The Stunning Transformation Of Pentatonix Star Kirstin Maldonado

Kirstin Maldonado shot to fame as one of the original (and the only female) member of Pentatonix, the a capella band that's sold more than 10 million albums in the U.S. and has more than 4.5 billion online video views, according to Sony Music Canada. But her stunning transformation goes far beyond the band. Maldonado has evolved from a young girl who loved music to a global superstar and mom-of-two determined to be a positive role model. "I want people to see that we're regular people just like everybody else. I want people to see that I'm just a girl who went for her dreams," she told Asian Fusion Girl. "I want to inspire people to tear down their walls, especially for teenage girls. So many people don't believe in themselves," she added. The star shared an equally poignant message with Sweety High. "...I feel like young girls nowadays really underestimate their potential and what they can do," she said. "I really want to stress so deeply how important it is to believe in yourself and really go for your dreams."

One of the ways Maldonado is dedicated to inspiring others is by expressing herself without boundaries, because this star has had almost as many iconic hair looks as Demi Lovato. "I love playing around and I have a lot of great stylists and friends that are super fashionable that point me in the right direction," she told WWD of her perpetually changing locks. "...I always feel good after I change my hair. You get a haircut and feel positive and ready to take on the day," she said. And that serotonin boost has clearly carried this singing superstar who loves to experiment far.

Lone Star State native Kirstin Maldonado discovered her love for music at a young age. She was born in 1992 and was raised by a single mom who shared her musical passion. "For so long it was just my mom and me," she told Asian Fusion Girl. "...I told her I wanted to be like the kids in the kids' shows," Maldonado recalled. That led to the talented singer to community theatre shows, singing lessons, and her high school choir. But this future star was a stellar student outside of the choir room, too. "My amazing mother instilled a strong worth ethic in me, so I valued working hard in school," she wrote on Tumblr. "Although I wasn't popular in high school, I don't think I was unpopular... I ran in the theatre and choir crowd and took all AP classes, even graduating in the top 30 of my almost 1000 person class," she shared.

Maldonado's life path also began forming early thanks to the company she kept, as she grew up close with her Pentatonix bandmates Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi. Though Pentatonix wouldn't officially form until Maldonado was in college, she met Grassi at age 8 and Hoying in high school. It wasn't long before the besties combined their mutual love of music and began singing together. "Scott, Mitch and I formed a little trio for a radio contest and put something together. We ended up singing at a choir concert and it got a lot of attention so we just kept doing it," she told Sweety High of the band's humble beginnings.

As a young adult, Kirstin Maldonado knew her future lay in music. She attended the University of Oklahoma on a scholarship as a National Hispanic Scholar, where she studied Musical Theatre Performance. "I just think they have a really wonderful program there. I feel like it was just me kind of dipping my toes into [showbiz]," she told The Oklahoman of her time in the Sooner State.

Maldonado saw her time in Oklahoma as a stepping stone to bigger dreams. "My original plan was to move to New York and audition for Broadway and see where it went from there," she recalled. Though that dream would eventually be realized (more to come on that), life had different ideas. The then future star dropped out of college after her first year when a huge opportunity presented itself that would change her life forever.

Kirstin Maldonado's life changed drastically around 2011 when Scott Hoying suggested they, alongside Mitch Grassi, compete on NBC's "The Sing-Off." The "American Idol"-esque show saw a cappella groups go head-to-head to win a $200,000 Sony recording contract – but the trio needed to be a group of five or more to be eligible. "We decided to add a bass and beatboxer. We met Avi [Kaplan] through a mutual friend, and we found our beatboxer Kevin [Olusolo] on YouTube," Hoying recalled to Entertainment.ie. "The only day we had to rehearse was the day before the audition, and that's when we all met for the first time. From that moment on, it's just been crazy," he said. But that's an understatement.

"I think originally it was just a fun thing to do where we could all hang out and see each other, and we all we obviously loved singing, so that just took off," Maldonado told Sweety High of why she agreed to compete. "The second we all sang together as a five person group, it literally was magical," she noted. The fivesome won "The Sing-Off" under the name Pentatonix, and Maldonado (who was blond at the time) put her Broadway and east coast dreams on hold. Instead, she headed to the opposite coast to pursue a career with the band.

Fame came at Kirstin Maldonado fast, and she struggled with the intense spotlight that followed Pentatonix's "The Sing-Off" success and her move to California. "I dealt with a lot of self-conscious issues coming out to L.A. because it happened so quickly," she told Asian Fusion Girl, recalling, "I lived in a dorm before and then got thrown out into the world a year later." She also opened up to Civilian about how tough she found things early on, admitting, "It was so hard, and I wasn't at all ready. All of a sudden, it was like, a whirlwind of things were happening."

