Russella

Career

Russella is considered one of 200 cultural icons by i-D magazine{{Cite news

Russella studied dance at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds where he met singer and actress Paloma Faith.{{Cite news |url-status = dead

After moving to London, Russella worked in fashion PR for vintage clothes retailer Beyond Retro.{{Cite news

After a chance meeting at London nightclub Madame Jojo's, a then unknown French singer Héloïse Letissier befriended Russella and two lesser known drag queens who encouraged her to sing. After a period of suffering from depression, Letissier was inspired by the drag queens—to the extent that she named her pop persona Christine and the Queens in appreciation.{{Cite news | first = Par Gilles | last = Medioni | title = VIDEOS. La voix royale de Christine and the Queens In an interview with the New Statesman, Letissier explains that whilst Russella taught her 'how to be a woman', the two have not remained in contact. Lettessier claims that Russella is one of the drag queens who 'saved [her] life'

Modelling career

Even though Russella claims not to care about beauty "everyone is so obsessed with beauty and glamour right now; everyone wants to be perfect. I know I am perfect – I'm fabulous – but I don't particularly care. I just want to be looked at"{{Cite news Russella has also appeared in photo shoots for magazines including i-D magazineAttitude Magazine,{{Cite news

Acting career

Russella appeared as 'Terry Crystal' in Trevor Miller's film Riot on Redchurch Street which was released in 2012 He also featured on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 in January 2012 as guest choreographer.

Comedy

In 2008 Russella launched 'London's Next Top Tranny' a successful competition to discover up and coming talent in East London {{cite news

Russella was a finalist in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year awards, 2012{{Cite news

In 2015 Russella entered Britain's Got Talent performing 'The Pancake Show', and expressed his desire to 'do' a cookery book, much to the dismay of Simon Cowell but with the full support of David Walliams who exclaimed 'I would buy it!'

Writing

Russella has contributed to online magazines including Societe Perrier{{cite web |url-status = dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140821054001/http://sabotagetimes.com/life/why-i-love-the-word-tranny/ |url-status= usurped |archive-date= 21 August 2014

Singing

Russella released his first comedic single on to iTunes in 2009 – titled – 'Too Fabulous'{{Cite web |url-status = dead Too Fabulous was performed at Lovebox Festival in 2011

Russella also appeared on episode 6 of Britain's Got Talent 2012 singing Wild Horses

Filmography

References

References

1. Long, Carola. (29 May 2010). "Faith: A Cuban Twist on the Retro Look". The Independent.
2. Kate, Mossman. (8 Jul 2016). "my love life would've been way better". New Statesman.
3. Van Renterghem, Marion. (23 Nov 2016). "Les confessions de Christine and the Queens".
4. "+++ SHOREDITCH UNBOUND :: Online +++".
5. "6th Spider Awards | Black & White Spider Photography Awards™".
6. "Communique".
7. "Hot Voodoo - Vogue.it".
8. "Archived copy".
9. http://riotonredchurch.com/supporting_cast.html. {{Webarchive. link. (25 April 2012)
10. Hackney Gazette, 19 January 2012, Emma Bartholomew