Table of Biography
Early Life and Education
Kim Petras was born to her father Lutz Petras and her mother Konni Petras on August 27, 1992. Likewise, her birthplace is Cologne, Germany. Her age is currently 31 years old.
Similarly, Kim’s father is an architect whereas her mother is a dance choreographer and artist. She has an older sister named Sina Petras who is also professionally a singer. Furthermore, she holds German nationality but her ethnicity is unknown. Her sun sign is Virgo according to her birthdate.
Regarding her academic history, there is no information regarding it. However, she might be a graduate of a renowned university.
Early Career
Petras’ first song was “about this dude in second grade who didn’t like me back,”. Petras, who was 13 at the time, spoke about her medical gender transition on a German current affairs program in 2006. At the age of 14, she made an appearance on a talk show and a documentary, pushing for approval of an early gender confirmation procedure at the age of 16, before Germany’s legal minimum age of 18. These appearances led to extensive international media coverage of her transition, referring to her as the “youngest transsexual in the world.”
Petras worked as a model in September 2007 for a chain of hair salons in Germany. At the age of 16, she went through gender-confirmation surgery after being examined by Dr. Bernd Meyenburg, head of the psychiatric unit at Frankfurt Hospital. Petras announced that the procedure was finished in November 2008. According to The Daily Telegraph, Petras had that surgery at a young age, making her the youngest patient ever. “I was asked if I feel like a woman now,” Petras said to The Telegraph a few months after the procedure. “But the truth is I have always felt like a woman – I just ended up in the wrong body.”
Career and Professional Life
2008-2015: Career beginnings
Kim Petras released several singles between 2008 and 2009 through Joyce Records, including “Fade Away” (2008), “Last Forever,” “Die for You,” and “Boomerang” (all 2009). She was featured on “Taste” by Sobertruth in 2009 and “Magnetic” in 2011. One Piece of Tape, Petras’ first extended play, was published later in 2011 by the label Bionic Ballroom.
Additionally, Petras appeared on German DJ Klaas’ singles “Flight to Paris” and “Heartbeat” in 2013. Petras began working on a music career over the following few years with producers like The Stereotypes, C.J. Abraham, Stephen Dresser, Johan “Jones” Wetterberg, Edward Ellis, and Aaron Joseph. She posted demos on her SoundCloud page, one of which was titled “STFU.”
In July 2013, Petras’ contributions to social media earned her a spot at number 19 on Billboard’s Artist Chart for emerging artists. Petras made an appearance on Isaac Phase’s song “You” from his album Phase 0001 in 2015.
2017-2019: Breakthrough with Era 1
Kim Petras’ first single, “I Don’t Want It at All,” was released in August 2017. The song eventually made it to the Spotify Global Viral chart. The following month, she was chosen by Spotify to be one of the four artists chosen as a RISE Artist, a “program designed to identify and break the next wave of music superstars.” Petras and Jay Park both appeared on the song “Unlock It” from Charli XCX’s mixtape Pop 2 (2017), which Paper magazine dubbed as the song “most likely to dominate the pop charts” by the end of 2017.
The Halloween-themed extended play Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1 by Petras was released on October 1, 2018. The project, which includes a cameo from the horror hostess character Elvira, was viewed as a departure from Petras’ typical sound.
Following that, Petras made plans to release a single every month leading up to the release of her debut album. In November 2018, she appeared in the song “Feeling of Falling” by Cheat Codes. The song “Young & Wild” from Twice’s sixth EP, Yes or Yes, was written by Petras.
Petras put out three singles in February 2019 called “1, 2, 3 Dayz Up” with Sophie, “If U Think About Me…”, and “Homework” with Lil Aaron. She has referred to this period of release as Era 1 but has not publicly stated plans to release an album with these eleven “neon head” digital singles from the end of 2017 to the beginning of 2019. At the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in March 2019, Petras performed as the festival’s headlining act.
2019-2020: Clarity and Turn off the
On June 28, 2019, Kim Petras released Clarity, her self-titled debut album. In the weeks leading up to the album’s release in May and June, Petras released one song weekly. Petras began his 24-date “Broken Tour” in June, traveling across Europe and North America.
In the same month, Petras appeared on the covers of the magazines Notion and Galore. The lead single, “Icy,” was released along with the album on its release date. The album was preceded by promotional singles such as “All I Do Is Cry” and “Sweet Spot.”
Moreover, Petras debuted “Malibu” as the first single from her upcoming album on May 7. A performance of the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! served to promote it, and it reached the UK charts. Later, Petras appeared on Kygo’s song “Broken Glass” from his 29 May album Golden Hour.
Turn Off the Light, Vol. 3 will be released sometime in 2021 “when [Petras] can perform it live,” according to Petras’ announcement from October 23. “Party Till I Die” is a new song that she also released. The Kid Laroi sampled Petras’ song “Reminds Me” for his song “Reminds Me of You,” which was released on the first anniversary of his passing in a joint effort with Juice Wrld.
2020-present: Scrapped studio album and “Unholy”
Petras and Madison Beer appeared on the song “Villain” from K/DA’s EP All Out on November 6, 2020. The song reached the US World Songs Chart as well as New Zealand’s Top 40.