But, thankfully, Maldonado found her footing and the band released their first EP, "PTX VOLUME 1," that summer. As Pentatonix's musical presence grew, so did Maldonado's self-belief. "When Pentatonix started, my whole vision of what I thought my life was gonna be completely changed — in a great way, obviously. I never thought that I would have the confidence to do this," she told WWD. 

While adjusting to fame, Maldonado also made a big hair transformation in 2012. And it became the first of many. Though she was blond on "The Sing-Off," when she and her bandmates attended the "Pitch Perfect" premiere in 2012, she rocked super long, curly, brunette locks.

By 2015, Pentatonix had become a huge name in the music world. The band won their first Grammy in the Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella category for their "Daft Punk Medley." The group's Christmas releases had also seen particularly huge success, as Billboard confirmed their 2014 album "That's Christmas to Me," sold more than 2 million copies in the U.S. as of 2017. Their first Holiday EP, "PTXMAS," released in 2012, was certified gold.

Kirstin Maldonado, who had returned to honey blond locks and had clearly become an expert in finding her perfect hair color match, credited much of the band's success to viral videos across social media. "I think YouTube has been super instrumental in our success as well, because I think there's something really important about seeing and hearing what we're doing," she told The Oklahoman. "I think we just did a lot of things at the right moment in time," she added.

Amid the dizzying heights of Kirstin Maldonado's Pentatonix fame, she still found time for a thriving personal life. In 2016, she confirmed her engagement to Jeremy Michael Lewis, who she met on "The Sing-Off." "I was just so shocked because it was so out-of-the-blue and wonderful. I was so happy. There were no words!" she told People of Lewis' proposal. "He really researched it and did everything to make sure it was perfect. It's a flawless diamond, to which he said it's just like me, and I laughed!"

Maldonado said they were in no rush to tie the knot — but she and Lewis never made it down the aisle. Radar Online confirmed they'd called off their wedding the following year. "It was scheduled for December but they've pushed it off," a source shared. "They are staying together to work on separate issues," they added. Though it's possible to call off an engagement without breaking up, Maldonado and Lewis went their separate ways.

Amid a difficult time in her personal life, Maldonado didn't tone down her style (and why should she?). The star had developed a penchant for bold and edgy fashion, including black fishnets, hot pants, stiletto boots, and a black and white striped jacket that she showed off on Instagram. The star paired the rocky look with purple lipstick, dramatic eyeliner, and a bouffant. "If you feel good in it, then that's all that matters," she told WWD of her style mantra. "There were times where I was like, 'Is this too bold, what I'm wearing?' If you are owning your outfit, whatever it is, people are gonna look at you and be like, 'She looks great.'"

Kirstin Maldonado expanded her horizons outside of Pentatonix in 2017. She released her debut solo EP "LOVE" under the name Kirstin™ and explained to People of her new moniker, "My real name is so long and no one can really say it correctly, so I figured I would try to make it short and sweet." She also opened up to Civilian about why 2017 felt like the right time to pursue a solo career. "I think the reason it took me so long is because I finally had something to say," she explained. "I learned so much about myself, and it was really cool to find myself and learn how I best operate." Part of finding herself involved adopting another new hair color. This time, she showed us how to experiment with blue hair and opted for a stunning, deep turquoise shade.

Maldonado's solo venture sparked rumors Pentatonix had split, which she denied to ET. "...We can all step away individually, and do the specific things we like, because we're all so different in musical tastes," she explained. But while Pentatonix was still very much together, the band suffered a shakeup when Avi Kaplan announced he was leaving on X, which left the foursome with the though task of finding a new member. "Avi was super irreplaceable, and whoever we add would not be the same — but it would need to be different. We are trying to figure out what that new sound and direction is going to be," Maldonado told PopSugar. Matt Sallee joined the group in 2018.

Kirstin Maldonado's Broadway dreams finally came true in 2018. The star landed the role of Lauren in "Kinky Boots" and appeared on stage alongside Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears. "To start off the year of 2018 with Broadway by myself and feeling like a success was such a return for me," she told Civilian.

Maldonado later spoke to The Oklahoman about how special it was to finally appear on a Broadway stage, years after studying musical theatre in college. "It was amazing. Oh my gosh, it was such a dream come true. I was, like, crying during my rehearsals before," she admitted. "I was so emotional, but I just had the best time ever," she added. The star even shared hopes to return to the Big Apple to appear in a second run of "Kinky Boots," but admitted she was also open to appearing in other productions.

