RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under star Maxi Shield has died just five months after announcing her cancer diagnosis.
The 51-year-old Australian performer is best known for appearing on the inaugural season of the reality show’s Down Under iteration, where she finished in sixth place.
Last year, Maxi, who is the drag alter-ego of Kristopher Elliot, shared that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
During the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, she said that she was taken to hospital after an ‘issue with a swollen gland’ was pushing blood vessels on her throat.
She later added that the tests showed ‘this little swollen thing on the side of my throat is cancer’.
After taking chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, her last treatment took place in January.
Maxi finished in sixth in the inaugural season of the reality show’s Down Under iteration (Picture: WireImage)
Posting on Instagram, Australian company Wigs By Vanity said in a statement: ‘It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our dearest sister, Maxine, has passed away.
‘We are all mourning the loss of an incredible icon, friend, and our beloved sister. Thank you for the laughs, the cackles, and the magic you brought into our lives.’
The season one winner of the show, Kita Mean, also paid tribute to the performer by writing: ‘There will forever be a void in my heavy heart where your fabulousness hit me like a tonne of bricks.
‘Your strength over the last few months has been incomprehensible and I will go forward with such pride in my heart knowing I was friends with the best sister in the business. I love you so much… may your spirit rest in peace.’
Universal Sydney, an LGBTQ+ venue in Sydney, also wrote: ‘We are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of our beloved Maxi Shield’s passing.
‘In all my years in this community, there has never been a time I can remember when Maxi wasn’t an iconic presence (and she’d absolutely smack you for reminding her of that). Maxi worked across every queer venue in Sydney, touching hearts not only across the country but around the world through her appearance on Drag Race Down Under.
‘This Mardi Gras will feel different. It will be more solemn, as so many of us gather carrying the space left by her smile, her quick wit, and her remarkable spirit.’
As well as being a known figure on the Australian drag scene, Maxi also performed at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.