Petras contributed to several remixes of songs that became popular on TikTok in 2021, including Studio Killers’ “Jenny” and ElyOtto and Curtis Waters’ “SugarCrash!” Also popular on the app was her 2017 song “Unlock It” with Charli XCX and Jay Park. Petras also stated that Turn Off the Light, Vol. 3 would be released at some point in 2021, but this plan was not realized.
In collaboration with Sam Smith, Petras released the song “Unholy” on September 22, 2022. When the song was released, it quickly became popular on TikTok and peaked at number one in several nations, including Australia, the UK, and New Zealand.
Additionally, it marked her debut on the American Billboard Hot 100, where it eventually reached number 1 in October 2022. Smith became the first openly non-binary person to achieve that feat, and Petras became the first openly transgender woman in history to have a number-one song on the charts.
Moreover, Petras and Smith received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Unholy” on February 5, 2023. Smith became the first non-binary artist to win a Grammy, and Petras became the first openly transgender artist to win a major category Grammy.
Petras thanked her mother during her acceptance speech, saying that without her and her support, she “believed me, that I was a girl, and I wouldn’t be here.” Madonna and Sophie, two musicians, were also thanked.
Kim Petras – Artistry
Pop singer Petras also creates dance-pop, electropop, bubblegum pop, and electronic dance music (EDM). She attributes the primary inspiration for her sound to the late 1990s and early 2000s pop scene as well as the 1980s Italo disco. Petras identifies as a “Kylie Minogue stan first” and credits Minogue as having had a significant influence on her pop sound. Other artists who have influenced Petras’ work include Katy Perry, Cher, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, and the Spice Girls.
Other influences also include Boy George, Debbie Harry, Queen, Freddie Mercury,[15] Judy Garland, Baby E, Lil Aaron, Liz Y2K, and Kesha. Petras said in an interview “Pop music is an escape for me from my problems. To forget about everything bothering me, I can put on my headphones and listen to it for three and a half minutes. For me, it has always been that way. In many ways, I believe that Pop saved my life.
Regarding the creation of her songs, Petras explained to Noisey that “there’s something about writing a song that everyone can sing and remember, and when you listen to it for the first time, you already know the lyrics by the second chorus, as you’ve always known the song. I can’t get enough of that concept. In response to a question about the subjects of her stories, she said, “I write about boys, heartbreak, sex, having fun, and the things that I go through.”
Public Image
Kim Petras was dubbed “the new princess of pop” by Nasty Galaxy after her debut. Publications like Billboard, ABC News, and Idolator repeated the title. Numerous critics praised her debut mixtape Clarity (2019) but criticized her association with Dr. Luke, who had been charged with verbally and sexually assaulting Kesha in 2015.
When her EP Slut Pop, which was also produced by Dr. Luke, was released in 2022, the same controversy flared up once more. Following the EP’s release, the hashtag “#FreeKesha” gained traction on Twitter, and Petras received additional criticism for the EP’s lyrics that alluded to Lady Gaga, a supporter of Kesha and a fellow survivor of sexual assault.
Awards
Kim Petras has received awards and accolades for her singing career. She has won the title of Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at Grammy Awards 2023. Likewise, she has also received the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2022. Furthermore, she also won the title of Queerty Award in 2023.
Caption: Kim Petras with her award
Source: Instagram
Personal Life
Petras is one of the youngest transgender people who has come out publicly. She had gender reassignment surgery at the age of 16, after coming out as transgender at a young age. Petras has been open about her private life and relationships, which have received extensive media coverage. Throughout her career, Petras has been in a few relationships. She was rumored to be dating actor and model Miles High in 2018, but neither of them ever confirmed the relationship. She dated model and actress Kate Harrison in 2019, but their relationship ended after a few months.
Caption: Kim Petras with her friend
Source: Instagram
Petras was also known to be committed to writer and director Tobias Jesso Jr. The two met in 2020 and dated for a long time before deciding to go their separate ways. She and Jesso are well known for keeping their relationship very private and hardly ever discussing it in public. Petras has posted a few photos with Jesso on social media, though, and those posts have in the past led to rumors about the couple’s relationship status.
Overall, Kim Petras is a gifted singer, an advocate for LGBTQ rights, and someone honest about her relationships and personal life. She continues to concentrate on her music career and motivates others despite the media attention.
Kim Petras – Net Worth 2024
Kim has earned a hefty amount of money throughout her singing career. She has a net worth of around $7 million as of May 2023. But she hasn’t disclosed her salary and other asset values.
Social Media
Kim is an active social media person. She is active on various social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Her official Facebook account ‘Kim Petras’ has gained more than 177K followers to date. Likewise, her official Instagram account ‘@kimpetras’ has more than 1 million followers and has shared 803 posts. Furthermore, he joined Twitter in April 2009 and has more than 266.2K followers on her account ‘@kimpetras’. Moreover, she created her YouTube channel ‘Kim Petras’ on September 2, 2007. As of now, this channel has accumulated more than 471K subscribers.
Kim Petras – Body Measurements
Talking about her physical appearance, she has a well-maintained body personality. She stands at a height of 5 feet 6 inches and weights 56kg. Likewise, her body measurements are 34-25-36 inches (chest-waist-hip). Petras has a bra size 32B and a US shoe size 7 on her feet. Kim’s bust measures 33 inches. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress not only has talent, but a distinctive and beautiful appearance.
Caption: Kim Petras posing for a photo
Source: Instagram