Mistress Isabelle Brooks was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She discovered drag at around age 14, when she saw GIFs referencing the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race on social-media platform Tumblr and friends recommended the show.[1] She started doing drag at age 16,[3] and she concurrently attended high school and cosmetology school.[1]
Career
By the time she was 18 years old, Mistress Isabelle Brooks was performing in drag professionally.[1] In Houston, she was an original cast member at the drag-themed restaurant chain Hamburger Mary's, and has regularly performed at JR's Bar and Grill, where she hosted weekly Drag Race viewing parties,[4] and the nightclub South Beach.[3][4]
In December 2019, Mistress Isabelle Brooks broke her ankle and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was forced to rely on wig-styling for income. She has said: "I started hustling and pushing out wigs to queens all over the world. It truly feels like overnight my business skyrocketed, and weirdly enough, one of the darkest moments in my life brought me to exactly where I was supposed to be."[1]
Mistress Isabelle Brooks competed on the fifteenth season of Drag Race, winning one challenge[5] and placing in the top four alongside Anetra, Luxx Noir London, and Sasha Colby.[6] She was the first contestant on the series to represent Houston.[7][8] According to Mistress Isabelle Brooks, she spent approximately $100,000 on her looks for Drag Race, including $40,000 for the final episode.[9][10] Many of her looks were created by Houston designers Yahaira DeHill and Gin Martini.[11][12]
For the Snatch Game challenge, Mistress Isabelle Brooks impersonated comedian Rosie O'Donnell;[13] Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly said her character "seemingly unintentionally" and "self-admittedly devolved into" Abby Lee Miller.[14] Shafaq Patel of Axios complimented Mistress Isabelle Brooks's performance of "Big Girl!" and said she "served Southern sass and her looks were stunning".[3] Sam Byrd of OutSmart called her a "plus-sized diva with a plus-sized attitude to match" who is "not afraid of a little blush and makeup to go with that head-boss stature".[2]
Pride.com's Bernardo Sim called Mistress Isabelle Brooks "one of the funniest" contestants of the season and said she "has been an absolute standout in the cast".[15] He wrote, "Fans have been living for her old-school attitude, impeccable makeup skills and outfits, and undeniable star power."[16] According to Jordan Robledo of Gay Times, Mistress Isabelle Brooks was "inundated with hateful messages targeting her appearance and interactions with her fellow contestants" as the show aired.[17] Her Instagram account was suspended multiple times.[18][19][20] Charlie Duncan of PinkNews said Mistress Isabelle Brooks "delivered a blistering takedown to online trolls spreading anti-drag hate".[21] The website's Marcus Wratten described her as the "shadiest" contestant of season 15.[22]
In 2023, Mistress Isabelle Brooks was added to the lineup of drag-show tour Werq the World's shows in North America.[23]
Personal life
Mistress Isabelle Brooks is Mexican American.[24] She uses the pronouns "he/him/his" out of drag and "she/her/hers" in drag.[2] Mistress Isabelle Brooks has described her drag as "big, beautiful and glamorous",[3] and as "over-the-top traditional drag with a modern twist".[4] She also called herself the "heavyweight champ" of season 15.[3] Mistress Isabelle Brooks "adopted" fellow contestants Sugar and Spice as her "drag daughters".[25][26]
^The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race (January 7, 2023). "One Night Only". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
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