Kim Petras is the first openly transgender artist to reach number one on the Billboard charts in the United States and first to win a Grammy award for best pop duo, with Sam Smith. She has collaborated with other celebrities, from Nikki Minaj to Paris Hilton and Charli XCX, and has over a billion streams on Spotify. Petras had a breakout year in 2023, landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, walking the red carpet at the Met Gala, and performing on Saturday Night Live.
But she’s had to overcome much discrimination in her career. At age 16, she became world-famous as one of the youngest people to undergo gender-affirming surgery. When the German-born singer-songwriter moved to Los Angeles, she was repeatedly told there was no place for her in the music industry. Petras wound up self-publishing her first two albums and found an alternative path to fame as a dance-pop icon and fashion influencer by going directly to her fans online and in the clubs.
An activist for LGBTQ+ rights, her visibility has broken down barriers that have helped others feel seen and heard, and she’s used her platform to warn against the dangers of a rise in hate rhetoric.
