[12] 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.

"[13] 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.

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.

Katya has uploaded several web series on her YouTube channel, "welovekatya",[20] including RuGRETs, RuFLECTIONS, Drag 101, Total RuCall, and Irregardlessly Trish, the last of which is about a Bostonian hairdresser who lives in a dumpster.

[22] Along with fellow Drag Race contestant Trixie Mattel, Katya co-hosts a web series on the World of Wonder YouTube channel called UNHhhh,[23] which debuted in March 2016.

[26] In the fall of 2018, Katya and Mattel revitalized their web series UNHhhh on WOWPresents Plus as well as YouTube due to the overall popularity and success of the show.

[31] Published by Plume Books, it was co-written with fellow Drag Race contestant Mattel, debuting at number two on The New York Times Best Seller list for "Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous".

[41][42] McCook became friends with Brian Firkus (Trixie Mattel) after they starred on seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

"[43] McCook has spoken openly about his experiences with substance abuse, including addiction to alcohol, cocaine, and crystal meth.

[44] 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.

He described suffering a psychotic break after a methamphetamine relapse and briefly returning to live with his family in Massachusetts before entering a rehabilitation center in Arizona.