Pandora Boxx

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Pandora Boxx
Pandora Boxx 2014 (cropped).jpg
Pandora Boxx performing at the Gay Games Festival Village in Cleveland, OH in 2014
Born
Michael Steck

(1972-05-02) May 2, 1972 (age 49)
Jamestown, New York, United States
OccupationActor, comedian, drag queen, musician, playwright, reality television personality
Years active2005–present
TitleMiss Congeniality
PredecessorNina Flowers
SuccessorYara Sofia
Spouse(s)
Websitewww.pandoraboxx.com

Michael Steck (born May 2, 1972), better known by the stage name Pandora Boxx, is an American drag queen, comedian, and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. Boxx competed in the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing fifth and winning Miss Congeniality, and subsequently returned for the first and sixth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Boxx also appeared on three seasons of the Drag Race spin-off series RuPaul's Drag U.

Early life[]

Michael Steck was born in Jamestown, New York.[1] The family later moved to Olean, New York.[2][unreliable source?] Steck was inspired to do drag after watching the eventual season six contestant Darienne Lake perform in an outdoor festival in Rochester, New York. For his first show at the gay bar Infinity in Rochester, Steck chose his drag name as a play on words of Pandora's box, an artifact found in Greek mythology.[3]

Career[]

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."[4] After her elimination, Entertainment Weekly called her their pick for "America's Next Drag Superstar."[5][6] She was later voted the Miss Congeniality of her season.

Boxx at RuPaul's DragCon LA 2018

After her elimination, Boxx appeared on the three seasons of the 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.[7]

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.[8] Later that year, Boxx appeared in an Entertainment Weekly photo spread along with Mimi Imfurst that featured Melissa McCarthy channeling Divine.[9] 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.[10] 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)."

Boxx performing at the Gay Games Festival Village in Cleveland, OH

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.[11] Boxx, along with team partner Mimi Imfurst, formed Team Mandora, and they were the first two contestants eliminated on All Stars, placing 11th/12th.

After All Stars 1, Boxx was a playable character with Manila Luzon and Yara Sofia for the "RuPaul's Drag Race: Dragopolis" mobile app.[12]

In 2013, Boxx 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]

She was one of thirty drag queens featured in Miley Cyrus's 2015 VMA performance.[14]

In 2018, Boxx released "Oops I Think I Pooped", a parody of "This Is How We Do" by Katy Perry. The Music Video featured fellow RuPaul's Drag Race's contestants Alaska Thunderfuck, Jasmine Masters and Mariah Paris Balenciaga, as well as Jai Rodriguez from Queer Eye.[15]

In May 2019, Boxx appeared on stage during the performance of Christine and the Queens at the season finale for the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[16]

On May 26, 2021, it was revealed that Pandora would be competing in the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars alongside 12 other contestants, including fellow season 2 contestant Kylie Sonique Love and fellow All Stars' season 1 contestant Yara Sofia, where she placed 6th.[17] She performed at the Inaugural Jamestown LGBTQ Pride Festival on June 12th, 2021.[18]

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.[19] 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.[20] It was described as "a new murder mystery/B-horror movie/comedy play."[21] The Lipstick Massacre has played at Rochester's Multi-use Community Cultural Center,[22] and the Geva Theatre.[23]

She is usually credited as "Michael Steck" for creative roles.

Personal life[]

Steck identifies as gender-fluid.[24][25] Steck became engaged on Christmas Day, 2010, making an announcement via Twitter.[26]

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
"Oops I Think I Pooped" 2018
"Ridiculous"
(featuring Electropoint) 		2021 Electropoint

As featured artist[]

Title Year Album Ref(s)
"Show Up Queen"
(The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Season 6) 		2021 Non-album single [27]

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
2020 Workhouse Queen[28] Herself Documentary

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Ricki Lake Herself Get A Grip, Doll...You're Too Fat To Be A Drag Queen
2010 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Contestant (5th Place)
2010, 2012 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked Herself
2010–12 RuPaul's Drag U[29] Herself
2010 Jeffery & Cole Casserole[30] Season 2, Episode 5: "The Teen Moms"
2011 One Night Stand Up Herself Episode 10: Dragtastic NYC
2012 Are You There, Chelsea?[31] Tiffany Episode 8: "Dee Dee's Pillow"
RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars Herself Contestant (11th/12th Place)
2013 She's Living for This[32] Herself Season 2, Episode 1
2014 People You Know Adora Jarr Episode: "Moving On"
2017 Talk Show The Game Show[33] Herself Contestant
2018 Some Kind of Wonderful[34] Mrs. Betty / Danny Pilot
RuPaul's Drag Race[35] Herself (Guest) Season 10, Episode 1
2020 AJ and the Queen[36] Herself Guest appearance
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 6)[37] Herself Contestant (6th Place)
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked[37] Herself

