Katja Klark

**Katja Klark Paduła** (born **Katarina Madalena Körkmann**; 3 June 1985), known professionally as **Katja Klark**, is a Lungarian singer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress, and fashion designer. One of the most prevalent and successful pop artists of the 21st-century, Klark has attracted immense attention for her fashion style, personal biography, and private life, as well as her music.

Born to a working-class family in Lower Munbach, Klark began her music career in 2001, after deciding to not attend secondary school in order to enter the music industry. She initially found work performing in the nightlife industry, and adopted the alter ego "Katja Klark" in efforts to prevent nightclubs from figuring out her actual age. Klark began modeling professionally in 2003, often working in swimsuit, lingerie, and occasionally nude modeling. Klark joined the girl group Heavenly Devils in 2004, established by herself and two other models she had befriended due to attempts to succeed in the music industry. The group received modest domestic success, being best known for their 2005 single "Loosen." Klark left the group in 2006, after being offered a solo recording contract with Neon and Intercontinental Lungary, and the group subsequently disbanded.

She released her debut solo single "Undress Me" in 2007, which became a chart-topping hit in Lungary and abroad, while the song also garnered controversy for its suggestive lyrics. She then released the album *Katja Klark* (2007), which was certified platinum in her home country. Following the immense success of her debut, she went on to release the similarly successful albums *Sunkissed* (2010) and *Katarina* (2012), the latter of which became her first chart-topping album. The single "Perfume," released as the lead single to *Katarina*, went on to receive widespread success and won Klark the Song of the Year at the 2013 Lungarian Music Awards.

After having established herself as one of the most dominant pop performers in the world, Klark released a cover of the single "Du gacht et," originally performed by Pauline Wiktor. The cover ultimately became the best-selling single of both 2015 and of the entire decade in Lungary, and peaked at number-one in the country for twenty-two consecutive weeks, becoming the longest-reigning number-one hit of all-time. She later released her fourth studio album *The Queen* (2015), which also included a second disc compilation album of her previous hits. Klark then took a break from music in order to pursue acting. She starred in the musical-drama *Superstar* (2016), being nominated for Best Leading Actress at the 2017 Lungarian Movie Awards. Afterwards, she began starring in the stage musical *Iradessa* from November 2016 to June 2017. She then returned to music, releasing the chart-topping albums *Neoclassical* (2017) and *Romance Unlimited* (2019).

In her career, Klark has sold a total of 80 million records, making her the most successful Lungarian musician of all-time. Additionally, she holds the record for the most number-one singles in Lungary, amassing fourteen number-ones throughout her career. Dubbed the "New Queen of Pop," by the media, Klark has also branched into fashion design, releasing eponymous collections of clothing for young women in 2014, 2016, and 2019. In 2019, she opened her first clothing boutique, located in Inner Munbach.

## Early life and education

Klark was born on 3 June 1985 as Katarina Madalena Körkmann in Munbach, to parents Nbuzi Kwanga (1950–1998) and Lenora Körkmann (1953–1995). Her father was an immigrant from Karare, Bolinware, while her mother was Lungarian. Both of her biological parents suffered from various substance abuse problems and mental illnesses. They separated prior to Klark's birth, and Klark had very minimal interactions with her father; he later returned to Karare in 1991, and died of a heroin overdose in 1998. Klark has four elder maternal half-siblings: Maria, born  (1970-03-01) 1 March 1970 (age 53), Tina, born  (1972-04-18) 18 April 1972 (age 51), Markus, born  (1977-04-07) 7 April 1977 (age 46), and Paul, born  (1978-12-13) 13 December 1978 (age 45). All four of her half-siblings were born to Lenora and her ex-husband Markus Mazur (1952–2008); they had married in 1971, and later divorced in 1983. Lenora left the family in 1990, and Klark was subsequently raised by her elder half-siblings; Lenora ultimately began suffering from schizophrenia and worked as a prostitute, until she was killed by a patron in 1995.

Klark was raised in the Röhr neighborhood of Lower Munbach, in a three-bedroom rental house. In 1993, she was legally adopted by her elder half-sister Maria and her husband Matthias Schildknecht, whom she considers to be her "true parents." The following year, she had her name changed to Katarina Schildknecht, which remained her legal name until 2005. Klark began her education in 1991, attending a public primary school in Röhr. Klark struggled in primary school, often being insecure about her race, as she was not raised by any black family members and often felt like she was not accepted by other white students for being "too black," while black students viewed her as "not black at all." She struggled academically, and was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia at age eight. At age ten, Klark began watching Muzicka X, where she became inspired to sing and perform after recreating music videos by artists such as Pauline Wiktor, Alina Roques, and Lana Nük.

