Iconic entertainer Liza Minnelli is set for an appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race during its season 17 finale on April 18.
Minnelli, a showbiz survivor who earned Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards, will receive the Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award from host RuPaul Charles on the MTV show’s main stage. Now in its 17th season, RuPaul’s Drag Race initially bowed on Logo back in 2009 and has since expanded internationally, with local editions in the U.K., Canada and Australia featuring local “queens” and runway challenges.
For her part, Minnelli has had an iconic and storied Hollywood career with a host of highs and lows. She had breakout successes in Cabaret and Liza with a Z. Along the way, Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland, became known for her marriages and struggles with substance abuse.
RuPaul’s Drag Race, MTV’s signature reality competition series and its spinoffs are all produced by World of Wonder Productions. The U.S. edition of Drag Race has done stints on several of the cable networks in what is now the Paramount ecosystem, moving from LGBTQ channel Logo to VH1 to MTV, and streaming on Paramount+.
RuPaul executive produces Drag Race with World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Their TV franchise has waded into activism in recent years as drag performers and the larger LGBTQ+ community have faced an increasing backlash and censorship.
World of Wonder created a Drag Defense Fund with a donation from MTV and Drag Race to support the ACLU’s work to defend and ensure LGBTQ+ rights. And for their art and activism, World of Wonder founders Barbato and Bailey received THR’s Impact Award at the Banff World Media Festival.
