Katya Zamolodchikova

Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova (Russian: Екатерина Петровна Замолодчикова), usually known mononymously as Katya (Russian: Катя), is the drag persona of Brian Joseph McCook, an American drag queen, actor, author, recording artist, and comedian. Katya is best known for placing fifth on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and placing as runner-up on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, as well as for appearing in the World of Wonder web series UNHhhh and the Viceland series The Trixie & Katya Show with co-host and fellow season 7 alum Trixie Mattel.[2][3] In June 2019, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed Katya 13th on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race contestants.[4]

In this Eastern Slavic name, the patronymic is Petrovna and the family name is Zamolodchikova.
Katya Zamolodchikova
Katya performing in 2015
Born
Brian Joseph McCook

(1982-05-01) May 1, 1982
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationBoston University
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (BFA)
Occupation
Years active2006–present[1]
Known for
TitleMiss Congeniality
PredecessorBenDeLaCreme
SuccessorCynthia Lee Fontaine
Websitewelovekatya.com

Early life

A native of Marlborough, Massachusetts, McCook graduated from Marlborough High School in 2000. He attended Boston University for one year before transferring to Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where he studied video and performance art in the Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) program with a minor in psychology, and first became interested in drag.[5] [6] He has an older brother and a younger sister. He is of Irish ancestry and was raised Catholic. [7] In a recent interview, McCook describes growing up as "boring, nondescript, [and] a boiler-plate white suburb". [8]

Career

Early drag career

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.[9] When creating his drag character, McCook stated that he was inspired by "female comedians and just funny interesting women like Tracy Ullman, Maria Bamford, Lana del Rey [and] Amy Sedaris."[10] 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."[11] McCook is not Russian himself, but took several Russian language courses and used a cassette tape called "Pronounce It Perfectly" to master the accent.[12] In addition to speaking Russian, he can also speak fluent French and has been spotted speaking Japanese and Portuguese.[13]

As Katya, McCook hosted a monthly drag show called "Perestroika" at the Jacques Cabaret.[14] 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.

RuPaul's Drag Race

Katya auditioned for RuPaul's Drag Race on Logo TV four times before being chosen to participate in season 7.[15] She is seen auditioning for the show back in Season 3's Casting Extravaganza. She won two challenges before being eliminated in episode 11, finishing in fifth place after losing a lip-sync against Kennedy Davenport. The decision to eliminate her was controversial, as she was popular among viewers.[16] During the Season 7 reunion, she was voted Miss Congeniality by fans. On May 16, 2016, Katya appeared at the finale of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8 to crown the next Miss Congeniality: Cynthia Lee Fontaine. On June 17, 2016, Katya was announced as one of the cast members on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars.[17] She placed in the top three times throughout the season, and eventually finished as a runner-up along with fellow contestant Detox.

Other projects
Katya and Trixie Mattel in 2017

Katya has uploaded several web series on her YouTube channel, "welovekatya", including RuGRETs, RuFLECTIONS, Drag 101, Total RuCall, 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".[18] Katya also features in Trixie Mattel's album Homemade Christmas in the song "The Night Before Contact".[19]

Along with fellow Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel, Katya co-hosted a web series on the World of Wonder YouTube channel called UNHhhh,[20] 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.[21]

Katya had a role in the 2018 film Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia With Hate, directed by Matt Kugelman and starring Bianca del Rio in the lead role. In 2018, Katya co-hosted a podcast called Whimsically Volatile with Craig MacNeil.[22] In November 2019, it was announced on the podcast that Katya will be leaving the show.[23] In the fall of 2018, Katya and Trixie revitalized their web series UNHhhh on WOWPresents Plus as well as YouTube due to the overall popularity and success of the show.

