Miss Fame

American model, makeup artist, and drag queen

  • Model
  • make-up artist
  • drag queen
  • recording artist
Years active2011–presentSpousePatrick Berschy (m. 2013)Musical careerGenres
  • Pop
  • dance
  • electronic
LabelsSidecar Records
Musical artist
Websitemissfamenyc.com

Miss Fame (born March 30, 1985)[1] is the stage name of Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelsen,[2] a gender fluid[3] 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 their debut single, "Rubber Doll" on April 28, 2015. Their debut album, Beauty Marked, was released on June 9, 2015.[4] Miss Fame appeared in numerous fashion publications.

Career

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. They then started working as a makeup artist under industry icon Pat McGrath while building a celebrity clientele. At the same time they started modeling and performing in drag as "Miss Fame".[5]

Miss Fame was noticed by photographer Mary McCartney who featured them in her book Devoted. They have also appeared in Half-Drag, a photo series by Leland Bobbé which attracted international attention and were featured in Vogue Italia.[6] 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.[7] Dam-Mikkelsen works as a celebrity makeup artist in New York City, and have worked on models and celebrities including Marc Jacobs, Ève Salvail, Snooki and JWoww, Martha Wash, Wendy Williams, and Michael Urie.[8]

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.[9] They were eliminated in the ninth episode, "Divine Inspiration," placing their seventh overall.[10] Following their elimination, they released the music video for "Rubber Doll", which was the first single from their debut album, Beauty Marked.[11] The album was released June 9, 2015, and featured appearances from fellow Drag Race contestants Alaska Thunderfuck and Violet Chachki.[4]

In 2016, Miss Fame signed with IMG models Paris.[12]

Miss Fame has been celebrated for their 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,[13] Vogue Japan, CR Fashion Book, PAPER,[14] V Magazine,[15] LOVE, CANDY, Tush, OUT, ELLE, and others.

They contributed to the compilation album Christmas Queens 3 in 2017.[16]

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.[17] They released their own makeup line called "The Fetish of Fashion" later in October.[18]

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 their 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.[19]

Early and personal life

Dam-Mikkelsen were born to Dolly Silveira[20] in San Luis Obispo, California.[5] They have also stated that they were raised by their grandmother, Gloria, as her own child.[21] Kurtis lives with their husband Patrick Bertschy and their pet dachshunds, Mina and Shaya.[22]

In 2020, Kurtis moved to Zürich, Switzerland, with their husband.[23]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak
chart
positions
US
Dance
[24] 		US
Heat
[25]
Beauty Marked
  • Released: June 9, 2015[4]
  • Label: Sidecar
  • Formats: Digital download
 17 25

Singles

Title Year Album
"Rubber Doll"[26] 2015 Beauty Marked
"InstaFame"[27]
"I Run the Runway"
(with Violet Chachki)
[28] 		2016

Other appearances

Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Drag Race Theme"[29] 2015 RuPaul RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz2
"Toyland"[30] 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

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Ref.
2015 A Change of Heart Themself [31]
2022 Pinned into a Dress Themself [32]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014 Snooki & Jwoww Themself Episode: "What a Drag!" [33]
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Themself (Contestant) Season 7 – Placed 7th [34]
2021 Germany's Next Topmodel Themself (Guest Judge) Season 16 – Episode 11 [35]

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014–present Painted by Fame Themself Makeup tutorials [36]
2015 Untucked Themself Companion show to RuPaul's Drag Race [37]

Music videos

Title Year Director Ref.
"Drag Race Theme" 2015 Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen [38]
"Rubber Doll" 2015 Ben Simkins [39]
"InstaFame" 2015 Ben Simkins [40]
"Toyland" 2015 Carlos Maldonado [41]
"I Run the Runway (feat. Violet Chachki)" 2016 Ali Mahdavi [28]

Music video appearances

Title Year Director Ref.
"Save the Queen"
(Garek) 		2012 Un­known [42]
"Supermodel (You Better Work)" (2013 Edit)
(RuPaul) 		2013 Marco Ovando [43]
"Go All Night"
(Gorgon City featuring Jennifer Hudson) 		2014 Roboshobo [44]
"Opulence"
(Brooke Candy) 		2014 Steven Klein [45]
"My Animal"
(Garek) 		2015 Mike Ruiz [46]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2022 The WOWIE Awards Best Beauty Guru Award (The Painted Award) Themself Nominated [47][48]

