Alaska Thunderfuck

Justin Andrew Honard, born March 6, 1985, is an American drag performer and recording artist known by the stage names Alaska Thunderfuck, Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, or simply Alaska. Raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, Honard gained national recognition as a finalist on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and as the winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Beyond television, Alaska has established a multifaceted career spanning music, theater, podcasting, and literature.

Raised by Andrew and Pam Honard alongside a brother named Cory, Honard is of partial French Canadian heritage through a grandmother from New Brunswick. After graduating from Fort LeBoeuf High School in 2003, Honard studied theater at the University of Pittsburgh. Following various initial jobs, Honard moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, where the concept for the Alaska drag persona was created and developed into a professional endeavor.

Early drag engagements included performances at the West Hollywood club Fubar, participation in Trannyshack events, and a 2009 appearance at Palm Springs Gay Pride. In late 2009, Honard met fellow drag performer Sharon Needles, relocating to Pittsburgh in 2010. Together with Cherri Baum, they formed the performance collective Haus of Haunt, based out of The Blue Moon bar. Honard assisted in organizing local shows for other artists before successfully auditioning for RuPaul's Drag Race.

Competing on season five of RuPaul's Drag Race under the mononym Alaska, the performer won two main challenges and finished as a runner-up in May 2013. Following the show, Alaska launched a musical career, releasing the debut studio album Anus in 2015, featuring singles such as Hieeee and This Is My Hair. Alaska returned to television in 2016 for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 2, winning four main challenges before taking the title. Later that year, Alaska issued a second album, Poundcake, named after a character created on Drag Race.

In addition to solo recordings, Alaska formed the group The AAA Girls with Courtney Act and Willam, and teamed up with Jeremy Mikush to release the 2018 duo album Amethyst Journey. Since 2018, Alaska has co-hosted the Drag Race review podcast Race Chaser alongside Willam. Solo musical endeavors continued with the release of the album Vagina in 2019 and the 1990s and 2000s-inspired album Red 4 Filth in 2022.

Alaska's additional creative projects include co-writing and starring as Kitty in Drag: The Musical, which premiered in Los Angeles and moved Off-Broadway. Alaska also launched and hosts The Drag Queen of the Year Pageant Competition, released the 2021 memoir My Name's Yours, What's Alaska?, starred in a 2021 comedy special, and joined the cast of the actual-play series Dungeons and Drag Queens.