Shea Couleé attends 'RuPaul's Drag Race: All-Stars 7' Saks Fifth Avenue window display Ruveal |

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Star, Shea Couleé, Says ‘10/10 Would Recommend’ Acting in a Marvel Series

'RuPaul's Drag Race' winner Shea Couleé will star as Shade in 'Ironheart.' In August, she updated fans on filming for the series, saying she would recommend working for Marvel.

by Julia Dzurillay

Published on August 15, 2022

2 min read

Shea Couleé stars as ‘Shade’ in Marvel’s Disney+ series ‘Ironheart’

Shea Couleé attends ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 7’ Saks Fifth Avenue window display Ruveal | Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for VH1/Paramount+

She didn’t come to play — she came to slay. Hot on the heels of her All-Stars 7 appearance, Shea Couleé announced her role in the Marvel original Disney+ series, Ironheart. Couleé will star as the drag queen superhero, Shade, acting alongside Dominique Thorne (Ironheart), Manny Montana, and Anthony Ramos.

“I’m trying to find the words to express the deep excitement I feel over this project,” Couleé wrote on Instagram. “Acting was my first love long before Drag. So it only seems fitting to end my Drag Race journey and begin my acting career in the biggest way I could imagine. Stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been like stepping into OZ.”

“Ironheart is top to bottom going to be an absolutely STUNNING experience for the viewers, and I’m so humbled every day that I get to work on set with some of the best and most dedicated artists in the industry,” she continued. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my journey, and I look forward to sharing the exciting new chapter with you all.”

Shea Couleé ‘would recommend’ starring in a Marvel series

As the Marvel series continued filming, Couleé updated her fans about the experience. In August 2022, Couleé tweeted, “I had SO MUCH fun on set today. Acting in a Marvel series?! 10/10 would recommend.”

As a Disney+ original series, Ironheart will join Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and other Marvel shows as exclusive productions of Disney’s streaming service.

Shea Couleé competed on (and won) ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 5’

Of course, Shea Couleé is known as the Shady CouLady from RuPaul’s Drag Race seasons 9 and All-Stars 5. The artist proved herself as a talented seamstress, dancer, and songwriter, recently returning for RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars 7 a.k.a. the “all-winners” season of the reality competition show.

While still competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars, Couleé was already working on the Marvel show, tweeting, “Me last week filming a Marvel series and watching all my haters go off about they thought I didn’t even deserve to be top 4.”

This wouldn’t be Couleé’s first acting role, as the drag performer appeared as Marcia Brady in the Drag Race-The Brady Bunch crossover, Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch, in 2021.

While there’s no official premiere date, season 1 of Ironheart is scheduled to debut in Fall 2023 on Disney+. In the meantime, Shea Couleé is also working on original music, including the 2022 single “Let Go.”