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Drag queen

Kelly Rae Shelton

Drag queen · North Carolina

Also recorded as Kelly Ray

Unclaimedunknown as of ADC-P-000690
Fact lane

What is known

Documented. Every row names the source it rests on.

This source spells the performer's name 'Kelly Ray Shelton,' rather than 'Kelly Rae Shelton' as she is listed in the registry. [getoutmag.com] Kelly Ray Shelton won the title Miss Gay New York America on July 24, 2017, in New York City, becoming eligible to compete in the 2018 Miss Gay America Pageant, scheduled for that October in New Orleans. [getoutmag.com] She is from North Carolina and entered her first drag contest as a freshman at Methodist College in 1980; by 2017 this was her eighth attempt at the Miss Gay America title. [getoutmag.com] She said she had previously placed first-runner-up two years in a row and second-runner-up a third year at the Miss Gay America pageant. [getoutmag.com] She explained the origin of her stage name and persona. [getoutmag.com] She described her performance style as centered on connection rather than impersonation. [getoutmag.com] She recalled being offered an opportunity by Rachel Wells, a former Miss Gay America, to work in Atlanta, where she performed alongside entertainers including Amber Richards, Bertha Butts, Charles Brown and Lisa Tiegs. [getoutmag.com] At the time of the interview she held the title of reigning Miss Legends and worked in bars across North Carolina; she said her longtime home bar, The Power Company in Durham, had closed years earlier. [getoutmag.com]

“My name is Kelly Ray Shelton, and as a little boy I dreamed of being on Broadway. My stage name was always going to be Kelly Ray, and to finally get her to New York and entertain is a dream come true.” [getoutmag.com]
“I feel like Kelly Ray is a character in itself... I don't really impersonate anybody. I feel like as long as I have done it, my brand is the connection I make with the audience.” [getoutmag.com]
Fact lane

On record

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Titles & placements

17 on record

Appearances

8 on record

Drag lineage

none on record

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Class

1 on record
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Portrait

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Unclaimed record

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Registry card for Kelly Rae Shelton: the ADC seal, Kelly Rae Shelton, and how much is on record.

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https://americandesigncollective.com/p/000690-kelly-rae-shelton
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Cite this record
American Design Collective. “Kelly Rae Shelton.” ADC-P-000690, v13. Accessed 2026-08-12. americandesigncollective.com/p/000690-kelly-rae-shelton
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