Raven (drag queen)

Raven (drag queen)
David Petruschin (born April 8, 1979), best known as Raven, is an American drag queen, make-up artist, and reality television personality from Riverside, California. Raven was a fixture in the Southern California nightclub scene before gaining international prominence for appearing in both the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the first season of All Stars. Raven placed as the runner-up on both seasons. Petruschin has been RuPaul's makeup artist since Drag Race's ninth season (episode 3) and has since become a creative producer of both RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. For his make-up work on the show, Petruschin received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) in 2020.
Early life
Petruschin was born to DeShawna and Viktor Petruschin in Idaho as the first of three children. Being of Russian ancestry, his mother, who separated from his father when Petruschin was seven years old, raised him a Mormon.
Career
Before becoming a drag artist, Petruschin worked as a cosmetics salesperson and a freelance make-up artist for local theater productions during the day, moonlighting in nightclubs as a go-go boy under the name "Phoenix". His drag debut as Raven was on May 10, 2002, performing with fellow future Drag Race alumnus Mayhem Miller. Petruschin did not have a drag mother. As Raven, Petruschin auditioned to compete on the first and second seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Early Drag Race Appearances
In 2010, Raven was announced as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race. In the first episode, she won the season's first mini-challenge, a photo shoot. In the second and third episode she landed in the bottom two, having to "lip-sync for her life" twice in order to stay in the competition. She won both lip-syncs. Raven won a second mini-challenge in the fourth episode by guessing the price of various objects, earning her a phone call home; and a third mini-challenge in the fifth episode by successfully decorating a box to reflect his personal style. She won the seventh and eighth main challenges, which involved creating and promoting an autobiography, and giving an older gentleman a makeover, respectively. At the end of the competition, she ultimately placed second behind Tyra Sanchez.
Raven appeared in the spin-off series RuPaul's Drag U, which ran for three seasons. Raven served as a "drag professor" and mentor to female contestants who are given make-overs. In the series, his persona is not portrayed in a villainous fashion, but instead as a softer and nurturing mentor. Raven made a total of twelve appearances and collected the most wins during the series' run, being dubbed the "Makeover Queen". In an episode of the second season he gave his mother DeShawna a makeover, helping him win against the sisters of Jujubee and Manila Luzon.
On August 6, 2012, Raven was announced as one of twelve past Drag Race contestants selected for RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, which premiered on the Logo network on October 22, 2012. He was paired with contestant and best friend Jujubee to form Team Rujubee. They won the mini-challenges in the second and fifth episode by correctly answering questions about each other in the style of The Newlywed Game and by scoring more points in a game of basketball, which won them a call to their loved ones. The duo reached the final, which aired on November 26, 2012, where Raven again landed as a runner-up, this time to winner Chad Michaels.
During the airing of the first All Stars season, Raven (along with All Stars contestants Manila Luzon, Latrice Royale, and Tammie Brown) appeared in a television commercial for travel website Orbitz's new portal for LGBT leisure travel.
Post All-Stars Work
Petruschin returned to Drag Race off-camera as RuPaul's make-up artist, beginning with the ninth season. He received a nomination for the 2018 Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Award in the category "Television and New Media Series: Best Contemporary Makeup". For his work on the tenth season, he received a nomination for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards in the category Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special. He won an Emmy for his work on the twelfth season. Aside from doing RuPaul's make-up, he has served as a creative producer for All Stars since its third season and for Drag Race since its tenth.
In a commercial promoting the syndication run of the cable television series Nip/Tuck on the Logo network, Raven lip synced to the theme song "A Perfect Lie" as he caressed a syringe close to his lips. The commercial was based on one of his past drag performances. He has also made a guest appearance in an episode of Logo's reality series, Pretty Hurts, which documents the life and career of celebrity medical aesthetician Rand Rusher.
Raven appeared in an episode of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 8, during a photo shoot where each of the show's contestants dressed in male drag and paired with a drag queen.
Raven made a cameo in the 2011 music video for "Diamond Crowned Queen" by RuPaul's Drag Race season three winner Raja. His cameo was praised by critics, who named him the "magnificent Raven". In 2012, along with other RuPaul's Drag Race contestants, he appeared in another music video, "Queen" by Mimi Imfurst's band Xelle. He also starred in the music video "Feed Me Diamonds" by MNDR.
In 2014, Raven and Raja started a weekly YouTube fashion critique show on World of Wonder's channel called "RuPaul's Drag Race Fashion Photo RuView", where they discuss fashion from mostly Drag Race alumni. He has appeared on multiple other WOW shows as well.
Focusing his efforts on film projects, Petruschin currently rarely performs in live drag shows.
Legacy
In 2016, Raven was included as an inspiration in Vanity Fair's "100 Years of Drag Fashion" video, alongside iconic drag performers Divine, David Bowie, and RuPaul. The video presented his style as the epitome of 2000s-era drag. Raven is widely cited as creating the “face of drag”, even inspiring RuPaul's original make-up artist, Mathu Andersen. RuPaul's Drag Race season six winner Bianca Del Rio has also stated that many young drag queens use Raven's style.
Filmography
Film
The Bitch Who Stole Christmas (2021) as Shopping Lady
Television
Web
Music videos
Awards and nominations
|-
! scope="row"| 2018
| Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards
| Best Contemporary Makeup in Television and New Media Series
| RuPaul's Drag Race
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2018
|rowspan="3"| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special
| RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10)
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
! scope="row" | 2020
| rowspan="2"| Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program
| RuPaul's Drag Race (season 12)
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2021
| RuPaul's Drag Race (season 13)
|
|
|-
! scope="row"| 2022
| Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards
| Best Contemporary Makeup in Television and New Media Series
| RuPaul's Drag Race
|
|
References
External links
Make Up Work! with Raven series
1979 births
Living people
American drag queens
American people of Russian descent
Former Latter Day Saints
LGBT Latter Day Saints
LGBT people from California
American make-up artists
People from Riverside, California
People from Victorville, California
Primetime Emmy Award winners
RuPaul's Drag Race contestants
Painted with Raven