Farrah Moan speaks onstage at 3rd Annual RuPaul's DragCon day 2 at Los Angeles Convention Center on April 30, 2017 in Los Angeles, California Source: Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images

Watch: 'Drag Race' Star Farrah Moan Announces She's Trans, Has Lived as a Woman for 4 Years

Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.

"RuPaul's Drag Race" star Farrah Moan revealed that she's transgender – and she's been living as her true gender for the last four years.

"The season 9 and 'All Stars 4' competitor – whose looks are often compared to pop icon and season 10 guest judge Christina Aguilera – revealed the news Thursday [Dec. 21] on season 14 queen Maddy Morphosis' 'Give It to Me Straight' talk series, telling her 'Drag Race' sister that she made the decision to transition nearly five years ago, after competing on RuPaul's Emmy-winning TV show," Entertainment Weekly reported.

"In 2019, unbeknownst to my following, that was when I had made my decision to live my life as a woman," Farrah detailed during the interview, Billboard reported.

The 30-year-old drag performer said she's known since age three that she was female, despite being assigned male at birth. She explained her reasoning for keeping her gender identity a secret, saying, "The times in my life where I tried to suppress my trans identity, it was because I felt if I ever [transitioned], I would never be on 'Drag Race,' I'd never be successful, I'd never be able to have a job."

"Back in my day, the trans people that were brave enough to be open and out were very ostracized from society, in my perception," Farrah added.

Even so, the time came when she couldn't continue living as a man because, she said, "having a male persona felt more like drag than having to do drag, and that was when I couldn't do it anymore."

The anguish was a daily ordeal.

"The thought of dressing like a boy was so stressful to me," the drag star recalled, "and I resented every masculine feature my whole life."

Prior to her transition to living as a woman full time, her career as a drag star served as a refuge from the dissonance of being seen as a man but knowing within herself that she was a woman. Being in drag, she said, "was the only time that I could really feel at home in my body."

Now that she's living, not merely performing, as a woman, Farrah told Maddy, "My daily anxiety levels are much lower. I don't feel panicked about it anymore."

Tearfully, she added: "I feel proud of who I am, and at 30 years old, I'm actually just so thankful for that, because I really never thought I would."

The conversation also touched on online hate, catfishing, Farrah's past substance use, and the need for personal security, with Farrah telling Maddy about her house being robbed.

"Farrah is the latest 'Drag Race' contestant to come out as trans, following season 6 and 'All Stars 2' competitor Adore Delano – also a former 'American Idol' cast member – who discussed her identity in July, and season 5 queen (and eventual 'Dragula' star) Jade Jolie, who came out as trans in October," Entertainment Weekly noted.

Watch Farrah's interview with Maddy Morphosis below. The section in which she discussed transitioning begins at the 58:17 mark.


by Kilian Melloy , EDGE Staff Reporter

Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.

Read These Next