Biography
Michael Venus is a Canadian artist, actor, and producer.
At 18, Venus relocated to Windsor, Ontario, where he engaged with the local arts scene in Windsor and nearby Detroit. Alongside friends, he co-founded the artist collective "House of Venus," organizing various art exhibitions, club nights, and events, including the ongoing annual wearable art and wig festival, "Wiggle." In 1995, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he spent 18 years working as an artist and event producer.
In the mid-1990s, Michael began performing as his drag persona, Miss Cotton, who serves as House Mother and leads "Venus Girl." Miss Cotton has appeared in numerous stage shows and television performances, including the iconic NYC Outdoor Drag Festival "Wigstock" in 1999, starred in The New Pornographers' music video for "Sing Me Spanish Techno," and hosted and curated the pre-show for the Official 2010 International Olympic Committee afterparty, introducing INXS.
Starting in 2001, Venus collaborated with filmmakers such as Mark Kenneth Woods, with whom he co-produced the world's first LGBT sketch comedy series, the House of Venus Show. The series premiered nationally on Canada's OUTtv in 2005 and later aired in France, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and the United States. He also co-produced and co-starred in the feature film Deb and Sisi, which debuted at the Out On Screen Vancouver Queer Film Festival in August 2008. Michael received the Throbbing Rose Art Collective award at the inaugural Nuit Rose festival during World Pride for his Icons and Demigods Show. Currently, he is working on Snow Queen, a herstory and exposé of drag in Canada, along with several other documentaries for the OutSpoken Series on Out TV.
