Kim Petras Bio
Kim Petras is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, who has built a distinctive presence in contemporary pop music. Born in 1992, she first gained international attention as a teenager for her gender transition and has since become one of the most visible transgender performers in mainstream pop. Her catalogue spans independent releases, major-label projects, and high-profile collaborations with artists across the dance and pop spectrum. Petras is widely recognised for her vocal style, her bold visual presentation, and the producer tag “Woo Ah!” that often appears in her tracks.
Across her career, Petras has released several full-length projects and a string of singles, while also writing songs for other performers. Her collaboration with Sam Smith on “Unholy” brought her a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and made her the first openly transgender woman to top the Billboard Hot 100. She continues to record, perform, and develop new material while living in Los Angeles.
Early Life and Background
Kim Petras was born in 1992 and grew up in Uckerath, Germany, alongside two older sisters. Her mother worked as a dancer and her father worked as an architect, and the household environment exposed her to both performance and creative disciplines from a young age. Petras has said that she began identifying as female at the age of two and started hormone therapy when she was twelve.
Around the same period, Petras began writing songs, producing her earliest work on GarageBand. She has explained that she learned English by watching videos of Britney Spears, and she has credited a songwriting documentary with inspiring her ambition to become a musician. In 2006, at the age of thirteen, she discussed her medical transition on the German television program Stern TV. Following further media appearances, she underwent gender-affirming surgery in 2008, after which several outlets described her as the “world’s youngest transsexual.”
While still attending school, Petras visited recording studios unannounced and recorded demos, an effort that led Universal Music Germany to sign her while she was a teenager. Part of her early deal included writing a jingle for a detergent company. She also began building a songwriting portfolio during this period, drawing on influences such as Cher, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and producer Sophie.
Path to Music
Petras released the EP One Piece of Tape in May 2011, marking her earliest documented release. She later moved to Los Angeles at the age of nineteen, using savings from her jingle work and a job as a waitress. Upon arriving in the United States, she initially lived in the garage of a producer in Redondo Beach while she established herself in the local music scene.
During these years, Petras wrote for several recording artists, including a track recorded but not released by Fergie, the song “Bratz What’s Up” recorded by Skylar Stecker for a planned Bratz sequel, and sessions with JoJo. In 2016, she signed a publishing deal with Prescription Songs and established her own imprint, Bunhead Records. The following year, she released her debut single “I Don’t Want It at All” in August 2017, followed by collaborations with Charli XCX on “Unlock It” and the single “Faded” featuring Lil Aaron.
Petras continued to develop her profile with singles such as “Heart to Break” in February 2018, which reached No. 52 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. She issued the Halloween-themed EP Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1 in October 2018 and later released the full-length album Turn Off the Light in October 2019. Her profile grew further when the Kygo collaboration “Broken Glass” charted on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart in 2020, demonstrating her reach within the global dance music community.
Kim Petras Career
Early Career (2006-2018)
Petras began her career in 2006 with her television appearance on Stern TV, followed by her early deal with Universal Music Germany and the release of the EP One Piece of Tape in 2011. She wrote material for other artists and signed a publishing deal with Prescription Songs in 2016. Her early solo work included “I Don’t Want It at All,” “Hillside Boys,” “Faded” featuring Lil Aaron, and “Heart to Break.”
The Halloween-themed project Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1, released in October 2018, marked an important creative step and included German-language vocals and a guest appearance by Cassandra Peterson. These independent releases helped Petras build an audience and set the stage for the more substantial projects that followed.
Breakthrough (2019-2022)
In 2019, Petras released the singles “Broken,” “Got My Number,” “Clarity,” and “Personal Hell,” all of which were later collected on her debut studio album Clarity. She contributed “How It’s Done” to the soundtrack of Charlie’s Angels and featured on Cheat Codes’ “Feeling of Falling,” which charted on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In August 2021, she signed with the Republic Records imprint Amigo Records and released “Future Starts Now.”
Petras became the first openly transgender artist to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards, and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2021. She followed with the EP Slut Pop in February 2022, the holiday film appearance in The Bitch Who Stole Christmas, and the single “Coconuts.” In September 2022, she featured on Sam Smith’s “Unholy,” a song that reached No. 1 in twenty countries, topped the Billboard Hot 100, and earned her a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The collaboration made her the first openly transgender woman to top the Billboard Hot 100 and the first openly transgender musician to win a Grammy in that category.
Notable Works and Milestones
Petras’s signature works include the EP One Piece of Tape, the debut single “I Don’t Want It at All,” the album Clarity, the Turn Off the Light series, and the Grammy-winning single “Unholy” with Sam Smith. Her later releases include the album Feed the Beast, the single “Alone” featuring Nicki Minaj, and a cover of “Stars Are Blind” with Paris Hilton. She has also been recognised for charting singles such as “Broken Glass” with Kygo and for her appearance on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, where she became the second openly transgender woman to be featured.
Kim Petras Award Nominations
Kim Petras has received recognition across major music award bodies during her career, with nominations reflecting her crossover appeal in pop, dance, and genre-blended categories. Her visibility as a transgender performer has placed her work in conversations about representation, broadening the recognition granted to artists from diverse backgrounds. Petras’s nominations have accompanied key releases such as Clarity, Turn Off the Light, and Feed the Beast, and have tracked her trajectory from independent releases to mainstream chart success.
Kim Petras Awards Won
Kim Petras has earned industry recognition for her work as a vocalist, songwriter, and collaborator. Her most significant win came in 2023, when her collaboration with Sam Smith on “Unholy” received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, making her the first openly transgender woman to win a Grammy in that category. Petras has also been acknowledged for her influence in fashion and pop culture, including a place on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Kim Petras Family
Kim Petras grew up in Uckerath, Germany, with two older sisters, a mother who worked as a dancer, and a father who worked as an architect. Her family’s creative and professional backgrounds contributed to her early interest in music and performance. Petras has occasionally referenced her parents in interviews while discussing the support she received during her teenage years and her eventual move to the United States.
Personal Life
Kim Petras lives in Los Angeles, California, where she relocated from Germany in her late teens. She has spoken openly about her experiences as a transgender woman, including the impact of gender dysphoria and her decision to transition as a teenager. Her fans call themselves Bunheads, a name drawn from her love of the anime Sailor Moon and a sideways-bun hairstyle she once wore regularly. Petras has continued to release music and tour, including a Feed the Beast World Tour that concluded in March 2024.