Who are Shea Couleé’s family members?

Jaren Kyei Merrell, popularly known as Shea Couleé, is a popular American drag queen born on February 8, 1989, in Warsaw, Indiana, United States. They were raised in Plainfield, Illinois, and studied costume design at Columbia College Chicago, graduating in 2011. Shea began their career in 2012 and gained popularity after competing in Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, where they reached the top 4.

Shea won RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 5 in 2020 and came back for the all-winners Season 7 in 2022, where they once again made it to the top 4. They also got into music and released their first EP, Couleé-D, in 2017 and their 1st full album, 8, in 2023. Apart from their professional career, they have kept their personal and family life relatively private. Let’s take a look at Shea Couleé’s family.

Shea Couleé’s parents

Marilyn Elaine and William Merrell are the parents of Shea Couleé. They are the youngest of 5 half-siblings. Their mother, Marilyn Elaine Merrell, is a Christian minister, and their father, William Merrell, was a decorated Captain in the Marine Corps. Their father passed away at the age of 64 because of cancer.

They announced their father’s death on Instagram and in the caption, they wrote, “This is a picture of my dad and I when I was 4. A fellow Aquarius, we would have been 65 this Sunday. Unfortunately, he passed away last week just before the cast announcement. Though I know my dad was really proud of me, and excited for my participation in RDR - it is still weird to think that he won't be here.” He added, "Though deep down I know he'll always be with me, I'm heartbroken to know that the man who gave me the name 'Shea' is now on another journey on the other side. I love you Dad, and I'm doing all of this for you because I know you're still cheering me on 💕💖💕”.

They often share about their mother on social media. On May 10, 2020, they shared a video with their mother for Mother’s Day. In the caption, they wrote, “Words cannot adequately express the amount of love I have for her. She is my rock, my number one fan, and biggest cheerleader in life. I aspire to have a heart as big and generous as hers. I honestly wonder how I got so blessed to get a mom like Marilyn. 💖👸🏾Love you mamma! P.S. My mom won’t see this because she doesn’t have any social media on account that she has been practicing social distancing since Y2K. I will however, tell her over FaceTime later.”

Shea Couleé’s upcoming projects

Shea Couleé has many projects lined up in 2025. On August 3, 2022, Deadline exclusively reported that Couleé had joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Disney+ show Ironheart, which is set to release on June 24, 2025. They are cast alongside Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross, Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, etc.

In an interview with E! News, Couleé talked about their experience of working in Ironheart. They said, “It's really so humbling to be able to crossover into a much more mainstream avenue, and push the needle forward as far as drag is concerned, in the way that it's consumed and in pop culture. I'm so deeply excited for everyone to see what this role is, what it entails and everything it is.” They further added, “Everyone at Marvel has been so unbelievably open and receptive to my experiences and my expertise about drag and they've allowed me to really come in to the MCU and put my very specific Shea Coulee print on the Marvel Universe."

Couleé also has many live shows scheduled. In 2025, Shea is going on tour and performing in many different cities across North America. Some of the upcoming shows include a concert on June 3 at Echostage in Washington, D.C., followed by a performance on June 28 at The Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado. Later in the year, on November 14, Shea will perform at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, along with fellow drag artists Lemon and The Virgo Queen.