Pandora Boxx
| Pandora Boxx | |
|---|---|
 Pandora Boxx performing at the Gay Games Festival Village in Cleveland, OH in 2014 | |
| Born |
Michael Steck May 2, 1972 Jamestown, New York, United States |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, drag queen, musician, playwright, reality television personality |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Website |
www |
Pandora Boxx (born Michael Steck; in Jamestown, New York) is an American drag queen, comedian and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. She is best known as a contestant from the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[1] and the first season of RuPaul's All Star Drag Race.
Early life
Boxx was born Michael Steck in Jamestown, New York.[2] Her family later moved to Olean, New York. Steck has a younger sister Susanne Steck.[3]
Career
Steck was inspired to do drag after watching the drag queen Darienne Lake perform in an outdoor festival in Rochester, New York. For her first show at the gay bar Infinity in Rochester, Steck chose her drag name as a play on words of Pandora's box, an artifact found in Greek mythology.[4]
Boxx auditioned two times before becoming a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Highlights of her performance on Drag Race include an impersonation of Carol Channing on Snatch Game (a Match Game parody challenge). Performing well in the show's challenges, her failure to win one resulted in RuPaul calling her "the Susan Lucci of this competition." She was eliminated in the eighth episode, "Golden Gals."[5] After her elimination, Entertainment Weekly called her their pick for "America's Next Drag Superstar."[6][7] She was later voted the Miss Congeniality of his season.
After her elimination, Boxx appeared on the three seasons of Drag Race spin-off series RuPaul's Drag U. She also appeared in a television commercial for Absolut Vodka that aired during the third season of Drag Race dressed as a Bloody Mary.[8]
In 2011, she hosted an episode of Logo's One Night Stand Up, a comedy special filmed live in the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Other performers included Bianca Del Rio, Hedda Lettuce, and Kelly Mantle.[9] Later that year, Boxx appeared in an Entertainment Weekly photo spread along with Mimi Imfurst that featured Melissa McCarthy channeling Divine.[10] On September 27, 2011, Boxx released her first single "Cooter!"
Boxx and Sherry Vine released "Give Me All Your Muff," a parody of "Give Me All Your Luvin'" by Madonna in 2012.[11] In addition, Boxx released several singles in 2012: a cover version of Samantha Fox's hit song "I Wanna Have Some Fun" and the original song "Nice Car! (Shame About Your Penis)."
In 2012, Sharon Needles won the online voting to appear on RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, but revealed that she was not going to participate due to the fact she was the reigning winner of the fourth season. Needles also confirmed that Boxx was her replacement and would appear on the show.[12] Boxx, along with team partner Mimi Imfurst, formed Team Mandora, were the first two contestants eliminated on the All Stars.
In 2013 she began hosting Drag Race recaps for NewNowNext on Logo, called "Drag Center". She also released a single with Adam Barta called "You Seemed Shady to Me", which hit Top 50 on the iTunes comedy single charts.[13]
Other work
Besides appearing on Drag Race, she wrote, directed, produced, and appeared in Mrs. Kasha Davis: The Life of an International Housewife Celebrity starring fellow drag performer from Rochester's Tilt nightclub, Mrs. Kasha Davis.[14] Boxx also wrote a play, The Lipstick Massacre, directed by David Henderson and starring herself and actress Kasha Davis. The plot follows a commercial actress, Daphne Von Hausenpfeffer, whose career is fading. When other actresses up for the same roles start disappearing, it seems Daphne may be the prime suspect.[15] It was described as "a new murder mystery/B-horror movie/comedy play."[16] The Lipstick Massacre has played at Rochester's Multi-use Community Cultural Center,[17] and the Geva Theatre.[18]
She is usually credited as "Michael Steck" for creative roles.
