When she first started performing in drag, Alaska Thunderfuck did it as a means of survival — after leaving her home state of Pennsylvania for Los Angeles, the star says she turned to drag in order to find purpose. "I was doing drag to feed my soul because I was directionless," she says. "Then I ended up, you know, meeting people and getting jobs, doing drag.
And so I was like, 'Maybe this is something I can pursue.'" That's what started Alaska on her journey toward becoming one of the preeminent drag stars of today, and winning the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, as she tells singer-songwriter and host Shea Diamond on the latest episode of Billboard's Pridecast.