Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova (Russian: ????????? ????????? ??????????????), often known mononymously as Katya (Russian: ????), is the drag persona of Brian Joseph McCook (born May 1, 1982), an American drag queen, actor and comedian. Katya is best known as a contestant on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Along with fellow Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel, she hosted UNHhhh, a web series hosted on the World of Wonder YouTube channel. After UNHhhh ended, she became co-host of The Trixie & Katya Show on Viceland. Katya currently co-hosts a podcast called Whimsically Volatile.
Video Katya Zamolodchikova
Early life
A native of Marlborough, Massachusetts, McCook graduated from Marlborough High School and attended Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where he studied video and performance art in the Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) program, where he first became interested in drag. He has an older brother and a younger sister. He is of Irish ancestry and was raised Catholic.
McCook created the Russian drag character Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova in 2006, taking the stage name from a combination of Russian names and one of his favorite gymnasts, Elena Zamolodchikova. When creating his drag character, McCook stated that he was inspired by "female comedians and just funny interesting women like Tracy Ullman, Maria Bamford [and] Amy Sedaris." McCook stated on Drag Race that the Russian-based aspect of his persona was inspired by a professor he had while studying at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, who "never left the house without a full face of makeup [with] six inch stilettos in the snow." McCook is not Russian himself, but took several Russian language courses and used a cassette tape called "Pronounce It Perfectly" to master the accent.
As Katya, McCook hosted a monthly drag show called "Perestroika" at the Jacques Cabaret. Katya became known on the local drag scene in Boston for performing songs by popular Russian artists such as Alla Pugacheva, t.A.T.u. and Glukoza.
Maps Katya Zamolodchikova
Career
RuPaul's Drag Race
Katya had auditioned for RuPaul's Drag Race on Logo TV four times before being chosen to participate in season 7. She won two challenges before being eliminated in episode 11, finishing in fifth place. The decision to eliminate her was controversial, as she was popular among viewers. During the Season 7 reunion, she was voted Miss Congeniality by fans.
On June 17, 2016, Katya was announced as one of the cast members on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Along with Detox, she ultimately placed as a runner-up to winner Alaska Thunderfuck.
Other projects
Katya has uploaded several web series on her YouTube channel, "welovekatya", including RuGRETs, RuFLECTIONS, Drag 101, and Irregardlessly Trish, the last of which is about a Bostonian hairdresser who lives in a dumpster. Katya improvises some of her material and also writes with a creative partner, Avi Paul Weinstein.
In November 2015, Katya appeared on the Christmas Queens album, singing a modified version of the song "12 Days of Christmas".
Katya has a show on the World of Wonder YouTube channel with fellow Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel called UNHhhh, which debuted in March 2016. On August 21, 2017, it was announced that Katya and Trixie would have their own show on Viceland, titled The Trixie & Katya Show, which premiered on November 15, 2017.
Filmography
Television
Web series
Film
Discography
Other appearances
Personal life
In January 2018, McCook announced a hiatus from drag for mental health reasons, and his comedy tour as Katya, "Help Me, I'm Dying", was postponed until spring 2019. Returning to Twitter in March 2018, McCook announced that the tour would likely be renamed due to his recovery.
On the March 20 episode of his podcast, Whimsically Volatile, McCook described his brief hiatus in detail, saying he had suffered a psychotic break after relapsing into the use of methamphetamine. He briefly returned to live with his family in Massachusetts before entering a rehabilitation center in Arizona.
References
External links
- Official website for Katya
- Brian McCook on IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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