.jpg/1159px-Me_with_Katya_Zamolodchikova_(cropped2).jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Katya Zamolodchikova
Brian Joseph McCook (born May 1, 1982), known by his drag persona Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova or Katya, is an American drag queen, actor, author, recording artist, podcaster, and comedian. Katya is best known for placing fifth on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2015) and placing as a runner-up on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2016). He is also known for appearing in the World of Wonder web series UNHhhh (2016–2023) and the Viceland series The Trixie & Katya Show (2017–2018) with co-host and fellow season 7 alum Trixie Mattel. Trixie and Katya often appear together as a popular comedy duo. Katya is a Daytime Emmy Award nominee.
Brian Joseph McCook was born on May 1, 1982, to Pat (née Moran) and Dan McCook. McCook is of Irish descent and was raised Catholic. His father bought him a cheerleader outfit as a child, sparking his interest in dressing up. He described his parents as "accepting" and his father also bought him his first wig. He came out as gay at age 15. He has two siblings. McCook was raised in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and graduated from Marlborough High School in 2001. In a 2019 interview, McCook described growing up as "boring, nondescript, [and] a boiler-plate white suburb". He then attended Boston University for one year before transferring to Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where he studied video and performance art with a minor in psychology, and first became interested in drag.
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, Lana Del Rey [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 of Russian descent, 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 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.
Katya auditioned for RuPaul's Drag Race on Logo TV four times before being chosen to participate in season 7. She was first 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. 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. She placed in the top three times throughout the season, and eventually finished as a runner-up along with fellow contestant Detox.
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". Katya also features in Trixie Mattel's album Homemade Christmas in the song "The Night Before Contact".
Along with fellow Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel, Katya co-hosts a web series on the World of Wonder YouTube channel called UNHhhh, which debuted in March 2016. On August 21, 2017, it was announced that Katya and Mattel would have their own show on Viceland, titled The Trixie & Katya Show, which premiered on November 15, 2017.
Hub AI
Katya Zamolodchikova AI simulator
(@Katya Zamolodchikova_simulator)
Katya Zamolodchikova
Brian Joseph McCook (born May 1, 1982), known by his drag persona Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova or Katya, is an American drag queen, actor, author, recording artist, podcaster, and comedian. Katya is best known for placing fifth on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2015) and placing as a runner-up on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2016). He is also known for appearing in the World of Wonder web series UNHhhh (2016–2023) and the Viceland series The Trixie & Katya Show (2017–2018) with co-host and fellow season 7 alum Trixie Mattel. Trixie and Katya often appear together as a popular comedy duo. Katya is a Daytime Emmy Award nominee.
Brian Joseph McCook was born on May 1, 1982, to Pat (née Moran) and Dan McCook. McCook is of Irish descent and was raised Catholic. His father bought him a cheerleader outfit as a child, sparking his interest in dressing up. He described his parents as "accepting" and his father also bought him his first wig. He came out as gay at age 15. He has two siblings. McCook was raised in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and graduated from Marlborough High School in 2001. In a 2019 interview, McCook described growing up as "boring, nondescript, [and] a boiler-plate white suburb". He then attended Boston University for one year before transferring to Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where he studied video and performance art with a minor in psychology, and first became interested in drag.
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, Lana Del Rey [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 of Russian descent, 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 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.
Katya auditioned for RuPaul's Drag Race on Logo TV four times before being chosen to participate in season 7. She was first 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. 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. She placed in the top three times throughout the season, and eventually finished as a runner-up along with fellow contestant Detox.
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". Katya also features in Trixie Mattel's album Homemade Christmas in the song "The Night Before Contact".
Along with fellow Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel, Katya co-hosts a web series on the World of Wonder YouTube channel called UNHhhh, which debuted in March 2016. On August 21, 2017, it was announced that Katya and Mattel would have their own show on Viceland, titled The Trixie & Katya Show, which premiered on November 15, 2017.