There are few skaters in history that possess such ethereal beauty and grace as Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva. It is with her former partner and late husband, the great Sergei Grinkov, that Katia first seduced the world with her elegance. In their thirteen years together, they came to define pair skating, lifting the sport to new heights, artistically and athletically. With a style all their own, Gordeeva and Grinkov made a name for themselves as the most recognizable pair team ever from the former Soviet Union.
Katia’s early years were defined as much by her happy home life as they were by her determination to become an accomplished skater. She grew up with her parents and younger sister, Maria, in a Moscow apartment. On a fateful day at age 11, she was paired with a slender, golden-haired young boy named Sergei Grinkov, four years her senior. From that point on, the serious young girl and the carefree, talented Grinkov formed a partnership that would define both their own lives and the world of figure skating.
Three years later, after countless hours of rigorous on and off-ice training, Gordeeva and Grinkov joined forces with Marina Zueva who would become their longtime choreographer and perhaps the most influential force in their skating careers. Soon after this partnership formed, the pair won the World Junior Championships in Colorado Springs in 1984. Two years later, in 1986 in Geneva, they won the World Championships in their first try, defeating the defending champion pair team of Elena Volova and Oleg Vaesiliev.
Gordeeva and Grinkov successfully defended their World title in 1987 in Cincinnati. After the World Championships, they toured North America with Champions on Ice, and then proceeded to set their sights on the Olympics. 1988 proved to be a heady year for Katia. Things changed rapidly, both on and off the ice. Her trip to Calgary was a success, as she and Sergei won the Gold Medal in their first Olympics. She continued to focus intently on her training, but a stress fracture in her ankle forced her to take time off from skating. Katia took advantage of this opportunity to learn English and eventually became her skating partner’s official translator. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Gordeeva and Grinkov went from being partners, to good friends, to sweethearts.
Gordeeva and Grinkov won Worlds again in 1989 in Paris, and after successfully defending their World Championship in 1990 (their fourth title), the couple turned professional in 1991. That year, however, marked a more prominent transition in their lives: on April 28, 1991, they were married.
On September 11, 1992 came their most precious responsibility of all, their daughter Daria. Though thrilled with parenthood, the couple needed to support themselves, which meant more touring. During the 1991-1992 season, Gordeeva and Grinkov decided to join the Stars on Ice tour, the world’s most prestigious figure skating production. The sixty city, three-month road show made travel virtually impossible with their newborn, so they entrusted Daria’s care to Katia’s mother, a difficult but necessary decision for the young parents.
In 1994, Gordeeva and Grinkov took advantage of a new rule allowing professional skaters to be reinstated for Olympic eligibility and headed for Lillehammer. This time they won the Gold for each other. The couple returned to the United States, their historic significance in the sport of figure skating forever cemented, and found a permanent residence in Simsbury, CT, near their new training center. The same year, Katia was selected as one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People.
Despite Sergei’s nagging back injury, 1995 was destined to be a wonderful year. Again, they decided to rejoin Stars on Ice, and though this meant another long three months on the road, at least this year they were able to bring their daughter Daria along with them to the lengthy training sessions in Lake Placid. But sadly, fate intervened. On Monday, November 20, 1995, while rehearsing a number with their choreographer Marina Zueva, Sergei suffered a fatal heart attack.
Though the next year was extraordinarily difficult for Katia, she found her solace and inspiration on the ice. In February of 1996, she began her solo career with a heartfelt tribute to her late husband in A Celebration of a Life, which aired on CBS. In November 1996, Katia chronicled her life and love affair in her book My Sergei, A Love Story (Warner Books), which became a national best seller. That same year, she starred in her first television special Disney’s Beauty and the Beast along with friend and fellow skater Scott Hamilton.
Since then, Katia has emerged as one of the world’s most familiar faces. She signed a multi-year partnership with Target Stores that includes commercials and product endorsements. In February 1998, CBS aired the television docudrama My Sergei, (based on the book), and in April 1998 Little Brown published Katia’s second book A Letter for Daria.
Target introduced a fragrance and bath and body line, simply called “Katia”, in March of 1998. Katia is only the second athlete (Michael Jordan being the first), to have a fragrance named after them. A second fragrance, called “Katia Sport”, was released exclusively in Target Stores in April 1999. Target also displayed their support for Katia by dedicating a memorial to Sergei named the “Sergei Garden” within Target House, a 50-unit apartment complex and a home-away-from-home for long-term patients and their families while receiving treatment at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
During this period, Katia also signed a multi-year agreement with Rolex. She has appeared in a print ad campaign solo and with female skating legend Peggy Fleming. She also was featured in the popular “Milk Mustache” ad campaign with her daughter Daria.
As a solo artist, Katia spent five years on the Stars on Ice tour; four as a full-time cast member and two as a guest star. Katia also continues to honor the memory of her late husband in her efforts to raise heart disease awareness. During the fall of 2007, she starred in "Skate for the Heart" a show designed to raise awareness of heart disease. In the fall of 2008, she flew to the United States from Russia during the taping of "Ice Age 2" in order to headline Skate for the Heart a second time. This time, she dedicated a number to the memory of her father, Alexander Gordeev, who died of an unexpected heart attack in the spring of 2008.
Currently, Katia resides in the L.A. area, where she and her husband Ilia Kulik raise two daughters, Daria and Elizaveta. Katia is a devoted mother who prioritizes the importance of being with her children at home while balancing her own career.
Katia Gordeeva, Olympic gold medal figure skater and best-selling author, is available through IMG Speakers bureau for speaking engagements. Katia Gordeeva is also available for Olympic appearances, corporate hospitality events, meet and greets, and much more. Please contact IMG Speakers at 212-774-6735 or speakers@imgworld.com for more information on booking Katia Gordeeva.
