- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- I was formally introduced to the profession of acting by Peter Skylar when he invited me to attend "Beginnings" summer camp for child actors in 1989. I had met Mr. Skylar when I participated in the MAAI Int, Inc.'s modeling contest at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, NY, the same year.
My first official acting job was as a dancing piano playing ghost in the first classical music video directed by Zbigniew Rybczynski for PBS.
My life took some twist and turns for many years after as I had to return to my home state of Alabama. There were not a lot of acting opportunities there but I still found ways to increase my skills by doing community theater musicals. I was cast in "A Chorus Line" 3 weeks after rehearsals had started when another actor could not continue. I was brought in because of my singing skills but had never danced a lick. I got great reviews and went on to work with the group for many more shows over several years.
Around this time I found the art form called Drag. I began performing on the southern drag circuit until I felt I was ready for Hollywood.
I moved here with $50 and a car and started calling gay bars looking for a job. They all said you want the Queen Mary in Studio City. I had never heard of this world famous drag venue but once they say my act I was hired on the spot. The Queen Mary turned out to be THE place Hollywood would call when looking for a drag or transgender actor and soon I was getting called in for auditions. On my second audition I booked a guest star on Nash Bridges for CBS. I learned the term Taft-Hartley contract. Soon after producers for the Jerry Springer movie "Ringmaster" attended the show at the Queen Mary and booked me on the spot for a role that became my "must join".
I've since done games shows like "To Tell the Truth" where I am the only reoccurring impostor in the history of the show. I've done reality contest shows like Steve Harvey's "Big Time" and America's Got Talent where I was in the top 88 acts.
I am focused on acting and have recently starred in the short "Margo and May" playing a non-binary parent and the proof of concept trailer for the film "Georgia" where I play George/Georgia, a transgender woman who is coming out to her family.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Maximilliana Gladden - Max (they/them pronouns) started performing at about 4 in their small church in Cherokee County, Alabama. They continued performing at church and school, and it was a big deal when they sang "Stand by Me", a secular song, at a beauty pageant at 16. Max then became in demand as a beauty pageant host, and also the sound for the contest in addition to performing. Later, Max ran talent shows there and sang at weddings, funerals, harvest festivals and honky-tonks.
Max began performing original music at the Modeling Association of America International, Inc. competition at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, NY in 1989. They won first place in the talent division of the competition and medaled in the runway, photography, and commercial divisions.
In 1992 Max was reborn on the dance floor of the Quest night club in Birmingham, Alabama as Maximilliana. After working the Alabama drag circuit for a few years, Max came to Los Angeles and joined the cast of the Queen Mary Show Lounge in Studio City where they were a headliner in the show for 6 years.
After the closing of the Queen Mary, Max competed on several variety show competitions on television including America's Got Talent. Max appeared on season 2 where they were part of the All Stars number which was broadcast live in front of several million people. Max made it into the top 88 acts on season 9 and was also part of the 'Best Of' episode that season.
In 2011 Max released the album (maxi)milli-ana. Max wrote, produced, recorded, performed, and mixed all the tracks. It is available on iTunes.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Maximilliana
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