D.J. Pierce, aka Shangela Laquifa Wadley, is an American drag queen and reality television personality best known for competing on RuPaul's Drag Race.

Shangela was the first contestant eliminated in season two and returned as a surprise contestant in the series' third season, placing sixth. He returned once again for the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, where he finished in the joint third/fourth alongside BeBe Zahara Benet. Shangela has also made several television appearances and regularly performs across the United States and Canada.

Shangela grew up in Paris, Texas, the only child of a mother in the U.S. Army who frequently traveled for her work. He was raised by an extended family, including a grandfather who worked as a ranch hand at pig and cattle farms. He was a male cheerleader in high school and began dressing in drag for creative projects for English classes.

Pierce is openly gay and is of African-American and Saudi Arabian descent.

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5 contestant Alyssa Edwards is Shangela's drag mother.

Shangela emerged as Pierce's drag persona in January 2009. Pierce choreographed a three-person drag act to "Single Ladies" for a sober charity event in Los Angeles, and when one of the performers canceled, the other two asked him to fill in. The club's promoter was so impressed with Shangela's performance that he offered to book him for the following week. In 2010, Shangela was crowned in the first California Entertainer of the Year pageant; the first alternate was Chad Michaels.

After five months of performing in Los Angeles, Shangela was selected to join the cast for Season 2 of RuPaul's Drag Race but was eliminated in the first episode due to her lack of experience and poor sewing ability. She later re-auditioned and was invited back for Season 3, where she made it to the top five (although she placed sixth overall due to the return of Carmen Carrera one episode later). She also made cameo appearances in the show's fourth season premiere and the "Snatch Game" episode of All Stars season two.

On August 23, 2011, he released his first single, "Call Me Laquifa," which is available for purchase via iTunes and other commercial music sites. His second single, "Werqin' Girl," was released on 7 August 2012. The music video for "Werqin' Girl" features appearances by Abby Lee Miller, Jenifer Lewis, RuPaul's Drag Race pit crew member Jason Carter, and Yara Sofia.

Shangela will compete in the upcoming television special RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular.

Shangela appeared in Toddlers & Tiaras, where he coached his 9-year-old goddaughter to compete in a beauty pageant. Other appearances include episodes of Glee, Bones, Community, Terriers, Dance Moms, 2 Broke Girls, Detroit 187, The Mentalist, and a commercial for Orbitz with fellow Drag Race contestants Manila Luzon and Carmen Carrera.

Shangela and other RuPaul's Drag race contestants, including Trixie Mattel, Tammie Brown, and Manila Luzon, appeared in a Food and Drug Administration campaign against smoking.

Shangela had a non-drag role in a short film, Body of a Barbie, which aired on BET and was a Top 7 National Finalist on the network's Lens on Talent series.

Shangela is known for the catchphrase, "Halleloo," which the Los Angeles Times considered one of the "2010 Top Terms We Learned on Reality Television." Shangela's comedic persona is Laquifa, who entered the limelight during the eighth episode of season three, in which he won the "Ru Ha Ha" competition.

Shangela was featured as one of OUT Magazine's "Most Compelling People of 2011". That same year, Shangela was featured as one of OUT Magazine's "Most Compelling People of 2011".

In 2013, Shangela appeared in the music video "Gone With the Wind Fabulous" by Kenya Moore. In 2018, Shangela featured on both the vocals and in the music video for Doll Hairs, a single released by Todrick Hall as part of his Forbidden visual album.

Since being on Drag Race, Shangela has performed comedy as Laquifa in Downelink.com's "One Night Stand Up!" on LOGO. Shangela has served in the Drag Queens of Comedy showcase alongside legends Lady Bunny, Jackie Beat, Coco Peru, and the Werq the World Tour alongside several fellow Drag Race alums.

Pierce has also been active in AIDS awareness and activism. After being featured in a Gilead Sciences ad titled "Red Ribbon Runway" with fellow Drag Race co-stars Carmen Carrera, Delta Work, Manila Luzon, and Alexis Mateo, the dress he was featured wearing was auctioned off by Logo in commemoration of World AIDS Day. Proceeds from the auction were donated to the National Association of People with AIDS.

On August 14, 2013, Shangela, along with fellow drag queens Detox, Morgan McMichaels, Courtney Act, Willam Belli, and Raven, were featured in the lyric video for Lady Gaga's single "Applause."

Shangela had a role in the 2016 comedy film Hurricane Bianca, directed by Matt Kugelman and starring friends and fellow Drag Race contestants Willam Belli and Drag Race season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio in the lead role. She returned to reprise this role in the 2018 sequel, Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia with Hate.

In 2018, she was the commentator for the United States for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held in Lisbon, Portugal, with Ross Matthews for Logo TV. The same year, she had a supporting role in the musical romantic drama film A Star Is Born alongside fellow Rupaul's Drag Race contestant Willam Belli.

Shangela eventually competed on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, making her the first and, as of 2018, only queen to compete on three seasons of the show. She made it to the season's finale and was considered a frontrunner for the crown. However, she was controversially eliminated after only receiving one vote from Thorgy Thor among the jury of previously eliminated queens. She subsequently tied for third/fourth place with season 1 winner Bebe Zahara Benet.

Moreover, on March 15, 2018, the day of the All Stars 3 finale, Shangela released a new single titled "Pay Me, " featuring producer Ryan Skyy.

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