Relatively new to the drag scene, Muffy Vanderbilt III has made a reputation for herself in 4 quick years of performing. The bodacious bombshell leans on her musical theater background to tell her drag persona, a lot to the delight of audiences throughout Houston.
Early in her profession, “I did professional theater and I got to play an ‘Ugly Stepsister’ in Cinderella,” Vanderbilt says. “It was so much fun!” The performer, who describes her aesthetic as “campy, but fashion forward,” starred in different productions, together with one other flip in Cinderella at A.D. Players. “I went on to play ‘Mary Sunshine’ in Chicago and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m pretty.’”
The drag bug bit, because it usually does, at a neighborhood bar. “I was going to this drag show called the Broad’sWay because I’m a musical theater person. I thought, ‘I can do this—maybe even better.’” But the early days for Vanderbilt weren’t as profitable as she predicted. “I was not better,” she stated with amusing. “I was very average at it. But the more I worked, and the more stage experience I got, it just clicked.”
Today, Vanderbilt hosts Sing! at Hamburger Mary’s as soon as a month, and Theme Queens at Buddy’s on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. She stated that her followers make performing intoxicatingly enjoyable, and her drag household makes performing worthwhile. “The family aspect of drag has been really important to me,” she stated. “It’s hard to make friends as an adult. To be able to make best friends and lifelong connections with people, I think that’s really rare.”
Meet the Queens
Mistress Isabelle Brooks | Chloe Crawford Ross | Muffy Vanderbilt III