Shuga Cain is the stage name of Jesus Martinez Jr. (born November 20, 1977), an American drag queen who came to international attention on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She later competed on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
Early life
Martinez was born in Oakland, California and as a child moved to Northern California, where he grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood. His father was Salvadoran, and his mother was Apache with Spanish ancestry.
Career In 2011, Martinez starred in a production of Xanadu, portraying Sonny Malone. He started drag full time in 2017, quitting a corporate job with the Scholastic Corporation to pursue it.
In March 2018, Shuga Cain was a part of Max Emerson's Drag Babies series, hosted by Bob the Drag Queen. She was a Drag Mentor, alongside Peppermint and Chi Chi DeVayne.
Shuga Cain was announced to be one of fifteen contestants competing on season eleven of RuPaul's Drag Race on January 24, 2019. She was the fourth Native American Drag Race contestant, following Stacy Layne Matthews in season 4, who is Lumbee, Kelly Mantle in season 6, who is Cherokee, and Trixie Mattel in season 7 and All Stars 3, who is Ojibwe. In episode 3, she was a part of the historic six-way lip-sync (the first time in the show history in which more than two contestants had to lip-sync to avoid elimination), which she survived. Shuga Cain lipsynced once again in episode 5, where she sent home Ariel Versace to Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight". Despite never winning a challenge, Shuga Cain placed in the top during the season's Snatch Game challenge, where she portrayed Charo. She was eliminated in the tenth episode after lip-syncing to "No More Drama" (2001) by Mary J. Blige against Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. Shuga Cain finished the competition in seventh place. During her time on the show, she released Shuga in the Raw, where she recapped every episode of season 11.
From March 26 to September 6, she was a part of the rotating cast for RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 11 Tour, presented by Voss Events and World of Wonder, and hosted by Asia O'Hara. The show kicked off in Los Angeles on May 26 during the RuPaul's DragCon LA wrap party (hosted by Drag Race judge Michelle Visage) and concluded with a final bow on September 6 in New York City (also hosted by Visage) at the top of RuPaul's DragCon NYC.
Shuga Cain was announced to host Gimme Some Shuga, a six episode mini-series on WOWPresents Plus. The series focuses on Cain and baker Justin Salinas creating cakes inspired by RuPaul's Drag Race legends. She was announced as part of the cast for A Drag Queen Christmas, a Christmas-theme drag show hosted by Nina West.
In April 2026, Cain was announced to be competing on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in the third bracket. Her season 11 castmates A'keria C. Davenport and Silky Nutmeg Ganache are also competing on the season.
Personal life Martinez married Tim Carswell on May 2nd 2025.
Filmography Television YearTitleRoleNotes2019RuPaul's Drag RaceHerselfContestant (7th Place)RuPaul's Drag Race: UntuckedCompanion show to RuPaul's Drag RaceTales of the CityDrag queenExtra2026 RuPaul's Drag Race All StarsHerself Contestant RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked Companion show to RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
Web series YearTitleRoleNotes 2018Drag BabiesHerselfDrag Mentor 2019Queen to QueenWith Scarlet Envy and Kahanna Montrese Da FuqGuest, hosted by Honey Davenport I've Never Had a...Guest Countdown to the CrownSeason 11 Whatcha Packin'Guest Cosmo QueensCosmopolitan Series Charo's Pink RoomWith Charo Shuga in the RawHost Take a Look BackSeries by Yuhua Hamasaki Gimme Some ShugaHost Bootleg OpinionsGuest, hosted by Yuhua Hamasaki 2020Out of the Closet Guest
Music videos
+ Year Title 2020"Sweet Love"
Discography
Singles YearTitle2020"Sweet Love"
Theatre
Year Production Role Venue Notes 2011 Xanadu Sonny Malone New Conservatory Theatre Center Credited as Jesus Martinez
See also LGBTQ culture in New York City List of LGBTQ people from New York City
References
External links
Jesus Martinez on IMDb