See also

References

  1. ^ @MissFameNYC (March 30, 2021). "Aging in reverse is a talent .. lol !! Thank you for all the birthday love angels 💕💕💕 #36 photo @GuillaumeAton" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Kurtis Frank Dam-Mikkelson". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "'Drag Race's Miss Fame to Use They/Them Pronouns". www.out.com. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Miss Fame – Beauty Marked". Amazon. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Miss Fame – About Her". Miss Fame. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  6. ^ "Bobbé's Half Drag Shots". Vogue Italia. July 31, 2012. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  7. ^ "PHOTOS: Exclusive Chat with Drag Icons Delta Work, Tammie Brown and Landon Cider". Queerty. December 14, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  8. ^ "Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen – Biography". Kurtis in Beauty. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  9. ^ "Miss Fame Officially Ru-Vealed For RuPaul's Drag Race Season Seven!". WordPress. December 7, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  10. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode nine – Divine Inspiration". The Guardian. April 28, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  11. ^ "Drag Race Star Miss Fame Releases 'Rubber Doll' Music Video". The Advocate. April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  12. ^ "Miss Fame | IMG Models". IMG Models. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "12 looks qui prouvent que la drag queen Miss Fame est la star de la Fashion Week". March 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Jackson, Jhoni (April 20, 2018). "Miss Fame Is Transforming the Modeling Industry". PAPER. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "Miss Fame Becomes a Screen Queen". Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Christmas Queens 3 by Various Artists, November 17, 2017, retrieved October 10, 2018
  17. ^ "We're Still Screaming: Xtina Performs With Drag Queens at NYFW". PAPER. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  18. ^ Tietjen, Alexa (October 8, 2018). "Miss Fame on the Launch of Her Beauty Brand and the 'Mainstreaming' of Drag". WWD. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  19. ^ "SIC Venezia: Pinned Into A Dress, Directed by Gianluca Matarrese, Guillaume Thomas, France 2022".
  20. ^ @MissFameNYC (May 10, 2015). "Happy Birthday to my Mom dollysilveira6 dollysilveira6 dollysilveira6 I love you so much. You are the…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ @MissFameNYC (August 4, 2015). "This is my Grandma Gloria, she raised me since I was a baby as her son. I call her mom too ❤️ I love…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Mina & Shaya (@the_wienas) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  23. ^ "Miss Fame on her journey through beauty and how the industry has influenced her identity". September 9, 2020.
  24. ^ "Billboard Chart Archive" (To access, type "Miss Fame" in the artist bar, then select "Top Dance/Electronic Albums" in the chart name bar). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  25. ^ "Billboard Chart Archive" (To access, type "Miss Fame" in the artist bar, then select "Heatseeker Albums" in the chart name bar). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  26. ^ "iTunes – Music – Rubber Doll – Single by Miss Fame". iTunes. April 28, 2015. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  27. ^ "Miss Fame – Instafame". Amazon. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  28. ^ a b Miss Fame (February 5, 2016). "I Run the Runway [Official] Miss Fame & Violet Chachiki". YouTube. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  29. ^ "iTunes – Music – RuPaul Presents CoverGurlz2 by RuPaul". iTunes. February 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  30. ^ "Alaska, Katya, "Drag Race" Queens, Spread Holiday Cheer On "Christmas Queens" Album". NewNowNext. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  31. ^ "Exclusive Interview With Miss Fame: Super Model Drag Queen". Llama Post. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  32. ^ "IMDb: Pinned into a Dress". IMDb.
  33. ^ "Drag Queen Miss Fame Teaches Snooki & JWOWW How To Work A Catwalk". MTV. December 19, 2013. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  34. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode one – the devil wears nada". The Guardian. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  35. ^ "GNTM: Top Quoten für die Top 10 - Streit und Haute Couture". Tz. April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  36. ^ "This Drag Race Contestant Is Also A YouTube Makeup Celebrity". Refinery29. March 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  37. ^ Untucked: RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 1 – Born Naked. YouTube. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  38. ^ Miss Fame – Drag Race Theme: RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz2. YouTube. February 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  39. ^ Miss Fame – RUBBER DOLL (Official). YouTube. April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  40. ^ InstaFame [Official Teaser]. YouTube. June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  41. ^ Miss Fame – Toyland [Official] from Christmas Queens. YouTube. December 10, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  42. ^ GAREK – "Save the Queen" (Official Video). YouTube. June 25, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  43. ^ RuPaul Supermodel 2013 The Drag Race Girls. YouTube. September 13, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  44. ^ "Miss Fame on Twitter". Twitter. November 6, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  45. ^ "Miss Fame on Twitter". Twitter. April 29, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  46. ^ GAREK – "My Animal" (Official Video). YouTube. April 21, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  47. ^ Nguyen, Nikki (May 2, 2022). "World of Wonder's 2022 WOWIE Awards at DragCon: Cast Your Votes Now!". The Wow Report. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  48. ^ "Here Are World of Wonder's 2022 WOWIE Awards Winners". World of Wonder. May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miss Fame.
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  • Official website for Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen
  • Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen at IMDb
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