Lexi Love is the stage name of Lexi Barnes (born November 22, 1990), an American drag performer best known for competing on the seventeenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2025).
Career
Love was appointed as the official American ambassador to the United Kingdom-based House of Versace by Drag Race UK winner Krystal Versace. One of her mentors is 2016 Mr. Continental winner Mykul Jay Valentine. An early drag mother of Love's was Nomi Love, and her current drag mother is Jessica Dimon.
Lexi Love is competing on the seventeenth season of competition series RuPaul's Drag Race (2025). She is the fifth queen from Kentucky to compete on the show following Dusty Ray Bottoms (Season 10), Scarlet Envy (Season 11, All Stars 6, and UK vs. the World: Season 2), Monica Beverly Hillz (Season 5, All Stars 8) and Jade Jolie (Season 5 and Dragula: Season 4). She is the oldest contestant on her season (age 34) and referred to as “auntie” or “grandma” by her fellow contestants.
In the second episode, she debuted her first song titled "She's Giving" while roller skating and doing cartwheels. After lip-syncing against Crystal Envy in the same episode, Lexi Love was announced as the winner. Her debut song was produced and co-written by record producer Drew Louis, and was released on January 10, 2025.
Personal life
Barnes is a transgender woman and uses she/her pronouns; her drag persona is based in Louisville. Barnes was raised in Florence, Kentucky and presently living in Louisville, she previously performed within the Cincinnati metropolitan area for nearly a decade, and afterwards Barnes worked for Play Dance Bar in 2021. She survived a period of homelessness and drug addiction, mostly thanks to her drag family.
During her appearance for the seventeenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Barnes disclosed in an interview about taking on a second mortgage for their garments.
After various HIV resources from government websites attributing for the LGBTQ community were removed in January 2025, Barnes called out the second Donald Trump administration through social media platform Instagram. She shared an infographic from the NOH8 campaign, revealing herself to be HIV positive, and utilized those funded programs from over ten years ago.
Artistry
Barnes cites her inspirations for her drag persona to be "nostalgic" from the annual Victoria's Secret runways and "very hardcore" in Y2K fashion. She uses roller skates while performing and describes herself as Kentucky's "Roller-Derby Doll".
Discography
All credits adapted from Apple Music and Spotify.
Singles
Filmography
Television
References
