Jinkx Monsoon

From July 21 to August 19, they starred as Angel in the 5th Avenue Theatre's production of the musical RENT.

Jerick Roman Lamar Hoffer (born September 18, 1987), best known under the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag queen, actor, singer and comedian.

Named the "Queen of All Queens", they have been noted for their celebrity impersonations and quick wit.

They have lived in Seattle, Washington since 2006.

Hoffer worked as a custodian through college and graduated with a BFA in theater from Cornish College of the Arts in 2010.

In 2011, Hoffer appeared in the Wes Hurley film Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel.

In June 2011, Hoffer became the subject of a YouTube docu-series by Alex Berry, a Seattle videographer.

Named after Death Becomes Her, one of Jinkx's favorite movies, Drag Becomes Him explores Hoffer's life in and out of drag.

In January 2012, Hoffer appeared as Moritz in the rock musical Spring Awakening at the Balagan Theater in Seattle.

Controversy arose from The Seattle Times review by Misha Berson, who said that they were "overly flamboyant" for the role.

Dan Savage defended Hoffer's portrayal of Moritz.

In November 2012, Logo announced that Jinkx Monsoon was among fourteen drag queens who would be competing on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Monsoon was inspired to audition after seeing Sharon Needles on the fourth season of the show.

Monsoon won the main-challenges for the episodes "Snatch Game" and "Drama Queens".

For the "Snatch Game", Monsoon impersonated Edith Bouvier Beale, nicknamed as "Little Edie."

Monsoon also impersonated third-season contestant Mimi Imfurst in the episode "Lip Synch Extravaganza Eleganza".

Monsoon later won the season, with two maxi-challenge wins.

In 2013, they won the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

In 2022, with an all-winners cast, they later won the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, becoming the first two-time winner of the show across its iterations.

They made their Broadway debut in 2023.

In January 2013, Hoffer played Hedwig in the Moore Theatre's production of the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Balagan reprised the production in December 2013 for a week long run with Hoffer and the original cast/production team.

In June 2013, they played Velma Von Tussle in the Seattle Men's Chorus/5th Avenue Theatre's production of the musical Hairspray.

Hoffer also performed as Jinkx Monsoon in the original one act cabaret musical The Vaudevillians under the name "Kitty Witless."

They are accompanied by musical partner and co-creator Richard Andriessen who performs under the name "Dr. Dan Von Dandy."

The Vaudevillians performed at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City from July to November 2013.

After touring Australia with The Vaudevillians, they received a nomination for the Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer.

In 2013, Hoffer was chosen as one of the Artists of the Year by City Arts magazine along with Megan Griffiths, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, and Wes Hurley.

They have also pursued a career in music, releasing two studio albums titled The Inevitable Album (2014) and The Ginger Snapped (2018).

In film, Monsoon appeared with their collaborative partner BenDeLaCreme in the holiday film The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special (2021) which was later released on Hulu.

In television, Monsoon appears in the WOW Presents Plus original Sketchy Queens, a series they created alongside Liam Krug.

Jerick Roman Lamar Hoffer was born in Portland, Oregon, and first performed in drag at age 15 at the all-ages Escape Nightclub.

Their original drag name was going to be "Heidi Destruction" before settling on Jinkx Monsoon.

They attended da Vinci Arts Middle School and Grant High School.

Hoffer was raised Catholic, and discovered Russian-Jewish ancestry on their mother's side at the age of 18.

Their drag character, Jinkx, is characterized as Jewish as a way of reconnecting with this part of their heritage.

They played Tallulah/Dennis, the owner of Lipstick Lounge in an episode of Blue Bloods entitled "Manhattan Queens", which aired on January 31, 2014.

The series has continued with a full length documentary film also called "Drag Becomes Him'. In October 2013 it was turned into a feature-length film with Seattle-based producer Basil Shadid on board. A Kickstarter campaign in March 2014 successfully raised funds to complete the project, and it premiered at April 29, 2015 at Seattle's Cinerama.

By October 2018, they moved back to Portland and currently live in a house named Monsoon Manor.

After moving to Seattle from Portland, Hoffer and creative partner Nick Sahoyah wrote and starred in multiple Funny or Die webisodes titled Monsoon Season in which they played Jinkx Monsoon as an overbearing, substance addled, near-psychotic mother to Sahoyah's character, Kamikaze Monsoon.