Draft:Lauren KITTENS Abedini

Lauren Parissa Abedini (born October 7, 1989), known by her stage name KITTENS, is an American DJ, record producer, podcast host, and intersectional feminist advocate of Iranian and American descent from Los Angeles, California. Before her foray into music, Abedini starred in Surviving Paradise, an independent Iranian film playing Sara, alongside Academy Award Nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo. She rose to prominence after becoming Kid Cudi's tour DJ in 2013, which shortly after led her to meet Usher, who became a mentor. She has released music through Fool's Gold Records as a solo artist as well as with collective musical group Athletixx. Abedini, who identifies as a Lesbian, is known for her outspokenness and advocacy related to the LGBTQ+ community and women's rights.

Career and Education
In 2011 while going to California State University, Fullerton for her business degree, Abedini started to DJ as a hobby and began playing local events around Los Angeles. While DJing at a nightclub in Hollywood, an affiliate of Kid Cudi saw her perform, which quickly led to Abedini, now going by KITTENS, becoming his tour DJ. After graduating, she decided to give herself 6 months to see if she could become financially stable working as a DJ. During that time, while playing shows with Kid Cudi, she met Usher, who became a mentor to her. Since then she has performed at many of his private parties, held a DJ residency at Drai's Beachclub in Las Vegas, and performed at many music festivals, including Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las Vegas and Coachella in 2018. Throughout her career, Abedini has also collaborated with global brands such as YSL, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Netflix, Amazon, and Adidas whom she designed a sneaker for in 2019. In 2022 YSL Beauté released a documentary style episode about Abedini's life and career for their "Push The Boundaries" series.

Sexuality and Relationships
Abedini identifies as Lesbian. She has been rumored to have dated several female celebrities, including Ruby Rose and Demi Lovato.

Women's Empowerment and Queer Advocacy
Lauren is an avid supporter of intersectional feminism. She frequently speaks out for equity in the music industry and teaches a charity based course on the basics of how to DJ called PWR with KITTENS. PWR with KITTENS is exclusively for women and gender expansive people because she feels that they face discrimination and unique challenges in the music industry, particularly in the DJ community. Proceeds from these courses are donated to Women's shelters and LGBT youth centers. Lauren also has a podcast named SHE/HER/THEY with KITTENS, which explores societal identity expectations and creativity with guests such as Kehlani, Demi Lovato, REZZ, Sarah Shahi, Hayley Kiyoko, and more.