Katya Zamolodchikova
| Katya Zamolodchikova | |
|---|---|
 Katya on stage | |
| Born |
Brian McCook May 1, 1982 Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Occupation | Drag Queen, Actor, Reality Television Personality |
| Years active | 2006-present |
| Website | Official website |
Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova, known simply as Katya or Katya Zamolodchikova, is the stage persona of Brian McCook (born May 1, 1982), an American drag queen and actor from Boston, Massachusetts. She is famously known for her role as a contestant on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race.
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.[1]
McCook created the Russian drag character Ekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova in 2006, creating stage name from a combination of Russian names and one of his favorite gymnasts, Elena Zamolodchikova.[2] 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." The Russian-based aspect of his persona, however, was inspired by a professor McCook had in college. In episode one of RuPaul's Drag Race, McCook said that this professor "never left the house without a full face of makeup [with] six inch stilettos in the snow."[3] Since then, McCook went on to take several Russian courses and mastered the harsh accent of most Russians using a cassette tape called "Pronounce It Perfectly."[4]
As Katya, McCook hosted a monthly drag show called Perestroika at the Jacques Cabaret.[5]
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. [6] During her walk-in to the workroom, Katya was dressed in a more glamorous version of a Russian army uniform and greeted the rest of the cast with the Russian phrase "Devochki!", or "Girls!" in English.
Katya won two challenges in episodes six and ten, and she was praised by the judges for her funny performances and unconventional fashion choices on the runway. In episode six, titled "Ru Hollywood Stories" (a parody of E!'s "True Hollywood Stories"), Katya won for her portrayal of former Drag Race judge Merle Ginsberg. Episode ten, titled "Prancing Queens", had the queens create looks and dance routines as a half-man, half-woman character with another drag queen. Her performance and look of the "Tango Vogue" mash-up with eventual season 7 winner, Violet Chachki, received high praise and gave her the second win in the competition.
In two instances, Katya fell into the bottom two which prompted her to compete in the show's "Lip Sync for Your Life" segment; in episode two, she lip sung to "Twist of Fate" by Olivia Newton-John, defeating Sasha Belle; in episode 11, Kennedy Davenport won the lip sync against Katya to Katy Perry's "Roar." The decision to eliminate Katya was controversial among fans of the show.[7] During the Season 7 reunion, Katya was voted fan favorite and won the title of Miss Congeniality.
Life After Drag Race
After being eliminated from the show, Katya went on to perform in her hometown of Boston in several gay nightclubs. She typically performs songs of many popular Russian singers and bands, such as Alla Pugacheva, TATU, Glukoza and others. Because of her performances, these songs have drawn a lot of attention in these clubs.[2] When asked what she planned on doing after the show, Katya stated that she will be doing a one-woman show, traveling the world and continuing creating new web series on her YouTube page. The one-woman show entitled, "Love Stories From My Vagina", is currently being written by Zamolodchikova and will more than likely focus on her life and daily occurrences as a drag queen. Once she finishes with this project, Katya is hoping to start a short drag-based comedy sketch show inspired by "The Kids In the Hall", but with a more "Adult Swim" background. For now, Katya continues to travel the world and has had tours in Brazil and Australia with other drag queens such as Trixie Mattel and Willam Belli.
Katya has created several Web series on her YouTube channel, "welovekatya", including "RuGRETs," "RuFLECTIONS," "Drag 101," and "Irregardlessly Trish," about a Bostonian hairdresser who lives in a Dumpster. Katya improvises some material and also writes with a creative partner, Avi Paul Weinstein.[8]
In November 2015, Katya appeared on Christmas Queens album, singing a modified version of the song "12 Days of Christmas".[9]
References
- ↑ Infante, Victor D. "Marlboro-born performer Katya shoots for 'Drag Race' fame". telegram.com. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- 1 2 Andre Akimov. "His name is Katya". RUSSIAN CHICAGO MAGAZINE. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ↑ "Katya Gets To Work - Video Clip from RuPaul's Drag Race | S7, E1 | LOGOTV.com". Logo TV. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ↑ "'RuPaul's Drag Race': Miss Congeniality winner Katya speaks!". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ↑ Oliver, Maria (29 April 2011). "Night Watch: Perestroika". Boston Globe. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ↑ "PQ Monthly Grills Katya of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 7". Proud Queer (PQ Monthly – Daily Online). Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ↑ Fallon, Kevin. "Justice for Katya: Inside the ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 7 Finale". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ↑ Podell, Michael (2 February 2016). "An Interview With Katya Zamolodchikova, Russian Prostitute and Drag Race Fan Favorite". Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ↑ "Queens from RuPaul's Drag Race to Release a Holiday Album: Hear One of the Tracks". People Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
External links
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