She’s Not Cocky. She’s Correct.

Luxx Noir London

Even on a day off, from the comfort of her home, without the spotlight or judges panel, without makeup or a gown, there is no mistaking Luxx Noir London’s star quality. As one of the youngest competitors of RuPaul’s Drag Race, she made it to the finale of Season 15, after a season of outspoken commentary and high fashion looks. Performing “It’s Giving Fashion” in dashing red, she was giving fierce energy, showing off her stage skills, and whether her off-handed comments ruffled some feathers, there is no denying that she’s got talent. Taking her newfound audience with her, she is moving from Drag Race herstory to high fashion and entertainment with self-branding projects on the horizon.

Hailing from East Orange New Jersey, her instruction in all things entertainment started early, her path was clear. She would also learn that her fascination with career and entertainment would single her out. Her life as an outspoken performer had begun.

I think my exposure to pop culture and things like that as a child really shaped the way I saw life in entertainment and performance. My aunt was very in tune with pop culture, was always reading the magazines, watching all the award shows, all the reality shows, things like that. I would just watch along with her, and I would be enthralled by how glamorous or how amazing these people’s lives seemed. It was always so colorful and vibrant, and I was someone who just thought in color and thought in vibrance. It’s always been something I resonated with. I marched to the beat of a different drum than everyone else. I was always just gravitating towards things that other kids were not. And no one ever spared me the expense of not telling me that I was different; I was told early on I was different than everyone else.

Her relationship with her parents, always supportive, would evolve and come to be challenged as Luxx’s personality and drive started to become evident.

I think it was just in their nature to try to protect their child from the outside world. I was getting a lot of different things being said to me by different people. I would tell my parents what people would say and they would assure me, “It’s okay. You’re different. It’s not good to be the same as everybody else. You being different is good.” And then there was kind of a shift when I got older to where they started to tell me that what I was doing was a little off. I think it’s because it went from trying to protect a child to seeing that child become something they didn’t expect.

There was a little bit of pushback when I started getting older and started expressing myself a little more outwardly and freely – the way I thought they had told me I could. But things are fine now. They’re incredibly supportive, they’re very loving. They’re my biggest fans and biggest cheerleaders, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I didn’t expect coming out or becoming the person I am today to be an easy road. I heard and saw so many horror stories in the media and things about kids not having accepting parents. I already knew what to expect and it was a lot. It wasn’t as drastic as the stories I’ve heard, but there were definitely some growing pains. I knew that was to be expected.

Luxx studied at the Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, a special magnet public school where students are accepted for their talents. She went on to earn a degree in musical theater from New Jersey City University, though it would take a bit for her to find the spotlight.

I was born with charisma. I didn’t have to learn how to have a presence in front of people, I’ve had it for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been a performer or seen myself as a star. I also just have a natural singing voice. Those are the things that came easy. The thing that was not as easy was losing out on roles because I was so feminine. And I didn’t have a growth spurt until I was a senior in high school. I was reading young amongst all these sophomores, juniors and seniors who read a lot more mature than me – and a lot more masculine. So, it was always the ensemble for me.

I never had the moment to shine as the star in musicals and theater, even though I knew that I was more than capable of doing so – even more capable than some who were in lead roles. Had I looked a little more mature when in high school, I could have played those parts.

As early as she fell in love with entertainment, she also fell for Drag Race. It was inevitable that she would be on the show herself.

My first exposure to a drag queen was Ru Paul. I remember watching the season three casting special of RuPaul’s Drag Race with my aunt. It was the first episode of season three and I saw all these drag queens and I saw RuPaul, and I was like, oh my gosh, I love this! I told a lot of my cousins, there’s this show Drag Race …. I liked it because it was a cross between two shows I loved – Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model. I loved wearing makeup and dressing up. They were like, “No, you can’t watch that. That’s bad.” So, it wasn’t until the seventh grade when I started watching Drag Race again. Ever since then, it’s been a major part of my life – obviously. [Laughs]

Luxx took the stage in drag for the first time ever in a theater in the summer of 2018 performing “S&M” by Rihanna and “Vogue” by Madonna. She was hooked, and knew drag is what she would be doing for the rest of her life. She had finally found her spotlight and comfort zone on the stage. Where to go next? The Werkroom of course. With her years of training, her fascination with reality TV, and her confidence, she would prove to be a presence to reckon with – even if certain fans found her a bit cocky.

