In addition to being a record-breaking artist, Kim Petras has made LGBTQ+ history. At just 16 years old, the "Future Starts Now" artist reportedly became the world's youngest transgender woman, after beginning her transition with hormone replacement therapy at 12 years old. "She always knew what she wanted," said Dr. Bernd Meyenburg, who helped oversee the artist's surgery, per The Telegraph. Petras told the newspaper Die Zeit (via Hindustan Times), "I have always felt like a girl. I hated my body when I was five. I couldn't identify with gender, wanted it gone."
While Petras is a proud trans woman, there were concerns early on in her career with regards to how she would be received by audiences and record labels. "I was told that I'd always be a niche act because I'm transgender. So, having people just listen to my music a lot, and not even knowing I'm transgender, was amazing," she told People.
For years, Petras released music through her own independent imprint, BunHead Records. "Labels were unsure about working with me because I'm transgender, so signing to a label wasn't a great option for me, everyone kind of had a problem with me being transgender, or wanted to make it a big deal," she told Dork in 2019. Things would soon change: In 2021, she inked a deal with Republic Records and dropped "Future Starts Now."
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