on January 10, 2025.[10]

Personal life

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Barnes is a transgender woman and uses she/her pronouns;[11] her drag persona is based in Louisville.[12] While raised in raised in Florence, Kentucky and presently living in Louisville,[6] she previously performed within the Cincinnati metropolitan area for nearly a decade, and afterwards Barnes worked for Play Dance Bar in 2021.[13] She survived a period of homelessness and drug addiction, mostly thanks to her drag family.[14]

During her appearance for the seventeenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Barnes disclosed in an interview about taking on a second mortgage for their garments.[15]

After various HIV resources from government websites attributing for the LGBTQ community were removed in January 2025,[16] Barnes called out the second Donald Trump administration through social media platform Instagram.[17] She shared an infographic from the NOH8 campaign, revealing herself to be HIV positive, and utilized those funded programs from over ten years ago.[18]

Artistry

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Barnes cites her inspirations for her drag persona to be "nostalgic" from the annual Victoria's Secret runways and "very hardcore" in Y2K fashion.[19] She uses roller skates while performing and describes herself as Kentucky's "Roller-Derby Doll".[20][21]

Discography

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All credits adapted from Apple Music and Spotify.[22][23]

Singles

[edit]
List of singles as lead artist, showing year released, and album name
Title Year Album Writer(s) Producers(s)
"She's Giving"
(or Club Love remix)
2025 Non-album single Lexi Love and Drew Louis Drew Louis

Filmography

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Television

[edit]
List of television credits, with selected details
Title Year Role Ref.
WHAS-TV 2024 Guest [24]
RuPaul's Drag Race 2025 Contestant [25]
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked!

References

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  1. ^ @mslexilove (November 22, 2024). "🎂 34, lol………shit 😅😂" – via Instagram.
  2. ^ "From brunch to burlesque, here's where you can see a drag show in Louisville". courier-journal.com. Courier Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  3. ^ O'Keeffe, Kevin. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 17, Episode 5 recap: Live from the Werk Room". xtramagazine.com. Xtra Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  4. ^ Nolfi, Joey. "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 queens promise 'profane imagery' on runway, loads of drama, and twisty 'panic' ahead". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  5. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race S17's Lexi Love, LOVES Louisville - Queer Kentucky". queerkentucky.com. January 30, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Bring Back My Girls: Meet the Official Cast of 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8". www.billboard.com. March 16, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  7. ^ "Louisville's Lexi Love Joins RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 - Queer Kentucky". queerkentucky.com. December 5, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  8. ^ "Kentucky Drag Queen Slays and Shantay Stays on RuPaul's Drag Race". Xavier Newswire. February 5, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  9. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  10. ^ Aponte, Samuel (January 13, 2025). "Drew Louis, the creative force behind Drag Race's "My Kitty" is back". Too Much Love. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  11. ^ Sim, Bernardo (January 29, 2025). "Dear trans youth: 'You are a miracle who will survive'". Out. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  12. ^ Tangcay, Jazz; Vary, Adam B. (December 4, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race announces season 17 cast, updated 'Rate-a-Queen' twist". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  13. ^ Garcia, Joseph (December 11, 2024). "'A long time coming': Louisville's Lexi Love ready to bring 'Kentucky realness' to RuPaul's Drag Race". WHAS-TV. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  14. ^ Johnson, Marina. "Louisville drag queen to appear in season 17 of 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  15. ^ Factora, James (January 8, 2025). "A second mortgage?! Lexi Love resurfaces the financial cost of Drag Race contestants". Them. Condé Nast. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  16. ^ Hansford, Amelia (January 22, 2025). "Multiple government websites purged of LGBTQ+ content following Trump's inauguration". PinkNews. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  17. ^ Damshenas, Sam (January 31, 2025). "'I will continue to love myself': Drag Race star Lexi Love shares HIV status as she calls out Trump administration". Gay Times. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  18. ^ Grimes, Gary (January 29, 2025). "Drag Race star Lexi Love shares HIV status as Trump cuts overseas aid and removes White House resources". Attitude. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  19. ^ Garcia, Joseph. "'A long time coming': Louisville's Lexi Love ready to bring 'Kentucky realness' to RuPaul's Drag Race". MSN. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  20. ^ Stultz, Caleb. "Louisville's Lexi Love joins season 17 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race". Louisville Eccentric Observer. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  21. ^ Stultz, Caleb. "Louisville's Lexi Love Joins Season 17 Cast Of RuPaul's Drag Race". LEO Weekly. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  22. ^ "Lexi Love on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  23. ^ "Lexi Love - Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  24. ^ "Meet Lexi Love, Kentucky drag queen starring on next season of RuPaul's Drag Race" (Interview). Louisville, Kentucky: WHAS-TV. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  25. ^ Nolfi, Joey (December 4, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 cast revealed as Rate-a-Queen returns with a major twist: 'The game is new'". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved December 4, 2024.