A long list of RuPaul’s Drag Race queens and fans have started referring to Lexi Love as “grandma.” Not only is that a wild nickname for anyone who is 33 years of age, but it also doesn’t make any sense when evaluating Lexi as a “grandma” within the Drag Race universe.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with aging and/or being called a grandmother. The edit on Drag Race season 17 also showed that Lexi was a little gagged but mostly unbothered by the nickname. And yet, it is noteworthy to showcase certain stats about past seasons to show how Lexi compares to other queens when it comes to aging.
Yes, ‘Drag Race’ season 17 does have the youngest average age for the cast overall
Despite the absurdity of calling Love a grandmother for being 33 at the time of filming, it should be noted that the cast of Drag Race season 17 has an average age of 26.29 — the lowest one in herstory. In turn, season 9 has the highest-ever average age of the flagship series: 30.50.
Below, you can see the full breakdown of average ages throughout 17 seasons of the show.
‘Drag Race’ season 1
Average age: 28.
‘Drag Race’ season 2
Average age: 27.58
‘Drag Race’ season 3
Average age: 28.23
‘Drag Race’ season 4
Average age: 29.08
‘Drag Race’ season 5
Average age: 28.07
‘Drag Race’ season 6
Average age: 29.50
‘Drag Race’ season 7
Average age: 30.14
‘Drag Race’ season 8
Average age: 29.83
‘Drag Race’ season 9 (oldest average)
Average age: 30.50
‘Drag Race’ season 10
Average age: 28.29
‘Drag Race’ season 11
Average age: 30.13
‘Drag Race’ season 12
Average age: 28.38
‘Drag Race’ season 13
Average age: 29.38
‘Drag Race’ season 14
Average age: 26.43
‘Drag Race’ season 15
Average age: 27.31
‘Drag Race’ season 16
Average age: 28.57
‘Drag Race’ season 16 (youngest average)
Average age: 26.29
However, nearly all past ‘Drag Race’ seasons had queens older than Lexi Love (with only one exception!) at the time they competed.
‘Drag Race’ season 1
Nina Flowers: 34
Victoria Porkchop Parker: 39
‘Drag Race’ season 2
Nicole Paige Brooks: 36
Pandora Boxx: 37
‘Drag Race’ season 3
Delta Work: 34
Raja: 36
‘Drag Race’ season 4
Milan: 36
Latrice Royale: 39
Chad Michaels: 40
‘Drag Race’ season 5
Coco Montrese: 37
Penny Tration: 39
‘Drag Race’ season 6
Courtney Act: 33
Kelly Mantle: 37
Bianca Del Rio: 38
Vivacious: 40
Darienne Lake: 41
‘Drag Race’ season 7
Kennedy Davenport: 33
Jasmine Masters: 37
Mrs. Kasha Davis: 43
Tempest DuJour: 47
‘Drag Race’ season 8
Robbie Turner: 33
Cynthia Lee Fontaine: 34
Acid Betty: 38
‘Drag Race’ season 9
Alexis Michelle: 33
Nina Bo’Nina Brown: 34
Cynthia Lee Fontaine: 35
Peppermint: 37
Charlie Hides: 52
‘Drag Race’ season 10
Miz Cracker: 33
Asia O’Hara: 35
Mayhem Miller: 35
‘Drag Race’ season 11
Brooke Lynn Hytes: 33
Ra’Jah O’Hara: 33
Honey Davenport: 33
Nina West: 39
Shuga Cain: 40
‘Drag Race’ season 12
Jackie Cox: 34
Brita: 34
‘Drag Race’ season 13
Tina Burner: 39
Tamisha Iman: 46
‘Drag Race’ season 14
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 is the series’ one and only flagship season without any queen being the same age as, or older than, Lexi Love. The oldest queens during that cycle were Lady Camden and DeJa Skye, both of whom were 31 years old while filming the show.
‘Drag Race’ season 15
Sasha Colby: 37
‘Drag Race’ season 16
Xunami Muse: 33
Megami: 33
Sapphira Cristál: 34
Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige: 34
Who are the oldest queens to ever compete on ‘Drag Race’?
The oldest-ever queens to compete on Drag Race at the time of filming are: Charlies Hides, (52 in season 9), Tempest DuJour (47 in season 7), and Tamisha Iman (46 in season 13).
Who are the oldest ‘Drag Race’ winners of all time?
Looking back at herstory, three queens won Drag Race while being older than Lexi Love in their respective seasons.
Raja was 36 while competing on Drag Race season 3. Bianca Del Rio was 38 when she was crowned the winner of season 6. Last but certainly not least, Sasha Colby won season 15 of Drag Race when she was just 37.
Age is just a number — but it’s also a strength. The green queens should watch out for their older competitor — while also recognizing that in the drag and real world, 33 is no grandma.