Stefan Grygelko was born on June 17, 1968, and lived until April 3, 2023, better known by the stage name Heklina, was an American actor, drag queen, and entrepreneur in San Francisco.

Grygelko’s mother was Icelandic, and having been born in the U.S., he lived in Iceland in the 1980s.

The named his drag character after the Icelandic volcano Hekla. Heklina founded the drag club Mother (formerly Trannyshack) in 1996.

I think that drag queens are still the eunuch clown that is safe to laugh at. It’s definitively not shocking anymore. So I don’t know if America’s 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 see a drag queen breaking out like that (again).

In 2022, Heklina appeared alongside Peaches Christ in Mommie Queerest, a drag parody of Mommie Dearest, in Palm Springs and Seattle. In April 2023, Heklina and Peaches were set to perform the show in London and Manchester.

On April 3, 2023, Grygelko was found dead by co-star Peaches Christ in London. He was 54.

Who was Heklina? Famed San Francisco drag performer dead at 55

Heklina, born Stefan Grygelko, was an icon of The San Francisco drag scene in the 90’s, co-founding several nightclubs.