Kim Petras Opens Up About Therapy, Self-Acceptance, and Her Drive to Succeed

The Grammy award winner is all about creating a progressive, positive vibe.

Kim Petras was photographed by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles. Swimsuit by Heavy Manners. Earrings by Alexis Bittar.Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

There is a formula for making the sexy, powerful bangers German pop star Kim Petras is known for. Getting her creative juices flowing requires “a look,” she says. “I have to be dressed up to make music. I need to feel like the version of myself that would perform and I feel alive when I wear a heel!” Punctuating her signature goth-glam-meets-’70s-chic style with a Manolo Blahnik pump or pair of go-go boots means she’s ready to write (yes, she pens all her tracks) and strut into the sound booth to record.

As the first openly transgender woman to win a Grammy, in the best pop duo and group performance category for “Unholy,” her chart-topping collaboration with Sam Smith, Petras has changed the game. “My biggest strength is that I know who I am, and I can push s--- for other people,” says the 30-year-old. And that includes being in the SI Swimsuit Issue. “I feel proud and happy,” says Petras. “It means being accepted by people, and that’s f---ing beautiful.”

Perfecting poses while being photographed in swim- wear took some practice, but Petras was determined. “It was a challenge, like, Can you push your confidence and believe you are hot?” she admits. “And ever since [the shoot], I feel more like I can do [anything].”

View Kim Petras’s full 2023 SI Swimsuit gallery here.

Kim Petras was photographed by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles. Swimsuit by Frankies Bikinis x Sydney Sweeney. Top by Patbo. Earrings by Alexis Bittar. Ring by Sophie Buhai.

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Petras will drop her first major label album, with Republic Records, this summer. But she’s no over- night sensation. She began releasing music on her indie label, BunHead Records, in 2017. Her loyal fans (appropriately named “bunheads”) have helped make her road to stardom sweet. “What always made me feel successful is these amazing people that I feel get me and let me be myself onstage,” she says. “And I get to give that energy back to them, and then they feel like they can be themselves. That’s the thing I’m the most proud of.”

Petras wishes she’d been more exposed to that positive energy growing up in Germany. “My parents supported me, but the beginning of my life was hard,” she says. “I really needed empathy. I felt like no one got what I was going through and I felt very alienated.” Petras started therapy at age 10 and says though she “always knew exactly who I wanted to be, it was hard to get taken seriously.” As a result, using her platform to help others feel seen became a goal close to Petras’s heart. “I want to see more equality where labels, gender, sexuality and skin color don’t separate people so much, and it’s about what you do and what you stand for and what’s inside,” she says. “Being yourself and being unapologetic about it is enough.”

Still, Petras wants to make it clear her gender identity doesn’t define her. “I’m proud that I make waves with my music and get recognized as being talented rather than just being transgender,” says Petras, who has worked with Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX and the Mistress of the Dark, Elvira. That was undoubtedly a highlight, as eerie flicks influence Petras’s music. “I pull a lot of my sonic aesthetic from the soundtracks of horror movies. I love synth sounds, and horror movies always have the best ones.”

Since the pop star is all about creating a progressive vibe, Petras refuses to let critics stifle her mood. When cynics come for her, “it pushes me,” she says. “I think I’ve gotten better at knowing when something is hateful or if someone who cares wants you to do better.” Though dodging adverse energy from trolls is no problem, sometimes her negative inner dialogue is unavoidable. “Whenever those moments happen, I’ve been doing too much and overworked myself to the point where I don’t feel passionate about music,” she says. To get her mind right, she carves out a few days to play with her dogs, play video games or find respite in a forest. “Nature is so amazing,” she says with a sigh.

Petras doesn’t have a steady with whom to stop and smell the roses—and that’s how she likes it. “Oh, my personal life is in shambles,” she jokes before adding that she loves being single. “It’s so fire! A lot of people have boyfriends, but not many have epic careers. I love what I do every day.”

View Kim Petras’s full 2023 SI Swimsuit gallery here.

This article originally published in the 2023 SI Swimsuit Issue. Buy the issue here.