Rhys Nicholson

Rhys Nicholson (born 22 April 1990 in Newcastle, Australia) is an Australian comedian and actor, known for being a judge on Drag Race Down Under from 2021 onwards, as well as the spin-off Drag Race Down Under vs. the World. They grew up in Newcastle to parents who were both artists, and are a dual citizen of Australia and the United States. Nicholson is gay and non-binary, and has spoken openly about their struggle with bulimia.

In 2011 Nicholson featured in the ABC documentary GayCrashers alongside Joel Creasey, in which the duo travel to the small town of Colac and perform a stand-up show. They have starred on the ABC show The Weekly with Charlie Pickering. In 2016, to highlight the importance of same-sex marriage in Australia, Nicholson publicly married lesbian and fellow comedian Zoe Coombs Marr at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and that year both were nominated for the Barry Award for Best Show, which Coombs Marr won.

In 2021 Nicholson served as a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under alongside RuPaul and Michelle Visage, and in 2022 played Doctor Sarkov in Netflix's science-fiction series The Imperfects. On 31 October 2023 they released a book, Dish: Spiels, Scoops, Emotional Outbursts and the Occasional Recipe. They competed in the third season of Taskmaster Australia, which began airing in September 2024, and in October 2025 were announced as a contestant for the third season of The Traitors Australia. In September 2023 they married their partner, former Triple J radio presenter Kyran Wheatley, with whom they had established Comedy Republic, a comedy venue in Melbourne.