In the spring 2019, Katya announced her touring comedy show, "Help Me I'm Dying". The tour was filmed for a comedy special of the same name that aired on OutTV in Canada in October 2019.[24] It was available on demand in February 2020 and aired on Logo TV on March 4, 2020.[25] In November 2019, Katya and Trixie Mattel cohosted a new show on the Netflix Youtube channel called I Like to Watch where they react to various shows on Netflix.[26]

He released his first book, Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood, on July 14, 2020.[27] It was published by Plume Books and was co-written with fellow Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel, debuting at number two on The New York Times Best Seller list for "Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous".[28]

In 2020, Katya and co-host Trixie Mattel launched the weekly podcast "The Bald and The Beautiful."[29] In October Katya confirmed she would release her debut EP on November 13, titled Vampire Fitness.[30] In December, it was announced that Katya and Trixie would co-host the 10th Streamy Awards in Los Angeles.[31]

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.[32][33] Returning to Twitter in March 2018, McCook announced that the tour would likely be renamed due to his recovery.[34]

On an episode of the podcast Whimsically Volatile published March 20 2018, McCook described his drag hiatus in detail, saying he had suffered a psychotic break after relapsing into the use of methamphetamines. He briefly returned to live with his family in Massachusetts before entering a rehabilitation center in Arizona.[35]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2011 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself (in drag) Season 3 - Episode 1, audition clip
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself (in drag) Season 7 – placed 5th, won Miss Congeniality [36]
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked Herself (in drag) Season 7
2016 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself (in drag) Season 8, Episode 10: "Grand Finale" [37]
2016 Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul Himself (panelist) Season 1, Episode 2: "Featuring Amber Rose" [38]
2016 RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars Herself (in drag) Season 2 – Runner-up [39]
2017 Playing House Herself (in drag) Season 3, Episode 8: "Reverse the Curse"
2017–2018 The Trixie & Katya Show Herself (in and out of drag) Host
2018 America's Next Top Model Herself (in drag) Cycle 24, Episode 6
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself (in drag) Season 10, Episode 1
2018 Room 104 Season 2, Episode 3 "Swipe Right"
2019 Tales of the City Wedding officiant Episode: "Next Level Sh*t"
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race UK Herself Season 1, Episode 6
2020 AJ and the Queen Magda 1 episode
2020 Help Me, I'm Dying Herself Television Comedy Special [40]
2020 Love, Victor Herself Season 1, Episode 8

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 RuFLECTIONS Herself (in drag) Chronicling her time on RuPaul's Drag Race season 7 [41]
RuGRETS [42]
Irregardlessly Trish Trish Series following one of her alter-egos, Trish [43]
Fashion Photo RuView Herself (in drag) Guest co-host for one episode (with Trixie Mattel) [44]
2016 I'm Not a Doctor, with Dr. Katya Produced by World of Wonder [45]
Drag 101 [46]
Total RuCall Chronicling her time on RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race season 2 [47]
2016–present UNHhhh Produced by World of Wonder, with Trixie Mattel [20]
2018 Fashion Photo RuView Guest co-host for four episodes (with Violet Chachki) [48][49]
2019 Eastsiders Summer Clearance 2 episodes
2019 Runway Rewind Herself Guest co-host for four episodes (with Violet Chachki)
2019 The Pit Stop Herself (guest)
2019-present I Like to Watch Herself (co-host) Netflix YouTube show [50]
2020 Trixie and Katya Save the World Herself (co-host)
2020 The Pit Stop Herself (guest)

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 Redmond Hand, Private Dick Informant Short film [51]
2017 Sebastian Xenia [52]
2018 Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia with Hate Katya/Mitya [53]
2018 The Quiet Room David Short film [54]
2019 Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts Herself Documentary
2019 The Queens Herself Documentary [55]
2019 Ru's Angels The Wig Snatcher Short film [56]

Discography

Extended plays
Title Details
Vampire Fitness

As lead artist
Title Year Album
"Come in Brazil"
(featuring Alaska Thunderfuck)		 2020 Vampire Fitness
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Comedy
Digital
[57]		 US
Dance
[58]
"Read U Wrote U"
(RuPaul featuring the Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 2)		 2016 —29 Non-album single
"The Night Before Contact"
(Trixie Mattel featuring Katya Zamolodchikova)		 2017 5— Homemade Christmas

Guest appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album Ref.
"Drag U" 2015 RuPaul RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz 2 [59]
"12 Days of Christmas" Other RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Christmas Queens [60]
"Merry Christmas, It's Whateva"
(as Trish)		 2016 N/A Christmas Queens 2 [61]
"Bossa Nova Christmas in Outer Space" Jackie Beat [61]
"The Night Before Contact" 2017 Trixie Mattel Homemade Christmas

Awards and nominations
Year Award Giving Body Category Work Results Ref.
2020 The Queerties Drag Royalty Herself Won [62]

Bibliography
  • Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood. Plume. 2020. ISBN 9780593086704.

References
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