 Before becoming the first transgender woman to ever win a Grammy, Kim Petrus was born in Cologne, Germany in 1992. At that time, her birth name was Tim, but by the time she was only two years old and being raised in the nearby town of Heneff, Kim was already coming to terms with her identity. As a small child, Kim was desperate for her parents to buy her the then popular toy, known as Bratzdahls. But because these unusual pint-sized creations dressed kind of provocatively, her parents refused to give in to their child's demands. They believed that those dolls were too slutty. To this day, it's something that Kim still remembers and she recalled why it was so important to her to own these dolls by telling Paper Magazine, I wanted the Bratzdahls so effing bad because honestly that was so me and what I wanted to be. Around the age of five, Kim began hating her body. Having always felt like a girl, she simply couldn't identify with the male gender and didn't want to associate herself with it. Sometimes, she'd even take to running around her bedroom with a pair of scissors, wanting to cut that physical attribute that labeled her a boy clean off. Simply put, Kim suffered from being stuck in the wrong body. Luckily, while her parents might not have been down with buying her Bratzdahls, they were at least understanding enough to know that their child needed help. Of course, others around her showed far less understanding. For instance, her classmates at school would often bully her as soon as she stepped foot onto the playground. The difficulty she faced in these early years led her to consulting psychologists by the age of 10. Two years later, she legally changed her name to Kim and began occasionally wearing latex clothes to school. It might seem like a small thing, but it was Kim's way of taking control back over her own life. She joked with a German media outlet saying, At least I wanted to be well dressed if someone threw their school lunch at me. After the experts that Kim's parent brought her to confirmed what their daughter was saying, that she was a girl trapped in a body of a boy, they began to understand where her level of desperation was coming from as puberty approached. In particular, the fears of her voice deepening and growing facial hair. So that's when her family decided to act. Shortly after changing her name, Kim became well known in Germany and all around Europe for becoming the youngest individual to ever transition from male to female. She started with hormone replacement therapy at the age of 12 and the following year, she was appearing on the German news program known as Stern TV to discuss the process in 2006. A year later, she gained even more attention when she appeared on further European news series while seeking the permission to undergo the necessary confirmation surgery. She had to do this because German law states that a person must be 18 years old before being allowed to undergo such a process. While some of the doctors that she approached told her that she was crazy, Kim was eventually able to touch base with Dr. Bernd Meijenberg. He at the time headed the psychiatric special outpatient clinic for children and adolescents with identity disorders at the University of Frankfurt Hospital. While he himself was also usually against such operations being performed on children Kim's age, after seeing how the process had helped some of his other patients become much more well adjusted, he realized in some cases it was the right decision to make. And as far as he was concerned, Kim was one such case. According to German law, two independent psychiatrists must confirm the necessity for surgery and approve the process so the family found one more doctor who agreed with Meijenberg's findings confirming once again that what Kim was suffering from was not in any way mental illness. An endocrinologist, which is a doctor who specializes in treating health conditions relating to the body's hormones, explained the Daily Mail, there's a general lack of empathy with cases like Kim's, mostly because people know a little about the condition. Imagine a man that suddenly starts growing breasts or a woman that starts growing a beard against their will. This is how Kim and people like her experience puberty. They are simply trapped in their wrong bodies. That is why it is best to help them as early as possible and reduce the trauma for them. Upon completing her transition at the age of 16, Kim immediately felt like she had a new lease on life and she couldn't wait to explore her new self. But the one hold up that she was already worried about is that others would only come to recognize her as the world's youngest trans woman. What Kim really wanted out of her life was to be known for creating music and she was already working on accomplishing just that. Not only had she published some of her early work to YouTube with songs like last forever, but she had also released a commercially available single in the German market titled fade away. In other words, as important as Kim's transition was, she refused to let it define her. After becoming the woman we know her as today, Kim Petra's moved from Germany to Los Angeles at the age of just 19 and proceeded to grind out a career for herself with the support of a few friends. She described what this period of her life was like saying, I flew to LA where I knew one or maybe two people from the internet. I slept on couches and studios, had little money and just a few contacts. Over time she steadily built up a solid CV for herself and began writing for artists like Fergie and well as Rihanna while earning comparisons to others like Lady Gaga. Then in 2017 she landed a viral hit with I don't want it at all featuring a special appearance from Paris in the music video. Despite that success Kim remained independent largely because whenever she would approach labels, they only wanted to talk about her gender. Many of these higher ups sold Kim to either hide her gender or use it, but she didn't want to do either of those things. So she simply continued to make her dream a reality on her own or as she put it to interview magazine, I wasn't discovered I discovered myself. Since then Kim has dropped two albums while collaborating with artists like Charlie XCX, Meghan Trainor and of course Sam Smith. When she first teamed up with the English singer on Unholy a song about male infidelity and the betrayal of an ideal marriage, she probably didn't expect to make history, but this song would reshape both of their lives and lead to tremendous success. In fact in October of 2022, the duo became the first publicly transgender and non-binary solo artists through each the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts and then came something even better when the duo won a Grammy for best pop duo group performance, making Kim the first transgender woman to ever take home this prestigious honor. During her acceptance speech, Kim made sure to shout out the transgender legends that have come before her and kick down the doors so that she could accomplish what she has. She also made sure to thank Madonna for constantly upholding the rights of the LGBTQ community. Lastly, she expressed gratitude for her mother who's believed in her daughter from the very start. In the grand scheme of things, Kim Petra's past isn't something she can simply run away from, but at the very least, she's now firmly in control of writing her own narrative, having officially become the woman and artist she always dreamt of embodying. Alright everyone, that'll bring this latest before and after to an end. Thanks so much for watching and before you head out, consider answering the following question. If you ever became the first person to accomplish something special, what would you want it to be? It doesn't necessarily have to be something as monumental as Kim just pulled off, but I'm interested to find out what some of you hope to accomplish. Once you've done that, like, subscribe and turn on your notifications to always find out when we drop a new video. Thanks for watching, my name is Kara and I'll see you all another time. Bye!