Theatre[]

Year Title Role Theatre Ref(s)
2016 America's Drag Stars Herself Borgata Music Box [38]
2017 Psycho: The Musical Parody Lila Crane San Francisco’s Oasis Nightclub [39][40]

Music video appearances[]

Year Song Director
2012 "Queen" (Xelle)[41] JC Cassis
2013 "Ru Girl" (Alaska Thunderfuck) Carly Usdin
2014 "Ransom" (MOXXI)[42] Kavan the Kid & Nova Rockafeller
2015 "Not A Pearl" (Willam) Kain O'Keeffe
2015 "The Hillary Song"(Adrian Anchondo)[43] Adrian Anchondo
2016 "I Fucked Your Dad" (Kevin Yee ft. Pandora Boxx)[44] Unknown
2017 "Expensive" (Deluxe Edition) (Todrick Hall)[45] Todrick Hall & Matthew Macar
2018 "Call My Life"[46] Blair St. Clair

Web series[]

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2014 Ring My Bell Herself Guest [47]
2015 Drag Center Host [48]
2016 Look At Huh! Guest [49]
2017 Spilling The Tea Panelist [50]
2019 Tails of the City: Pets 4 Pets Guest [51]
2019 The Pit Stop Guest [52]
2020 The Golden Pandemic Rose Starring role [53]
2020 Queen With a Cause Joanna Episode: "Plastic" [54]
2021 Whatcha Packin' Herself Guest [55]

References[]

