With her long blond hair with a signature side bun reminiscent of the ’80s, there is something nostalgic about bubblegum pop princess Kim Petras. The 25-year-old musician is gradually ascending to fame through collaborations with pop music’s top producers. As a transgender artist, Petras also feels a responsibility toward her community as she continues to gain traction with catchy synth-pop tracks.
Born in Cologne, Germany, Kim first caught the attention of the public in 2007 at the age of 14 when she discussed her gender transition on Stern TV, a German news network. Kim knew herself at the age of 2, and began transitioning with female hormones when she turned 12.
At 16, she became one of the youngest people in the world to undergo gender reassignment surgery. (German law requires a person to be 18 before receiving this surgery, but an exception was made for her after multiple psychologists testified that waiting would be damaging to her health.) After two operations, Kim completed her transition.
Aside from her own personal transition journey, Kim was determined as a youngster to become a pop star. She has said she was bullied in school and did not have many friends, and so spent most of her time alone writing songs. While she does not write songs specifically about being transgender, Kim’s’ upbeat and memorable melodies are inspired by her own resilience and the struggles she went through growing up.
Kim’s debut single, “I Don’t Want It at All,” topped the international Spotify charts in 2017 and singles “Hills,” “Hillside Boys,” “Slow It Down,” “Heart To Break,” and “Faded” each have accumulated over one million streams.
