Katya

Ekaterina Aleksandrovna "Katya" Ogorodnikova (Russian: Екатерина Александровна Огородникова, Yekaterina Aleksandrovna Ogorodnikova; Belarusian: Кацярына Аляксандраўна Агароднікава, Katsiaryna Aliaksandraŭna Aharodnikava; Georgian: ეკატერინე ალეკსანდროვნა ოგოროდნიქოვა, Ekaterine Aleksandrovna Ogorodnikova;  born 18 March 1994 in Mogilev, Belarus), known as simply Katya, is a Belarusian actress, singer-songwriter, model, and former beauty pageant titleholder.

Katya came to prominence in the Summer of 2012 after being discovered by socialite Kim Kardashian at the boutique she was working at in Downtown Los Angeles. Despite dismissing the idea of pursuing a career in modeling, that same year she gained fame worldwide after winning Miss Belarus 2012 and subsequently Miss Universe 2012.

Early life
Katya was born on 18 March 1994 in Mogilev, Belarus as Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Ogorodnikova to parents Aleksander Ogorodnikov and Ketevan Ogorodnikova. She is the second oldest of ten children. Her siblings include older fraternal twin sister Natalya, twins Dasha and Ilya (born 1996), Antoni (born 1998), Svetlana (born 2000), Anya (born 2002), and identical triplets Pavel, Oleg, and Ivan (born 2010).

Her mother Ketevan (born 1970, née Japaridze, Georgian: ქეთევან ჯაფარიძე), is a school teacher and was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, but has lived in Belarus since 1982. Her father Aleksander (born 1967), is a concert pianist who worked as a club DJ in the late 1980s. Despite being an ethnic Belarusian, Katya is half Georgian from her mother and has some Latvian and Lithuanian roots from her father. As a child, Katya took part in musical theatre and dance and began modeling at age 10. She attended the Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University as an English major but dropped out to further her career.

2012–2013: Career beginnings, Miss Belarus, and Miss Universe
While working at a small boutique in Downtown Los Angeles during Summer 2012, Katya was discovered by Kim Kardashian. Kardashian gave her the number of her manager Simon Orsik, however Katya did not call him and soon returned to Belarus to continue her education.

That year, she won the annual Miss Belarus competition representing the City of Mogilev and went on to compete in Miss Universe 2012 held in New York, New York. There, she won the title after answering the question "Many socially conservative countries have strict laws against same-sex relationships, what are your thoughts on this issue?"

She answered with, "I believe that love is a powerful bond between two consenting people. Whether those two people be a man and a woman, man and a man, woman and a woman, or even a man and a banana. I don't think it should matter. I come from a very prehistoric country in terms of same-sex marriage, but I believe that someone should be able to love freely without judgment." Her answer was applauded by progressives who expressed their shock with a conservative country's representative having such liberal beliefs. She was forced to not return to her home in Mogilev due to potentially facing criminal charges due to going against the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko's beliefs, however these never materialized.

Katya finished her reign as Miss Universe on December 1, 2013 when she crowned Katrīna Zemberga of Latvia the new Miss Universe.

2013–2014: Ventures into acting and further success
After completing her reign as Miss Universe, Katya moved to London where she currently lives with her twin sister Natalya. Subsequently, she called Orsik and hired him as her manager, even declining Donald Trump's request for himself to manage her. Katya then broke out in the film world after being cast as a Kira, a supporting character in the independent drama film 365 and a Quarter Days. The film went on to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Katya was a nominee for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

After the success of her first film, Katya went on to have both lead and supporting roles in movies such as Set Me Free, Cassandra, The Day, My Blood, and Explosions Over Sarajevo, which all went on to receive positive critical feedback and moderate to large success at the box office. The latter of which, she went on to win several awards for.

2014–present: Music career and The Sisters Grimm
In Summer 2014, Katya signed with international record label Universal Music Group for a three-year contract. She then began working on her debut studio album which she previously described as "Iggy Pop meets the Spice Girls." In October 2014, she revealed the album would be titled Illuminations and that the lead single would be released sometime before the end of the year. In November 2014, Katya announced that the album has taken a new direction and will now consist mainly of "indie/alternative/dancey pop." She later revealed the album's title will be changed as well and will now be called The Sisters Grimm.

Personal life
Katya is a Russian-speaking Belarusian, but speaks fluent Belarusian, Ukrainian, English, and French as well. She can speak some Georgian also. From 2012-2013, Katya was in a relationship with American actor Gabriel Hall. She owns homes in New York, Los Angeles, Minsk, Moscow, and Cannes, but permanently lives in London. Her total net worth is estimated to be over $100,000,000. Katya was raised a Russian Orthodox but converted to Hinduism in 2013 stating her disagreements with the church and the Abrahamic religions as one of the main reasons.

Discography

 * The Sisters Grimm (2015)