10 of our fave iconic Kehlani style moments to celebrate their birthday

Kehlani is talented and beautiful, what more could you ask for?!

Michael Tullberg/FilmMagic; Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Audi; Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage

We love any excuse to celebrate a queer icon, and today is singer-songwriter Kehlani’s birthday!

The now 29-year-old Oakland-born performer shot to fame back in 2014 with their debut mixtape Cloud 9. Since then, Kehlani has released three studio albums that topped the charts — including 2022’s Blue Water Road, which was critically acclaimed and hit number 13 on the Billboard 200 — and was nominated for a Grammy.

Kehlani started their career as a performer dancing at Juilliard, but when a knee injury ended those dreams, they turned to music. In 2014, the singer was recruited to join the pop cover group Poplyfe, and together, the group placed fourth in the sixth season of America’s Got Talent. But after AGT, Kehlani left the band to strike out on their own, finding real success as a solo artist.

But they aren’t just a talented singer-songwriter; Kehlani has also dabbled in acting, scoring a guest spot on the third season of The L Word: Generation Q. Kehlani played a single mom named Ivy, a makeup artist on Alice’s team. They even had a steamy scene with bad girl Shane — trust us, if you haven’t seen it, go watch it now!

While the pop star has always previously identified as pansexual, it wasn’t until 2021 that they came out as a lesbian while on a friend's Instagram Live. Kehlani then made the announcement official with a TikTok video where they said, “I am gay, gay, gay. … I finally know I’m a lesbian,” Variety reports.

Later that same year, the “After Hours” singer opened up about their nonbinary identity and why using they/them pronouns feels affirming. “I don’t mind when people say ‘she’ at all, but something feels really affirming when people say ‘they,’” they explained in an interview with Byrdie. “It feels like…you really see me.”

Scroll through to see some of our favorite Kehlani fashion moments throughout their career!

Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Grey Goose Essences

Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Audi

Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Michael Tullberg/FilmMagic

Andrew Chin/Getty Images

Jim Dyson/Getty Images

Paul Morigi/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows

Lorne Thomson/Redferns

Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Grey Goose Essences

Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage