2007–2012: Career beginnings After dabbling in various jobs and projects in
Pittsburgh, Honard eventually moved to
Los Angeles to pursue acting. After discovering that he disliked the process of trying to land acting jobs, he conceived the concept and personality of her drag persona while smoking
marijuana. Honard had previously done drag as a hobby, but the conception of "Alaska" fueled an intent to turn it into a career, and she eventually landed a job at the
West Hollywood club Fubar. Honard frequently performed as Alaska in the
Trannyshack shows in Los Angeles. In 2009, she performed in Palm Springs Gay Pride with
Tammie Brown and
Jer Ber Jones. Alaska met future boyfriend
Sharon Needles (stage name of Aaron Coady) through
Myspace via an introduction from Pittsburgh drag queen Veruca la'Piranha in December 2009, and eventually moved back to
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to live with him in 2010. The couple had friction between them after Sharon Needles' casting on
season four of
Drag Race, as Alaska had auditioned for every season of the show previous, and Sharon Needles had been cast on her first attempt at auditioning. She had previously auditioned for every season of the show, and filmed her audition tape for the fifth season while on a
cruise paid for by Sharon Needles'
Drag Race winnings. She prepared for the season with the help of Baum, la'Piranha, and
New York City-based drag queen Miles De Niro. Sharon Needles was not present for the preparation, as she was touring at the time. As part of the show, Alaska sang on the "
We Are the World"-inspired song "Can I Get an Amen?". The song's proceeds helped benefit the
Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. At the season finale in May 2013, Alaska was declared the runner-up along with fellow competitor
Roxxxy Andrews.
Jinkx Monsoon was the winner of the season. Due to her substantial gain in wealth after
Drag Race and subsequent ability to purchase the item, she later fell into a
cocaine addiction, which Alaska has described as "kinda ugly, gross, and kinda sad". Since appearing on ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', Alaska has toured and performed, appearing in RuPaul's Drag Race Battle of the Seasons shows, the Drag Stars at Sea cruises, custom one-woman shows such as a
Stevie Nicks tribute called "Stevie Forever", a cabaret show called "Red for Filth", and a holiday show called "Blue Christmas". An animated version of Alaska appeared in the "RuPaul's Drag Race: Dragopolis 2.0" mobile app. During the summer of 2014, she starred in a stage production of
Sex and the City. With her brother, Cory Binney, Alaska has a web series sponsored by World of Wonder, called Bro'Laska. In 2014, Alaska became a spokesmodel for
American Apparel alongside
Willam Belli and
Courtney Act. Alaska has since released a string of singles, namely "Ru Girl", "Your Makeup Is Terrible", and "Nails". In June 2015, Alaska's debut album,
Anus, was released to positive reviews. Singles from the album included "Hieeee" and "This Is My Hair".
2016–2017: ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and Poundcake'' In 2016, Alaska returned to
Drag Race for the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
. She won 4 challenges (Snatch Game, Acting, Stand Up, Advert) and was in the bottom for a makeover challenge. She received some backlash due to some of her choices of eliminations and her behavior toward the end of the competition. In response, Alaska donated $5,000 to the charity Trans Kids Purple Rainbow and posted an apology video online. In the final five of the competition, when she landed in the bottom, Alaska famously offered competitor Detox $10,000 to vote for her to stay in the competition, of which Alaska revealed years later that she donated the amount to a snake sanctuary instead. Due to the stress sustained while filming the season, she has said that she preferred the experience she had while filming Season 5 of Drag Race'' over All Stars 2. named after the rebellious puppet
Lil' Poundcake, who was created from a mannequin doll by Alaska and fellow contestant
Lineysha Sparx during the mini-challenge in the third episode of the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race
. Three singles from the album have been released: "The T", "Stun", and "Puppet". On the seventh episode of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'', the main challenge of the episode was for the contestants to act in a
true crime spoof entitled "Forensic Queens: Wha-Ha-Happened to Lil' Poundcake?", depicting a fictional
All Stars season where Lil' Poundcake, slated to make her
Drag Race comeback, suddenly disappears. Alaska competed in the first season of
VH1's
Scared Famous, which premiered on October 23, 2017, and placed 6th in the competition.
2018–2020: Race Chaser, Vagina, and pageant , 2019 Since 2018, Alaska has hosted the podcast
Race Chaser with fellow
Drag Race alumna
Willam Belli. The podcast is "devoted to the discussion and dissection of every episode" of ''RuPaul's Drag Race
. Alaska and Jeremy Mikush, performing as Alaska and Jeremy, released their debut album Amethyst Journey'' in 2018. In 2019, Alaska released her third album titled
Vagina. Soon after, she created and hosted
The Drag Queen of the Year Pageant Competition Award Contest Competition at the
Montalban Theater in Hollywood. The event was sold-out and featured eight different drag artists competing for the crown. The eventual winner, decided by Alaska and a panel of judges including
Peppermint, Sharon Needles, and
Willam, was Abhora, a former contestant on
season two of ''
The Boulet Brothers' Dragula. The event has since been hosted annually by Alaska alongside Lola LeCroix, with a documentary series following the production of the 2022 edition, Behind the Drag Queen of the Year Pageant Competition Award Contest Competition
, being released in 2023. In June 2023, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed Alaska seventh on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race'' contestants.
2021–present: Red 4 Filth and memoir Alaska's first comedy special,
The Alaska Thunderfuck Extra Special Comedy Special, aired on
OutTV in Canada in 2021. She released her memoir, ''My Name's Yours, What's Alaska?: A Memoir'' on November 9, 2021. In May 2022, Alaska released a concept album for
Drag: The Musical, which she co-wrote with
Tomas Costanza and
Ash Gordon. A staged version ran from September to October at the Bourbon Room in Los Angeles, starring Alaska as the character Kitty. Alaska reprised the role when the show debuted
Off-Broadway in October 2024, with the role of Kitty eventually taken over by fellow drag queen
Jimbo before the show ended its run on April 27, 2025. Alaska released her fourth studio album,
Red 4 Filth, on September 23, 2022. Written during
COVID-19 lockdowns, the album was inspired by the music of the 1990s and 2000s, with Alaska citing
Aqua,
Toni Braxton,
Britney Spears and
Weezer as specific influences. The album includes appearances by
Stephanie's Child and
Ts Madison, as well as a cover of
Ace of Base's "
All That She Wants". In June 2023, Alaska took up the role of Princess in the
Dungeons & Dragons themed show
Dungeons and Drag Queens, which was also the 18th season of the
actual play anthology series
Dimension 20 on
Dropout. In 2025, she reprised the role in the show's second season. == Public image and artistry ==