Verka Serduchka

Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko (Ukrainian: Андрі́й Миха́йлович Дани́лко; born 2 October 1973), better known as his drag character Verka Serduchka (Ukrainian: Вєрка Сердючка), is a Ukrainian comedian and pop and dance singer. In the role of Serduchka, he represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and finished in second place. Serduchka has sold over 600,000 records during his career in Ukraine. He is also very well known for his appearance in the comedy film Spy starring Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, and Miranda Hart.

Early life

Andriy Danylko was born to a Surzhyk-speaking working-class family in Poltava. In 1980, at seven, he lost his father to lung cancer. An avid amateur performer since childhood, he graduated from the Stage&Circus College and Kiev National University of Culture and Arts in Kiev.

Early career

In 1990, Andriy Danylko started to create the character of Verka Serduchka, a flamboyant middle-aged female railroad car steward from a rural family. At a humor contest in Poltava on 4 January 1991, he presented Verka Serduchka publicly for the first time. He invented the character's name by combining the randomly picked first name Verka and the last name of a former school classmate, Anya Serduk. Apart from pop and dance numbers, Danylko has also performed ambient musical compositions under his real name. His popularity, however, is firmly established on the stage personality of Verka Serduchka, and most of his performances are done under this stage name.