  1. ^ Rezsnyak, Eric (26 January 2010). "PROFILE: Pandora Boxx". Rochester City Newspaper. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  2. ^ Normal, Abby (9 October 2011). "Pandora Boxx: From Little Michael to Cooter!". Yahoo! Voices. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  3. ^ Holland, Scott (10 September 2010). "Catching up with Pandora Boxx". . Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  4. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race: Old Man Drag Is the Most Dangerous Kind". Gawker. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "The Bullseye: April 9, 2010". Entertainment Weekly. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  7. ^ Elliott, Stuart (18 January 2011). "Sponsorship of This Series Is No 'Drag'". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  8. ^ Voss, Brandon (14 January 2011). "Hot Sheet Big Love, Idol, Skins". The Advocate. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  9. ^ "NEW: Pandora Boxx & Mimi Imfurst Photo Shoot". New Now Next. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  10. ^ Spargo, Chris (13 February 2012). "VIDEO: Pandora Boxx & Sherry Vine Parody Madonna". New Now Next. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Morgan, Glennisha (2013-04-24). "Dragopolis, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Drag Queen Mobile Game, Set To Debut". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  13. ^ Source: http://www.newnownext.com/pandora-boxx-adam-barta-you-seemed-shady-to-me-music-video/07/2013/
  14. ^ Lamour, Joseph. "Meet All 30 Of Miley's Day-Glo Dancers From Her Insane VMA Performance". MTV News. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  15. ^ Bote, Joshua (September 24, 2018). "Pandora Boxx Lets it Rip With Alaska, Jasmine Masters and More in Epic Katy Perry Parody: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  16. ^ Christine and the Queens Performs On 'Drag Race', Debuts New Song With Charli XCX: Watch
  17. ^ "https://twitter.com/rupaulsdragrace/status/1397634564529565697". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-06-23. External link in |title= (help)
  18. ^ Berg, Amanda (May 28, 2021). "Jamestown prepares for inaugural LGBTQ Pride Festival". WGZR. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  19. ^ Steck, Michael. "Mrs. Kasha Davis: The Life of an International Housewife Celebrity (2008)". Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  20. ^ Rezsnyak, Eric (November 11, 2009). "THEATER REVIEW: "Lipstick Massacre"". Roc hester City Newspaper. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  21. ^ Steck, Michael. "Facebook | The Lipstick Massacre". Facebook. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  22. ^ Doug. "The Lipstick Massacre". Multi-use Community Cultural Center. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  23. ^ "Springfest 2010". Geva Theatre. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  24. ^ Rife, Katie (August 1, 2016). "Drag Race's Pandora Boxx on why farts, falls, and funny women make her laugh". AV Club. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  25. ^ Duribe, Jazmin (June 7, 2021). "21 celebrities that have come out as non-binary". PopBuzz. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  26. ^ Boxx, Pandora. "Engaged on Christmas! :-)". Twitter. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  27. ^ McCallion, Paul (July 29, 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars Recap: Girl Gone". Vulture. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  28. ^ Molloy, Tim (November 30, 2020). "'Greenlight Yourself': Slamdance Unveils Full Lineup, Showcase for Filmmakers With Disabilities". Movie Maker. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  29. ^ Stransky, Tanner (August 3, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag U': A pre-season finale update with EW fave Pandora Boxx". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  30. ^ "Pandora Boxx". TV.com. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  31. ^ Fitzgerald, Christine (March 17, 2019). "Pandora Boxx on Music, RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars, Drag U, and More". Socialite Life. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  32. ^ "**She's Living For This**". here TV. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  33. ^ Baume, Matt (April 5, 2017). "Talk Show the Game Show Finally Drags Both Genres Out of the Closet". Slate. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  34. ^ Dee, Jake (September 13, 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1: Where Are They Now?". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  35. ^ Damshenas, Sam (22 March 2018). "Watch Drag Race fan favourites return for the season 10 premiere". Gay Times. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  36. ^ Nolfi, Joey (2019-12-03). "RuPaul brings 22 Drag Race queens to costar on AJ and the Queen". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  37. ^ Jump up to: a b Del Rosario, Alexandra (May 26, 2021). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Moves From VH1 To Paramount+; Lineup Of Returning Queens Unveiled". Deadline. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  38. ^ Loughlin, Ryan (February 14, 2016). "America's Drag Stars (cross)dress to impress". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  39. ^ "Pandora Boxx talks Trump, her childhood career dreams and Drag Con". Gay Star News. 2019-12-03. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  40. ^ Del Mar, Pollo (March 2, 2017). "Pandora Boxx Says 'Psycho The Musical' Could Soon Be Headed Off-Broadway". HuffPost. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  41. ^ Spargo, Chris (25 October 2012). "XELLE's 'Queen' Music Video Features Every 'Drag Race' Queen: Watch". New Now Next. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  42. ^ Bendix, Trish (2017-03-11). "20 Music Videos With Drag Queen Cameos". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  43. ^ Les Fabian Brathwaite (June 30, 2015). "Hillary, Here's Your New Campaign Song — Courtesy of Adrian Anchondo & Pandora Boxx". Out.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  44. ^ Garner, Glenn (January 14, 2016). "WATCH: 'I F*cked Your Dad' Ft. Pandora Boxx". Out.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  45. ^ Brown, Jonathan (22 March 2017). "Todrick Hall Revisits 'Straight Outta Oz' With A Semi-Unnecessary Deluxe Edit". Inquisitr. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  46. ^ Crowley, Patrick (June 26, 2018). "'Drag Race' Star Blair St. Clair Gets Introspective in 'Call My Life' Music Video: Watch". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  47. ^ Asea, Adam (March 2, 2014). "Watch Now: Pandora Boxx on Ring My Bell". WorldofWonder.net. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  48. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race | Drag Center with Pandora Boxx (Episode 8) | Season 7". RuPaul's Drag Race. April 21, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  49. ^ "Pandora Boxx LOOK AT HUH! On Season 2 of Hey Qween with Jonny McGovern | Hey Qween". Hey Qween. September 26, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  50. ^ "Spilling the Tea: The Drag Queen Photo Shoot". Billboard. June 5, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  51. ^ "Pandora Boxx - Tails of the City: Pets 4 Pets Episode 3". WOWPresents. January 20, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  52. ^ Voss, Brandon (April 20, 2019). "Pandora Boxx and Manila Luzon Have Thoughts About This Week's "RuPaul's Drag Race"". NewNowNext.com. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  53. ^ White, Brett (May 6, 2020). "'Drag Race' Queens Get into 'Golden Girls' Drag for New WOW Presents Plus Pandemic Series [EXCLUSIVE]". Decider.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  54. ^ Rudolph, Christopher (September 2, 2020). "Tammie Brown Is a Kick-Ass Action Star in "Queen With a Cause"". NewNowNext. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  55. ^ "Whatcha Packin' | AS6 E08 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars". YouTube. August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.

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