American drag queen and figure skater
Milk
Milk at RuPaul’s DragCon, 2024
Born (1987-06-23 ) June 23, 1987 (age 37) Occupation(s) Drag queen , model , Figure SkaterTelevision Website bigandmilky .com
Milk (born June 23, 1987) is the stage name of Daniel P. Donigan , an American drag performer who came to attention on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race , and the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars .[ 2] [ 3]
Donigan was raised by a conservative but supportive family[ 4] in Syracuse, New York .[ 5] He began ice skating at the age of 9 and eventually became a competitive figure skater, until 2009.[ 4]
After moving to New York City in 2012, Donigan began a full-time career as a drag performer.[ 6] Donigan first gained attention when he appeared on season six of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2014. Out of 14 contestants, Milk placed ninth overall, losing a lip-sync to Trinity K. Bonet in the sixth episode.[ 7] On October 20, 2017, Donigan was announced as one of the 10 contestants for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 . He was eliminated by Kennedy Davenport in the third episode, placing 8th.[ 8] He again placed ninth after Morgan McMichaels returned to the competition.[ 9]
Outside of Drag Race , Donigan has modeled for Marc Jacobs 's Spring/Summer 2016 Campaign[ 10] and Vivienne Westwood 's S/S 2018 campaign.[ 11] He was featured in Perry Ellis 's Fall 2018 collection.[ 12] In print work, he was featured on the cover of Hello Mr. magazine's third issue[ 13] and featured in the third issue of Gayletter [ 14] and in the January 2018 issue of Gay Times .[ 15] He was featured in a 2014 issue of Next Magazine .[ 16] He was announced as the new face of Madonna 's skincare line, MDNA Skin .[ 17] In 2017, Milk appeared as Madonna in a video promoting the skincare range, dressing in several of her iconic costumes.[ 18]
He performed at the Bryant Park Figure-Skating Rink for the Guys On Ice event as charity for the Ali Forney Center .[ 19]
Donigan formed the group The Dairy Queens in 2016, whose first single, "Milk It", was released on July 2, 2016.[ 20] He then released his first solo single, "Touch the Fashion, Change Your Life",[ 21] which he performed live on the first episode of All Stars 3 in 2017.[ 22]
Donigan is a former figure skater who qualified to the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Junior Ice Dance.[ 23]
Donigan currently lives in New York City . He was in an open relationship with James B. Whiteside ,[ 24] principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre , for 12 years.[ 25] In October 2020, Donigan announced on Instagram that they have amicably split.[ 26]
Year
Title
Artist
Ref.
2020
Fashion Blogger
Rhyme So
[ 28]
Singles
Year
Song
Ref(s)
2016
"Milk It"
[ 20]
2018
"Touch the Fashion"
[ 21]
^ "Daniel P Donigan" . Ancestry Institute . Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022 .
^ "Milk Out Of Drag—And Out Of His Clothes" . LOGO News . Archived from the original on 2017-05-04. Retrieved 2018-02-12 .
^ Donigan, Daniel (June 23, 2019). "MILK on Twitter" . Twitter . Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-06 .
^ a b "Drag queen Milk is a figure skating 'weirdo' with big lashes and bigger ambition" . In The Know . 24 November 2020. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021 .
^ "This Milk Has Gone Bad! Watch the VIDEO" . metrosource.com . 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018 .
^ "Drag queen Milk is a figure skating 'weirdo' with big lashes and bigger ambition" . In The Know . 2020-11-24. Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2021-10-06 .
^ Nolfi, Joey (9 February 2018). "Drag Race eliminee Milk teases 'diva' twist, would've played Virgin Mary for Snatch Game" . Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019 .
^ "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3's Milk Isn't Mad About Getting the Villain Edit" . Vulture . 2018-02-09. Archived from the original on 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2019-04-23 .
^ " 'RuPaul's Drag Race': BenDeLaCreme Opens Up About Her Shocking Exit" . Billboard . 2018-02-03. Archived from the original on 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-04-23 .
^ Weiss, Sabrina Rojas (21 January 2016). "Why Marc Jacobs Chose A "RuPaul's Drag Race" Alum For His Spring Campaign" . www.refinery29.com . Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019 .
^ "Vivienne Westwood's SS18 campaign features Drag Race queen Milk and fans are thrilled" . PinkNews . Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-02-22 .
