Pearl (drag queen)

Pearl, occasionally known as Pearl Liaison, is the stage name of American drag performer and record producer Matthew James Lent,[1] who came to international attention on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, finishing joint runner-up.

Pearl
Pearl at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018
Born
Matthew James Lent
Occupation
Years active2012–present

Early life

Lent grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida with his mother and two sisters.[2] He spent time drawing "rich old ladies with big diamond rings and furs", which eventually morphed into his drag persona.[3]

Drag career

After moving to Chicago, Lent began performing in drag in 2012, alongside Kim Chi and Trixie Mattel, using the stage name Pearl.[3] He has described Pearl's persona as a "Stepford wife robot bitch".[4] Lent initially only planned to use drag as a hobby, but quickly began booking gigs at increasing frequency. He later moved to Brooklyn, New York.[3]

In December 2014, Pearl was announced to be a participant on the seventh season of the Logo TV reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race.[5] Despite a slow start to the competition, Pearl rebounded to win two main challenges, and eventually became a finalist alongside fellow competitors Ginger Minj and Violet Chachki.[6] In the season finale, Violet Chachki was crowned the winner, leaving Pearl as a runner-up.[7]

Pearl has been described as the drag mother of Scarlet Envy, who appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11).[8] Pearl denied this in an interview in July 2019, describing Scarlet as a good friend of hers.[9]

Other ventures

Music

On June 2, 2015, Lent released the album Pleasure, along with a music video for its first single, "Love Slave".[10] Unlike other albums released by Drag Race alumni, Pleasure does not feature any vocals from Lent; he instead produced the entire album. The album charted at number eleven on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart and number sixteen on the Heatseekers chart.[11]

Perfume

On June 2, 2015, Lent announced the release of a fragrance, Flazéda, with perfume company Xyrena.[12][13] In doing so, he became the first Drag Race alumni member to release a scent. The fragrance started shipping on June 30, 2015.[13]

Discography
Albums
Title Details Peak
chart
positions
US
Dance
[14]		 US
Heat
[15]
Pleasure 1116
Singles
Title Year Album
"Love Slave"[17]
(featuring Jaylee Maruk)		 2015 Pleasure
Other appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Hey Booty"[18] 2015 RuPaul, Miles Davis Moody RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz2

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself (Contestant) Season 7 - Runner-up [19]

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 Untucked Himself Companion web series to RuPaul's Drag Race [20]

Music videos
Title Year Director Ref.
"Hey Booty" 2015 Matthew James Lent [21]
"Love Slave" 2015 Michael Serrato [22]

Music video appearances
Title Year Director Ref.
"Bettie"
(Violet Chachki)		 2015 Michael Serrato [23]
"Nerves of Steel"
(Erasure)		 2020 Brad Hammer [24]

See also

References
  1. Lock, Isaac (Autumn–Winter 2016). "Pearl: Venus as a Boy". Dazed. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  2. Van Horn, Shea (June 11, 2015). "Shea Van Horn Interviews PEARL". Brightest Young Things. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  3. Lindsay, Benjamin (February 27, 2015). "Flawless Pearl". Next Magazine. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  4. Fernandez, Cory (May 27, 2015). "A Real Pearl". Out. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  5. Nichols, JamesMichael (December 7, 2015). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season Seven Cast Revealed (PHOTOS)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  6. https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/rupaul-reveals-drag-race-final-5772352
  7. Lee, Stephan (June 2, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 7 winner talks about being the 'shadiest queen'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  8. Rudolph, Christopher (2019-04-05), "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE INTERVIEW: SCARLET ENVY: "IF ANYONE WAS THROWN UNDER THE BUS, IT WAS ME"", MTV
  9. Shepard, Joseph. "Pearl: Exposed". Youtube. Joseph Shepard. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  10. Nichols, JamesMichael (June 3, 2015). "Violet Chachki, Pearl And Ginger Minj, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Finalists, Release New Music". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  11. "Pearl - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  12. O'Donnell, Carey. "Pearl Releases New Signature Fragrance, Flazéda". Logo NewNowNext. Viacom International Inc. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  13. "Flazéda By Pearl – Extrait De Parfum". Xyrena. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  14. "Pearl – Chart History – Top Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  15. "Pearl – Chart History – Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  16. "iTunes - Music - Pleasure - Album by Pearl". iTunes. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. "iTunes - Music - Love Slave - Single by Pearl". iTunes. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  18. "iTunes - Music - RuPaul Presents CoverGurlz2 by RuPaul". iTunes. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  19. Malice, Michael (March 3, 2015). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' 7×1 Recap: No Shame in Being Shallow". Observer. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  20. Untucked: RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 1 - Born Naked. YouTube. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  21. Pearl - Hey Booty: RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz2. YouTube. February 3, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  22. Pearl - Pleasure - Love Slave (Official). YouTube. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  23. Violet Chachki - Bettie [Official]. YouTube. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  24. Erasure (August 11, 2020). "Erasure - Nerves of Steel (Official Video)" (YouTube video). Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
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