Personal life
Michael announced via Twitter that she became engaged on Christmas Day, 2010.[19]
Discography
Singles
| Title | Year | Producer | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Cooter!" | 2011 | Non-album singles | |
| "I Wanna Have Some Fun" (featuring Tim Permanent) |
2012 | ||
| "Nice Car (Shame About Your Penis)" (featuring Shango) | |||
| "You Seemed Shady to Me" (featuring Adam Barta) | |||
| "Different" | 2014 | Electropoint | |
| "Unicorn" | 2015 | Electropoint | |
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A Voice from the Lantern | Marvelous Marvin | Short film |
| 2008 | Mrs. Kasha Davis: The Life of an International Housewife Celebrity | Delores Matterhatter | Short film; director and writer |
| 2013 | X Confident | Iris | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself | 5th Place (Eliminated in Episode 9) |
| 2010 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | Herself | |
| 2010–12 | RuPaul's Drag U | Herself | |
| 2010 | Jeffery & Cole Casserole[20] | Season 2, Episode 5: "The Teen Moms" | |
| 2011 | One Night Stand Up | Herself | Episode 10: Dragtastic NYC |
| 2012 | Are You There, Chelsea? | Tiffany | Episode 8: "Dee Dee's Pillow" |
| 2012 | RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars | Herself | 11th Place (Dual Elimination with Mimi Imfurst in Ep 1) |
| 2013 | She's Living for This[21] | Herself | Season 2, Episode 1 |
Music video appearances
| Year | Song | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Queen" (Xelle)[22] | JC Cassis |
| 2013 | "Ru Girl" (Alaska Thunderfuck) | Carly Usdin |
References
- ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2". Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Rezsnyak, Eric (26 January 2010). "PROFILE: Pandora Boxx". Rochester City Newspaper. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Normal, Abby (9 October 2011). "Pandora Boxx: From Little Michael to Cooter!". Yahoo! Voices. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ Holland, Scott (10 September 2010). "Catching up with Pandora Boxx". Edge Boston. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race: Old Man Drag Is the Most Dangerous Kind". Gawker. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Hartinger, Brent (7 April 2010). "Interview: Pandora Boxx Opens Up on Her "RuPaul’s Drag Race" Elimination Controversy". The Backlot.com. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ "The Bullseye: April 9, 2010". Entertainment Weekly. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ↑ Elliott, Stuart (18 January 2011). "Sponsorship of This Series Is No ‘Drag’". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ↑ Voss, Brandon (14 January 2011). "Hot Sheet Big Love, Idol, Skins". The Advocate. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ "NEW: Pandora Boxx & Mimi Imfurst Photo Shoot". New Now Next. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ Spargo, Chris (13 February 2012). "VIDEO: Pandora Boxx & Sherry Vine Parody Madonna". New Now Next. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ Spargo, Chris (21 June 2012). "Sharon Needles Explains Why She Won’t Be On ‘RuPaul’s All Stars Drag Race’". New Now Next. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ Source: http://www.newnownext.com/pandora-boxx-adam-barta-you-seemed-shady-to-me-music-video/07/2013/
- ↑ Steck, Michael. "Mrs. Kasha Davis: The Life of an International Housewife Celebrity (2008)". Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Rezsnyak, Eric (November 11, 2009). "THEATER REVIEW: "Lipstick Massacre"". Roc hester City Newspaper. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Steck, Michael. "Facebook | The Lipstick Massacre". Facebook. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ "The Lipstick Massacre". Multi-use Community Cultural Center. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
|first1=missing|last1=in Authors list (help) - ↑ "Springfest 2010". Geva Theatre. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ↑ Boxx, Pandora. "Engaged on Christmas! :-)". Twitter. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
- ↑ "Pandora Boxx". TV.com. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ↑ "**She's Living For This**". here TV. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ↑ Spargo, Chris (25 October 2012). "XELLE’s ‘Queen’ Music Video Features Every ‘Drag Race’ Queen: Watch". New Now Next. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
External links
Pandora Boxx/Michael Steck
| Preceded by Nina Flowers |
RuPaul's Drag Race miss congeniality Season 2 (2010) |
Succeeded by Yara Sofia |