Jinkx Monsoon

Jinkx Monsoon, born Hera Lilith Hoffer on September 18, 1987, in Portland, Oregon, is an American drag queen, actress, singer, and comedian. She is widely recognized by her stage name, which she adopted in part from Edina Monsoon, a character in the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. Hoffer was raised in an Irish Catholic household under difficult circumstances; her father was absent during her childhood, and her mother's struggles with alcoholism led Hoffer to assume a caretaking role for her younger siblings by age 12. She has two younger brothers and a half-sister. Hoffer came out as gay at age 13 and first performed in drag at age 15 at the all-ages Escape Nightclub under the name Heidi Destruction. She attended da Vinci Arts Middle School and Grant High School before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater from Cornish College of the Arts in 2010, working as a janitor to support herself through her studies.

As a teenager, Hoffer discovered she was of partial Ashkenazi ancestry. Following the 2008 death of her maternal grandmother, Judith Irwin-Hoffer, she learned that Judith had been born to Jewish parents of Polish and Finnish descent and had been adopted by an Irish Catholic couple. Hoffer has described the Jinkx Monsoon persona as a means of connecting to that Jewish heritage, characterizing the figure as a failed Jewish actress who became a cabaret favorite.

After relocating from Portland to Seattle, Hoffer began building her performance career in earnest. In 2011, she appeared in the Wes Hurley film Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel and became the subject of a YouTube docu-series titled Drag Becomes Him, directed by Seattle videographer Alex Berry. That same year, she and creative partner Nick Sahoyah wrote and starred in a series of Funny or Die webisodes called Monsoon Season. In January 2012, she played Moritz in a production of Spring Awakening at the Balagan Theater in Seattle, and from July to August of that year she starred as Angel in the 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Rent.

Monsoon rose to national prominence when Logo announced in November 2012 that she would compete on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, a competition she went on to win. During the season she won the main challenges for the episodes "Snatch Game" and "Drama Queens," impersonating Edith Bouvier Beale, known as Little Edie, in the former. Nine years later, in 2022, she returned for an all-winners All Stars season in which crowned queens from multiple seasons competed for the title of Queen of All Queens and a $200,000 prize. Monsoon placed first, becoming the first two-time winner across all global franchises of the show. Throughout her drag career she has been recognized for her wit, comedic timing, musical theatre-influenced performances, and celebrity impersonations, including those of Judy Garland, Little Edie Bouvier Beale, and Natasha Lyonne.

In January 2013, Monsoon played Hedwig in the Moore Theatre's production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a role she reprised at Balagan in December 2013. In June 2013, she played Velma Von Tussle in the Seattle Men's Chorus and 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Hairspray. That same year she performed in the original one-act cabaret musical The Vaudevillians, playing a character named Kitty Witless alongside musical partner and co-creator Richard Andriessen, who performed as Dr. Dan Von Dandy. The Vaudevillians ran at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City from July to November 2013, and after the production toured Australia, Monsoon received a nomination for the Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer. In 2013, City Arts magazine named her one of its Artists of the Year.

On May 6, 2014, Monsoon released her debut studio album, The Inevitable Album, through Sidecar Records. The record blends blues, jazz, traditional pop, and cabaret, drawing inspiration from artists including Bette Midler, Marlene Dietrich, Peggy Lee, Amanda Palmer, and Regina Spektor. The track "The Bacon Shake" features Fred Schneider of The B-52s. On January 12, 2018, she released her second studio album, The Ginger Snapped, through Producer Entertainment Group, a record influenced by 1990s grunge, garage rock, and ska, featuring contributions from Amanda Palmer, Fred Schneider, and Lady Rizo.

On television, Monsoon created and appears in the WOW Presents Plus original series Sketchy Queens, developed alongside Liam Krug. She voiced the character Emerald in the Steven Universe episode "Lars of the Stars" in 2018 and played the recurring character Tallulah/Dennis in a 2014 episode of Blue Bloods. She also joined the cast of Wes Hurley's comedy series Capitol Hill in 2015. In a prominent genre role, she portrayed the villain Maestro in the BBC series Doctor Who. In film, she appeared alongside her collaborative and touring partner BenDeLaCreme in The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special, released in 2021 and later made available on Hulu.

Monsoon made her Broadway debut in 2023, taking on the role of Mama Morton in Chicago. She subsequently appeared as Audrey in a New York production of Little Shop of Horrors. In 2025, she made her Carnegie Hall debut and returned to Broadway in Pirates! The Penzance Musical, a production also reflected in her database credits under The Pirates of Penzance. Her Broadway credits additionally include the play Mary, Mary. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Monsoon's stage work spans from 1996 through 2025 according to verified records.