Drag performer Maxi Shield, known to international audiences from Drag Race Down Under, has died five months after a cancer diagnosis. She was 51. Born Kristopher Elliot, Shield became a fan favorite during the show’s first season in 2021, finishing in sixth place.Tributes poured in across social media. Dillion Shaw of Sydney’s LGBTQ+ nightclub Universal said the community was “shocked and deeply saddened.” Maxi Shield was a veteran of Australia’s drag scene, performing nationwide. She appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and helped open the Gay Games in 2002.
