RuPaul

RuPaul – 2012 Critics’ Choice Television Awards – Arrivals – The Beverly Hilton Hotel – Beverly Hills, CA, USA – Keywords: Rupaul Andre Charles, Rupaul Charles Orientation: Portrait Face Count: 1 – False – Photo Credit: Andrew Evans / PR Photos

Birth Name: RuPaul Andre Charles

Place of Birth: San Diego, California, United States

Date of Birth: November 17, 1960

Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*mother – Louisiana Creole [African, French, distant Swiss-German, possibly other]

RuPaul is an American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. RuPaul is the host of television series RuPaul’s Drag Race.

RuPaul is the son of Ernestine “Toni” (Fontenette/Fontenet) and Irving Andrew Charles, who were from Louisiana. His father was African-American and his mother was a Louisiana Creole. She was of African, French, and more distant Swiss-German, descent. RuPaul is married to Georges LeBar, an Australian.

RuPaul has said:

My mother got the name [RuPaul] out of Ebony magazine. It was spelled Ripoll, but she’s Creole, so she made it into this saucy, Frenchy concoction.

RuPaul’s paternal grandfather was Robert Percy Charles (the son of Frank Charles and Beulah Creswell). Robert was born in Louisiana. Beulah was the daughter of Isaac Creswell and Ann “Annie” Walls.

RuPaul’s paternal grandmother was named Eula Belle Edwards. Eula was born in Louisiana.

RuPaul’s maternal grandfather was Félix “Bukey” Fontenette/Fontenet (the son of Félix Fontenette and Marie Louise Wiltz). RuPaul’s grandfather Félix was born in Louisiana. RuPaul’s great-grandfather Félix was the son of F. André Fontenette and Marie Constance Wiltz. RuPaul’s great-grandmother Marie Louise was the daughter of François Leufroy Wiltz and Marie Amelie Mercier. Two of RuPaul’s maternal ancestors were Andre Adrien Mercier, who was born, c. 1766, in Nantes, France; and Nicholas Wiltz, who was born, c. 1699, in Volkringen, Canton of Bern, Switzerland.

RuPaul’s maternal grandmother was named Ernestine Gérard/Girard (the daughter of Joseph Gérard). Ernestine was born in Louisiana.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2020) stated that RuPaul’s genetic ancestry is:

*70% African
*30% European

The show’s DNA matching showed RuPaul to have a close genetic connection to politician Cory Booker.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com

Genealogy of RuPaul’s maternal grandfather, Félix “Bukey” Fontenette/Fontenet – http://www.genealogy.com