By: Daniel P’Lopez
Photos by: Davide Laffe
Pandora Boxx was born in Jamestown, New York, as Michael R. Steck and grew up in western New York her entire life. Pandora Boxx got picked on like most queer kids, discovered theater, and got into that from an early start. According to Pandora Boxx, that saved her along with also being heavily inspired by Madonna was also a precursor to drag.
Pandora Boxx didn’t know or hear about drag until she was nineteen; there was no Drag Race when she was growing up. Whenever you saw drag, it was “mostly a joke.” Today, drag is everywhere in gay culture.” Pandora Boxx wanted to be an actor when she was a kid, but drag is a form of acting, so Pandora Boxx got there in a similar way. Pandora Boxx didn’t even know drag was a thing, but after seeing Darienne Lake perform, lip-sync, and seeing people giving her money for performing, Pandora Boxx explained, “I want to do that.”
Pandora Boxx says that it would have been a much easier childhood if she had the role models we have today when she was growing up. She was always getting picked on but didn’t know what they were calling her. So, she did what most gay boys do, dream—and dream big. After Pandora Boxx moved to Rochester, New York was when she started doing drag.
Pandora Boxx was always into Greek Mythology and loved the original story of Pandora’s Box. “She was the first woman created. She opened the forbidden box and unleashed all the evil into the world, leaving only man’s hope inside. I’m never going to know what to expect if I name myself this,” says Pandora Boxx. Also, Pandora and Madonna have the same number of letters, and both end in A, Pandora Boxx proudly says.
Pandora Boxx eventually landed on Ru Paul’s Drag Race and placed fifth in the second season, winning the title of Miss Congeniality. She also returned to RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars and RuPaul’s Drag U. Pandora Boxx now has an album called BOXX. Pandora Boxx writes her own lyrics, some about gay sex, but her
latest album is more a PG personal album but still fun and danceable. Pandora Boxx admits she is not Mariah Carey by any means, but Pandora Boxx loves to sing and has a passion for music; that was what she wanted to do: make dance music and have fun. “I wanted to do songs that weren’t typical for drag queens,” explains Pandora Boxx, who, with her new album, is stepping outside the box.
When Pandora Boxx was making her latest album, BOXX, she thought of not what people would like but what she would like. She wanted to do what she wanted to do. “That is why this album is more personal, and it’s corky and fun, and there are messages in the songs, with deeper lyrics,” said Pandora Boxx.
Many queer artists are coming out these days, but Pandora Boxx stands out by saying, “There are a lot of amazing queer artists, and there’s room for everybody.”
When Pandora Boxx is not doing drag, he loves to paint, which he started as a youth. He also loves video games but explained that they can be addicting. Pandora Boxx is married and has been with his partner for over eighteen years.
Pandora Boxx will be at Ru Paul’s Drag Con and will perform her song “Dance” on the show. “Dance” is a video that was filmed in LA in a laundromat. “It’s a pretty simple concept; people start off bored until they start to dance, like the song,” explained Pandora Boxx about her latest video.
Pandora Boxx hopes that people listen to it and like her music. Music is very dear to her heart and important to her. Pandora Boxx’s message to the world is, “We need to love each other and accept each other for differences and all!”
You can follow Pandora Boxx on social media @pandoraboxx or check out her website for news, tour dates, and TV appearances.
Pandoraboxx.com