When the world shut down amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Kirstin Maldonado took to Tumblr to share her poignant thoughts on the unprecedented time. "...I can't help but feel distressed about the outlook for the entertainment industry/shows all around," she wrote in one blog post. "So many people's 'normal' won't come back at all until we get a headway on this virus, and it's gonna take us all coming together for that to work as well," she added, as she encouraged her fans to be kind to one another.

In another Tumblr post, she opened up about how much slowing down and stepping back from her pop star life had changed her. "The past few weeks, this whole quarantine, as you know have been transformative. I feel like I've been shedding skin of old habits, of past hurt, of feelings or situations that I brushed aside that I am just now uncovering and understanding their brevity. Noticing scars of old burns I'd rather kept forgotten," she wrote.

The star, who had dyed her hair red in a way that fit her sassy vibe before the world slowed down, also kept fans updated with how she was coping via Instagram. That included putting her creativity to good use by creating "Quarantine! The Musical." Maldonado shot the short video alongside her then-boyfriend Ben Hausdorff, and it showed her singing about life in lockdown.

Thankfully, by 2021, Pentatonix were able to record again as the world began to open up. The band released their sixth Holiday album, "Evergreen," which coincided with the group's 10th anniversary. Kirstin Maldonado reflected on her decade in the band with E! News, sharing, "We were all so excited just to be embarking on this thing all together as friends and just the way that it took off and all the things I've been able to accomplish is just crazy." She added, "It's crazy to think that it's been 10 years... all the accomplishments that we've been so fortunate to have been able to cross off our bucket list. It's wild to look back on it, honestly."

2021 brought another huge milestone to Maldonado's life too, as she fell pregnant with her first child. The singer confirmed the exciting news on Instagram via a romantic video that showed her getting cozy with Ben Hausdorff, as well as sharing the baby news with her Pentatonix bandmates and a look at a sonogram video. "KTM2 era ..." she captioned the video.

Almost four months after Kirstin Maldonado announced her pregnancy, she confirmed her daughter Elliana's birth. "After a bit of an unexpected and difficult delivery, we finally got to meet our beautiful baby girl 6/28/22 and have been so over the moon in love with her," Maldonado wrote on Instagram. Not only did the star become a mom, she also prepared to become a wife. The singer confirmed in March 2023 that Ben Hausdorff had popped the question in Japan. "Can't believe i got engaged in tokyo!!!" she captioned an Instagram snap showing off her new bling on that special finger. The happy parents tied the knot in 2024 in Maldonado's home state of Texas. "I think we've finally caught up to our relationship or our relationship has finally caught up to where we are. And I think there's something special about that," Hausdorff told People. "Just being like, yes, 'My wife!' and this is our life, and this is our daughter, and that's it," he said.

But despite being so busy in her personal life, Maldonado was still riding high with Pentatonix. That year, the group learned they were receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The singer celebrated the news by sharing a throwback Instagram snap of herself posing next to the star of Celine Dion (who's had a stunning transformation of her own). "Thank you SO much @hwdwalkoffame for recognizing and celebrating 10+ years of @ptxofficial," she wrote. "So excited to have our own star on the walk of fame!!!"

Kirstin Maldonado and her Pentatonix bandmates became multi-hyphenates in 2024 when they starred in a Netflix holiday movie. The group appeared as heightened versions of themselves in "Meet Me Next Christmas" alongside Christina Milian, and Maldonado (who was back to dark locks) shared an adorable Instagram video of herself and her husband watching the movie alongside their daughter. "Thank you everyone for making #MeetMeNextChristmas the #1 movie on @Netflix!" she wrote.

There was more good news to come. In November 2024, she shared a pregnancy reveal video that showed her on stage with a baby bump. Maldonado and Hausdorff welcomed their second child, a son named Theo, the following March. "Loving our sweet little family, loving how healing and normal this birth was (Elliana and I really persevered through THE WORST but that's my girl), and loving that such a wonderfully beautiful and challenging pregnancy chapter is closed with the addition of the CUTEST SWEETEST littlest mister baby I have ever seen," she gushed on Instagram.

Clearly, the star was happier than ever in 2025, and she shared a touching Instagram message that proved it. "Life is feeling so beautiful with my family," she wrote in celebration of Mother's Day. "Nothing I wouldn't do for my Elliana and Theo," she added. Whatever else may come this momma, a capella superstar, wife, actor, and Broadway beauty's way, her transformation this far has been truly beautiful.