Klark graduated from primary school in 2001, and opted not to attend secondary school. Initially, she had wished to enroll in either the Royal Lungarian Academy of Music or Royal Lungarian Academy of Dance, but her applications were rejected due to poor primary school grades. Following her rejection, Klark decided not to attend secondary school entirely, and instead wished to begin her professional career as a musician, against the wishes of her family.

## Personal life

### Family and relationships

Klark has spoken candidly about her family life and turbulent upbringing. She states that her elder sister Maria was her primary caretaker growing up, and that if it wasn't for her she would likely be "a stripper, a prostitute, a drug addict, or dead." She has thanked Maria in the liner notes of every single one of her albums, and additionally has thanked her in her acceptance speech for every award she has ever received. Maria was her date to the 2008 Muzicka X Awards. In 2012, she stated that her birth parents were never her "real parents." At her wedding in 2016, she was walked down the aisle by her brother-in-law and Maria's husband Matthias Schildknecht, who she also cites as another one of her primary caretakers in her childhood.

Klark began a relationship with Zatranian footballer Tobiasz Paduła of FC Munbach Union in 2011, after they were introduced to each other at the 2011 Muzicka X Awards. Their relationship quickly became heavily publicized in the media, and they were given the supercouple moniker "Totja." They ended their relationship briefly in March 2012, but later were reported to have gotten back together in June 2012. Paduła proposed to Klark on Christmas Day in 2014, and news of their engagement was heavily circulated in both Lungary and Dalia. They were later married in a lavish ceremony on 22 April 2017. The wedding reportedly cost over $5 million. Following their marriage, the couple purchased a $15 million mansion in the Hönigberg neighborhood of Inner Munbach. In June 2019, Klark and Paduła revealed that Klark was pregnant with their first child; they later livestreamed their gender reveal party live on their Instagram accounts, revealing that they'd be having a girl. Klark and Paduła's daughter, Mascha Maria Paduła, was born in December 2019.

Following the release of Klark's single "Perfume" in August 2012, it was reported by Lungarian media that the song was inspired by Klark being cheated on by Paduła. Klark quickly discredited the rumors, and stated that while the song was inspired by a boyfriend she once had, it was not Paduła and the relationship in question took place in her early-20s.

### Name

Klark's birth name is Katarina Madalena Körkmann. After Klark was adopted by her elder half-sister Maria and her husband Matthias Schildknecht in 1993, she had her name changed to Katarina Madalena Schildknecht, which is the name she used for much of her life.

In 2001, Klark began working as a cocktail waitress at bars and nightclubs in order to earn money. She falsified her age in order to circumvent laws regarding minors being employed in alcohol-serving establishments. Klark used her real name at her first job, and was later fired when it was discovered she was actually only 16. Afterwards, she adopted the moniker Katja Klark in order to prevent employers from discovering her real age. Katja was a nickname Klark had used with her family and close friends throughout her entire life, while "Klark" was a fake surname she had made up. Klark began using this moniker in both her professional and private life shortly afterwards. In 2005, she legally changed her name to Katja Klark. Her birth name was not revealed to the public until 2008, when tabloid magazine *Gossip Lungary* leaked the information from an anonymous source. Klark later clarified why she began using fake names and the history behind her real name.

Following her marriage in 2017, Klark changed her legal name to Katja Klark Paduła, but continued using the name Katja Klark professionally.

### Politics

Klark has been outspoken regarding her political opinions. In a 2012 interview, Klark stated, "People look at me and think ‘oh there's no way that girl knows anything about government, she's just a pretty face,’ and comments like those drive me insane. I'm a tax-paying citizen and I think it's every tax-paying citizen's duty to be conscious about what's going on in their country."

Since turning 18, Klark has been a registered member of the Social Democratic Party. In 2014, she stated in an interview, "I grew up very poor. Shit poor. We took all the support that the government could give us, but it was still one 20-something year old woman who didn't finish high school supporting all these kids. I see people like Heidi Nüscher saying that poor people should work for their success, but how can a family like mine work for our success when we can't even find work because we have no one else to even take care of the children?" She supported Bruella Kestenbaum's campaign to become party leader in the 2016 leadership election, but ultimately pledged her support to Lara Münd after she had won, performing at an election campaign rally in Munbach.

## Discography

*Main article: Katja Klark discography*

* *Katja Klark* (2007)
* *Sunkissed* (2010)
* *Katarina* (2012)
* *The Queen* (2015)
* *Neoclassical* (2017)
* *Romance Unlimited* (2019)

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Katja Klark*