Holy Untucked! This girl is on fire! That’s right, it’s everyone’s favorite jewel of the south, Miss Sapphire Mylan. She has been busy with her day job as stylist to the stars, her thriving drag career, and her upcoming television appearances! But she still managed some time for our Untucked readers. And, oh hunty, was the “T” spilt!

We talked all about her thriving career, business ventures, the golden years of drag, and much more in this latest kiki. Sapphire was open to talk about anything, and boy is this lady straightforward and opinionated! So, sit back and relax: It’s time to get Untucked!

When did you start doing drag?

I started doing drag in 1999 at the Connections on Halloween. I went dressed as a pageant queen and Regine Phillips dressed me up. They actually would not let me enter the contest because they thought I had won a pageant and had shown up that night representing the title!

Who would you say has been the biggest inspiration to your drag career?

That’s a tough one. So many different people. Rita Ross for her passion, Regine Phillips for her entertainment value, Stephine Wells for her elegance, and Bianca Paige for her comedic timing. I always loved her and always will. And, of course, Josephine and Chyna…all of them for different reasons.

How does your family feel about you being gay and doing drag?

I was raised in a very strict, religious, military family. Very involved in the church. They have actually been very supportive, though. My mom likes to come over and raid Sapphire’s closet! I don’t think my dad really knows about the drag part: he is your typical military man. “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Really, though, I am very lucky, I have been very blessed.

Did you always take your drag seriously and see it as a potential career?

I didn’t really take it seriously until about 2004 when I was show director at Blu. That was my favorite place to perform because I had so much freedom to do what I wanted. Then I also started doing pageants, and Chyna, of course, read me down and told me I needed to learn to paint my own face and not rely on these other girls to do it if I was going to be serious!

Do you feel at times pageants, in this city or in general, can be political?

I mean it is. You have to find out the “in crowd” or promoters of that system and stroke their ego and make them know you before they will trust you to reign. I wouldn’t say I feel like they’re “rigged,” but I feel like it’s more of you having paid your dues by coming here so we’re gonna let you have it. But that’s the whole pageant world.

What are some big differences between Nashville’s drag community when you started and now?

Before, it was more of a sisterhood. So, if your drag sister was hurting, everybody was going to help. Whether it was money, comfort, or benefits shows. Everyone was there for each other. Now it’s like every man for himself. More like, “Good luck on your journey,” not “How can I help you get there.” The bar here doesn't really book the girls from here. There are queens here that have respect and have built a following. But they pull these girls from out of town and they can’t perform their way out of a paper bag! They don’t really hire the people in our city and that’s bullshit to me. These girls now don’t care anymore. You couldn’t go out there looking like some of them do now back when I started. They wouldn’t let you perform!

What were some examples of how the community came together then?

My favorite was at Cabaret. We did a show for a girl who was positive and had lost her hands and legs. So, we did a Christmas benefit for her to get prosthetics. She was a huge Fantasia fan. So, I came out and did her favorite Fantasia song, and I remember her trying to clap for me. It was so touching. She came back a few months later, and they asked me to do it again. I didn’t know at the time that she was there. But I did it, and she was able to walk up—since she had the prosthetic—and hug me. It was a real tear-jerker.

What would say is a problem with some of today’s drag?

These girls are all just so scared to come out of the box and be original. Some are too worried about being pretty to take risks with their performances. One of my favorite things I ever did was for Halloween at Blu, when I dressed as Marlyn Manson, and the crowd loved it. I had a mix made—“Sweet Dreams” into “Beautiful People”—and the white bodysuit.

Would you say some need to hang up their heels?

Oh, no ma’am! I am not answering that question! I plead the Fifth. Umm…but I wouldn’t say hang them up, but re-evaluate and reinvent themselves.

Have you experienced shade or drag bullying from any of the drag community here or out of town?

I think sometimes I don’t get certain bookings at shows because some of these girls that work at the bars. They have said I am shady before and have told people at the bar, and I think that hinders their decisions when booking me.

I have even helped some of these girls start in the industry when people saw them as replacements for other queens: taking them and introducing them around to meet and connect with people I have known and met, taking them around to thrift stores and such. But in return, they only want to slander and throw shade.

I’m sure you have seen a lot since ‘98. What advice would you pass on to new queens?

I try to be a friend first and drag mother second, because, as your friend, I’m gonna tell you the truth. If you’re going to do drag, do it right. That’s also why none of my children have my name: I’d rather they establish their own names, not get booked because, “Oh, that's Sapphire’s daughter.”

As for advice, I’d tell them, “Be nice, and be real: it’s an art. Don’t be trashy. Do you want to do this for Halloween? Or make a career out of it?”

How do you feel about the show RuPaul’s Drag Race? Have you auditioned?

I feel it is a good medium for entertainment, but as far as training up-and-coming superstar drag queens, I don’t think that’s what they are doing. These girls really don’t seem to have the knowledge to perform or have a business sense. The winners seem to have their heads on straight but a lot of the others on the show do not. They will come to the club and put on a show like they do on TV, and it’s not like that. They have no performance value. They just walk around and don’t really put on a performance. I have auditioned before, and I heard back from them, but I just wasn’t at a time in my life with my relationship and all to be able to commit to it if I was selected.

So, what’s the next big step for your Drag future?

I will actually appear on the Bravo TV show, Thicker than Water, airing January 4, 2015, where I did a fashion show for my fashion venture, Mylan Couture Design. I am also the stylist for Brooklyn Tanker.

What would you say has been your biggest achievement in your drag career?

I honestly don’t think I have made my biggest achievement yet, I’m still working towards that.

Sapphire hosts a monthly show, Mylan Rouge, in Bowling Green Kentucky, and appears every fourth Monday at Tribe for Monday mashup with Nicole Ellington Dupree. Follow her on social media on Instigram (sapphire_mylan) and facebook.com/sapphire.mylan Image courtesy of Mylan Couture Designs.