From All Stars crown to Oscars shortlist, Angeria keeps her legacy in check

Angie's List? More like Angie's shortlist, sis.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 9 winner Angeria Paris VanMicheals is among Hollywood heavy hitters like Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart; Fellow Travelers) and Julie Cohen (RBG; JULIA) as an executive producer of Matt Nadel's documentary Cashing Out, which was shortlisted in the Documentary Short Film category at the 98th Academy Awards set to air this March on ABC.

Born in Sparta, Georgia, Angeria had an illustrious career in drag pageants prior to her reality TV debut in season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race, in which she placed among the top 5 finalists. Two years later, Angie returned to Mama Ru's queendom for All Stars 9 and snatched her crown as the winner of All Stars 9.

Prophetically, Angeria's crowning moment on All Stars season 9 was a callback to her lyrics in the "Catwalk" Rumix of season 14 — slightly updated to reflect her induction into the Drag Race Hall of Fame. "From the country to the silver screen," Angie declared while holding her scepter, "I'm officially the All Stars queen!"

"I believe there's power in words, and I literally do feel like I manifest things," Angie says. "Even before getting on Drag Race, I auditioned with one of my drag kids, and that child literally told me they knew I was going to get on. And then, that happened! Same thing with winning."

The Drag Race Hall of Famer recalls how, years ago, she and other RuGirls "were in Australia sitting at a dinner table — going around, saying what we wanted to accomplish in the next five years. When it got to me, I said, 'I want to win Drag Race.' I was the only person that talked about winning Drag Race! [Laughs.] I was like, 'I want to go back to All Stars, and I want to win it.'"

"I had already told myself that. I was so focused, and I already knew that was something I wanted to do," Angeria explains. "It wasn't just about going back, or doing it just to be back on TV… I wanted to win. And then I did!"

Angeria only realized that Cashing Out had been shortlisted for an Oscar during a call with her manager, Jackie Huba. "I told Jackie like, 'Excuse me, what?!'" Angie tells Out, reenacting the interaction with her signature charm and sense of humor. "Tell me what's happening!"

As seen in the poster below — announcing that Cashing Out had been shortlisted for an Oscar — Angeria is credited as an executive producer alongside Matt Bomer and Julie Cohen. And that's the tea, fam.

Over the years, Hollywood actors have portrayed drag queens. We've seen drag artists featured in Oscar-nominated movies, too, such as in A Star Is Born, which set a precedent for the art form of drag to be respected just like every other artistic medium.

Here, though, Angeria appears as one of the top-billed filmmakers credited for the Oscar-shortlisted documentary short. This milestone, particularly for a drag artist who competed in a recent season of Drag Race, should not be overlooked or dismissed.

In the "Meet the filmmakers" section of the film's official website (see below), Angie is described as follows:

"Angeria Paris VanMicheals is the champion of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 9. In addition to being a drag performer, she is an advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive people."

Angeria recalls that Nadel, the filmmaker of Cashing Out, approached her to join the project as an executive producer.

"When I heard what the documentary was going to be about, I immediately wanted to be a part of it. 'Cause this is, you know… the HIV and AIDS epidemic, in some shape, form, or fashion, has always been a part of my life as well," the Drag Race superstar tells Out. "So I immediately was just like, 'Yes!' Not even knowing what the film would become or anything like that. It was simply a project that meant something to me, so I was happy to be a part of it."

RELATED: How 'AIDS profiteering' doc Cashing Out brought a queer filmmaker closer to his dad

Though she didn't know Nadel prior to the documentary, Angeria sensed that she was "someone that he [Nadel] wanted to be a part of it." She reasons that her ties to Atlanta probably played a factor in that decision-making process, and that actually being from Sparta, Georgia — close to Atlanta, but not from Atlanta — also contributed to her involvement.

"I am from a small, small town. The AIDS epidemic is definitely one thing on its own… But, growing up in the South, this is not something that I grew up being like super educated on," Angie notes. "I didn't get educated on it until I moved to Atlanta and got more into the scene and the community. I just think me being from Atlanta, and also being like from small town, and being exposed to all of it, just kind of sets me apart from other people who could've been approached for the project."

Like many people who watched Cashing Out and had an eye-opening experience, Angeria wasn't entirely aware of the brutal story that the doc explores.

The All Stars champion recalls, "I had heard plenty of stories, of course; we all have. But this specific story is what made my ears kind of perk up, and lift my eyebrows, and be like 'Okay. Wait. Huh?' When I first heard it, you know, the people were selling their life insurance for quick cash just so they basically could survive! Like I said, you hear a lot of stories from the epidemic, but I don't think this is one you hear often."

"I feel like there are two sides to definitely look at it," Angeria continues. "When I first watched the film, it did feel kind of gloomy. It's the fact that they had to do that — or felt like they had to do that — in order to survive. It's a crazy thought, and it's a crazy feeling, and it's a part of the story."

Angie muses, "It is a part of history. We do need to hear all the different stories, and all the different perspectives of it. This is one of many stories that we still probably haven't heard. All the things they had to do to survive, and even just try to live happy, or cope with what was going on in the moment. Not only are people sick and dealing with something that they really don't know much about, but they're also struggling to pay bills and medical funds."

There is, however, a second lens through which this documentary can be seen, as previously suggested by Angeria. "Watching it at first, it's just like, 'Oh my god, like that's terrible.' You know what I'm saying? But then, as it went on, I ended up feeling so empowered by watching it. I was like, 'Oh, so now I like watching it!'"

"Just seeing how they were handling it, and then we get basically to the end of it all," Angie muses. "You feel that they were still overcoming something. It's like, 'Yes, you were doing what you had to do at that time. But because we had to go through that, it has led to this,' you know?"

In 2026, as access to medications like PrEP are at risk of having limited access or much higher costs, Cashing Out is not only a documentary that explores past events, but a chilling warning of what happens when information and resources about illnesses are withhold by those in charge.

"It definitely fits in a time like this. Back then, when the epidemic was going on and people were dealing with this, I feel a similar sense of survival definitely still playing into current events," Angeria says. "It's a different time, yes, but we're still basically fighting for our lives."

Angeria draws a parallel between how things have "gotten really bad in the past few years for our community" and how the subjects of Cashing Out "had to come together to deal with it together" at the time.

"I feel like that's really what we need, and that's everything that I stand for," she adds. "At the end of the day, I've always been like a positive light for people around me, and that's what I am going to continue to be for people, even throughout this new reality. That's something that's always going to be needed. The fight is just not over — and I'm not sure when it will be — but we've got to keep pushing towards the light, keep pushing in that direction."

"All in all, it's like the saying: You can never forget your past, because that is what's going to push us into the future. People still need to be educated on what happened in the past so we can know how to how to handle what's coming in the future."

Cashing Out is streaming (in full and for free) on The New Yorker website (below) and on the @NewYorker channel via YouTube.

What are Oscars shortlists and how do they function within the Academy Awards?

Oscars shortlists are the result of preliminary voting rounds that precede the overall nominations voting round, and only pertain to 12 award categories.

A category's shortlist is determined by an online voting process between all eligible and qualified entries. However, only eligible voting members — often within each corresponding branch — may participate in this preliminary voting round.

Every year, these shortlisted titles are announced in a press release published by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will be broadcast live on Sunday, March 15, 2026 on ABC.