Some think young people need years and years of experience to be sure they can do something successfully. I don’t think that that’s the case. People are born with gifts and talents, and I was born with all of the gifts and the talents that I needed to conquer something like Drag Race. Now, my confidence can be a little off-putting to some. I’ve been told it comes from a place of “I wish I was as confident as you at your age.” I just grew up with the idea that if someone else can do something, why can’t I do it? I was always that kid who was like, oh, it’s their birthday, they’re getting gifts, why can’t I get gifts too? I went into Drag Race and into drag saying, if all these people are humans just like me, why can’t I achieve what I want to achieve?

And indeed, she did. Season 15 had one of the most diverse finale casts yet with the young Luxx holding her own. Because of her self-confidence, outspoken Drag Race confessionals, and social media posts, she has become the focus of misogynoir, a cultural phenomenon of misogyny directed specifically at Black women. Drag Race fans as keyboard warriors came out in fervor with their opinions of Luxx’s personality. How did that affect Luxx?

If I’m going to be very honest, it didn’t really affect me all too much. I grew up in the age of celebrity – where celebrities were plastered on the cover of magazines, edited to look horrible or not look horrible, but not looking like themselves. From the era of Perez Hilton, TMZ, and Wendy Williams, I knew what to expect coming into celebrity because I followed being famous for so long. I never really feed into what people are saying because like RuPaul always says, “People’s opinions of me are none of my business.” They are always going to have an opinion on something someone’s doing. If people have an opinion of me, that means they’re watching. And at the end of the day, that’s all you want, right? It’s for people to watch what you’re doing.

As people continue to watch what she’s doing, she is taking her Drag Race fame and building her own empire. She already has collaborated with such brands as Calvin Klein, Savage x Fenty, Maybelline, and MAC Cosmetics, and has been featured in leading publications such as Vogue, People, PAPER, Them, TODAY.com, Cosmopolitan, and more.

This is my brand coming out of the show – it is the modern-day supermodel of the world. RuPaul is the queen of drag which is something completely different from the supermodel of the world. I am the second coming of RuPaul in my head. I want to do it all. I want to be the name that’s in the household. I want to be the name that is going to be everywhere in the media. I want to show culture that drag queens are not just this accessory that you can put on a Christmas tree. Drag is at the forefront of modern pop culture. And I do think there is a place for us besides being the novelty act in a runway show or the comic relief in a TV show. I want to go into culture, and I want to show that I am not a star because I’m a novelty; I’m a star because I’m a star.

My biggest wish for my career is to leave a mark on the world that shows when you think you can do something and you want it bad enough, it will come true. We’ve seen a lot of cases of things like this happen, but I know my legacy is going to be something we’ve never seen before, and I’m really excited about that.

Her biggest wish for her personally, beyond her career?

I just want to be happy; you know? A lot of the time, people don’t allow themselves to be genuinely happy. I just want to live a life where everything I’m doing brings contentment. If I’m not happy doing it, I don’t want to. Getting to the point in my life where I can just live every day and just be happy and content, that’s what I’m striving for.

There is no doubt Luxx has that star quality, she also has the attitude, and fortunately has the talents. One of her social media posts describes her best, “I’m not cocky, I’m correct.” Is she cocky, and isn’t it ok to be a bit cocky in this industry?

It’s needed in the world. Especially for queer people, there are so many people trying to tell us that we’re less than, or that we don’t deserve to have freedom or rights or good things in life. If you walk into every room saying, I know that I’m the best and I know that I have every right to be here, it can only be beneficial. But you also have to put your money where your mouth is. So, there is cockiness, but it’s not coming from a place of just being cocky to be cocky. I’m cocky because I know what I bring to the table.

Gird your loins, because this holiday season, Luxx will hit the road for A Drag Queen Christmas with Drag Race alumni Todrick Hall, Jimbo, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Trinity the Tuck, Heidi N Closet, Miz Cracker, and Crystal Methyd. Can you imagine that tour bus?

As she keeps her eyes on the future, she continues to work hard and abide by her daily mantra.

The thing that keeps me motivated every day is I tell myself I am going to get somewhere and I’m going to do everything it takes. I don’t want to lie to myself. It gets a little scary when you start lying to yourself. I never want to allow myself to feel like I was pulling the wool over my own eyes by telling myself that something was going to happen and then not doing everything in my power to make it so. I’m not doing any of this for anybody else. I need to go to sleep at the end of the day knowing that I’m making myself proud.

And her message to her fans?

If I can do it, you can do it too.

You can follow Luxx on IG: @LuxxNoirLondon