Russella is considered one of 200 cultural icons by
i-D magazine and was considered one of the UK's top 30 talents by
The London Paper Russella studied dance at
Northern School of Contemporary Dance in
Leeds where he met singer and actress
Paloma Faith. Russella later moved to London to live with Faith. Russella appeared in the music video for Faith's debut single
Stone Cold Sober. Faith cites Russella as one of the inspirations for her style, a style which is thought of as
Dynasty Glam After moving to London, Russella worked in fashion PR for vintage clothes retailer Beyond Retro. before meeting performance artist Jonny Woo whom he performed with regularly after winning a competition hosted by Woo After a chance meeting at London nightclub Madame Jojo's, a then unknown French singer Héloïse Letissier befriended Russella and two lesser known drag queens who encouraged her to sing. After a period of suffering from depression, Letissier was inspired by the drag queens—to the extent that she named her pop persona
Christine and the Queens in appreciation. Lettessier claims that Russella is one of the drag queens who 'saved [her] life' ==Modelling career==