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Wednesday, 5 February 2025

Heklina

American drag queen and actor (1967–2023)


Heklina
Heklina

Stefan Grygelko, best known by the name Heklina, was an American actor, drag queen, LGBT rights activist and entrepreneur based in San Francisco, California. Born in the Minneapolis area, Grygelko's mother was Icelandic; he lived in the Nordic country for a period of three years in the 1980s, with the name "Heklina" being created after an Icelandic volcano, Hekla. Heklina founded the iconic San Francisco LGBT/drag nightclub and live show Trannyshack in 1996.

I think that drag queens are still the eunuch clown that's safe to laugh at. It's definitively not shocking anymore. So I don't know if America's really embraced it. The early 90s was when RuPaul [was becoming famous] and it was the first time any drag queen had mainstream exposure. I don't really see a drag queen breaking out like that [again].

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