Valya Karnaval

Karnaukova was born on 11 November 2001 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. She engaged in athletics during her youth but had to discontinue due to health issues. She also studied dance. Until the age of 15, Karnaukova lived in the village of Novobataysk in the Rostov region, where her home was heated with a simple stove. According to Karnaval, she experienced bullying in school due to her family's financial situation.

After completing the ninth grade at School No. 9 in Novobataysk, Karnaukova enrolled in the Rostov College of Advertising, Service, and Tourism. However, she eventually dropped out due to frequent absences. Forbes later reported that she had also enrolled in another local college but did not complete her studies there either. In 2018, at the age of 17, Karnaukova registered on Musical.ly (now TikTok), where she initially focused on creating humorous videos. Within her first year on the platform, she gained 350,000 followers. Karnaval currently resides in Moscow and frequently collaborates with fellow TikTok personality Yulia Gavrilina.

In 2020, Karnaval became a member of Hype House, a TikTok content collective. That summer, she launched her music career with the release of her debut single "Psych Ward," with the music video premiering in September 2020. In addition to her music endeavors, she made her acting debut in the TNT television series Vacation, portraying a teenage girl. The pilot episode was filmed in May 2019, and the series began production in late June 2020. It aired between February and March 2021.

In November 2020, Karnaval published an autobiographical book titled Hey, Bandits. In February 2022, she participated in the second season of the TNT reality show Celebrities in Africa, where she reached the finals.