^ "Drag Race All Star Milk Walks For Perry Ellis at NYFW" . PAPERMAG . 2018-02-07. Archived from the original on 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-12 .
^ Mr., Hello. "Dan Donigan: Meet The Milk Man" . Hello Mr . Archived from the original on 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-12 .
^ "GAYLETTER" . GAYLETTER . Archived from the original on 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-12 .
^ "Drag Race star Milk strips to a thong for steamy Gay Times photoshoot" . Gay Times . 2018-01-02. Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-02-22 .
^ "15 Times Milk WAS Fashion" . LOGO News . Retrieved 2018-03-04 .
^ "Milk Is The New Face Of Madonna's MDNA Skincare Line" . LOGO News . Archived from the original on 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2018-02-22 .
^ Michelson, Noah (9 November 2017). "Watch 'Drag Race' Star Milk Channel Madonna In Iconic Ad For Pop Star's New Skincare Line" . HuffPost UK . Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2021 .
^ "Milk On Ice: "Drag Race" Star Returns To Figure Skating For A Good Cause" . LOGO News . Archived from the original on 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-12 .
^ a b MILK QUEEN (2016-07-02), Milk - MILK IT [OFFICIAL] , archived from the original on 2023-02-16, retrieved 2018-02-12
^ a b Dave Lennon (2018-01-29), Milk 'Queen' - Touch the Fashion, Change Your Life (Audio) , archived from the original on 2020-06-26, retrieved 2018-02-12
^ Sava, Oliver. "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars returns when we need it most" . The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2018-09-23 .
^ "2009 US Figure Skating Championships / Cleveland OH / 19 January 2009 / Junior Dance Compulsory Dance / Group 3" . www.cs.kent.edu . Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2018-09-23 .
^ "Out Love: Ballet dancer James Whiteside (aka JbDubs) & performer Dan Donigan (aka Milk)" . 2015-01-12. Archived from the original on 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-13 .
^ "Ballet Dancer, Drag Queen, Singer & Podcaster: Inside James Whiteside's Fearless, Authentic Life" . Billboard . Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2018-09-23 .
^ Street, Mikelle (5 October 2020). " 'Drag Race's Milk and Dancer James Whiteside Have Broken Up" . Out Magazine . Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021 .
^ Boulet, Ruth (2016-05-11). "Skin Wars meets RuPaul's Drag Race: a Season 3 episode 4 preview" . Channel Guide Magazine . Archived from the original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2020-04-10 .
^ "EXCLUSIVE | RHYME SO CHALLENGE DRAG RACE'S MILK TO A FIGURE SKATING FACE-OFF IN FIERCE 'FASHION BLOGGER' VIDEO" . Attutude.co.uk . 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-03-15 .[permanent dead link ]
^ James St. James and Milk: Transformations . YouTube . April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ Milk's LegenDAIRY Looks - DeCUNTstructed Drag . YouTube . September 28, 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ MarcoMarcoShow - Fittings with Sharon Needles, Milk, Mathu Andersen, Gigi Gorgeous, and Willam . YouTube . October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ Milk on Ring My Bell . YouTube . November 9, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ Part 2 | Drag Queens Reading Mean Comments w/ Alaska, Raja, Raven, Milk, Morgan, and More! . YouTube . June 24, 2015. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ $TRANGER$ FOR CA$H: Milk & Kim Chi . YouTube . July 11, 2017. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ HOW TO MAKEUP: Milk's Finishing Touch . YouTube . December 18, 2017. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ Milk: CRAIGSLIST Missed Connections - WOW Presents Plus Sneak Peek . YouTube . December 30, 2017. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ Whatcha Packin': Milk | S3 E3 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars . YouTube . February 12, 2018. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 .
^ M.U.G. with MILK and Kim Chi - LegenDAIRY Looks . YouTube . March 19, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2019 .
^ Meet Milk - the figure skating drag queen . YouTube . September 3, 2020. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved December 23, 2022 .
^ Milk 🥛 It's Just Fashion, Darling | S6 E6 | Out of the Closet 👗 . YouTube . December 6, 2022. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 .
^ @rupaulsdragrace (November 17, 2023). "With competition this stiff, these queens need to be prepped for ANYTHING" – via Instagram .