Tom Kaulitz

Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel in 2009. L-R: Gustav Schäfer, Tom Kaulitz, Bill Kaulitz and Georg Listing
Background information
Origin	Magdeburg, Germany
Genres	Pop rock alternative rock pop-punk post-grunge emo pop glam rock electronic rock electropop (since 2014) synth-pop (since 2014)
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Universal (2005–2016) Polydor (2014–2016) De-Code Ltd. (2014–2017) Starwatch (2017–2020) Sony (2020–present) Epic (2020–present)
Members	Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz Georg Listing Gustav Schäfer
Website	tokiohotel.com

Tom Kaulitz (September 1, 1989 in Leipzig) is a guitarist and songwriter in the German band Tokio Hotel. He has an identical twin brother Bill Kaulitz, who is also in the band and is the lead singer. Tom dated the German model Ria Sommerfeld from 2011 to 2016. They were married for over a year, until Tom filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences in September 2016. Tom also dated the German model Mai Schiller from December 2017 to March 2018. Tom is now married to German-American model and television host Heidi Klum since 2019.

Tom’s and Bill’s parents, Simone Kaulitz and Jörg W., separated when the Kaulitz twins were seven years old. Their mother Simone married Gordon Trümper, the guitarist from the German rock band Fatun. Bill Kaulitz showed an early interest in singing, as did Tom in playing guitar. Trümper noticed the twins’ musical inclinations and helped the twins to start their band. According to Bill in several interviews, he and Tom started writing music at seven. Their friends Georg Listing (Bass guitar) and Gustav Schäfer (Drummer).

They have been creating music since 2001 (under the band name ‘Devilish’, but later changed the band name to Tokio Hotel). They were trendy in the 2000s. They had many tours, many concerts, and fans (‘Aliens’). They released albums together (‘Schrei’ (2005), ‘Zimmer 483’ (2007), ‘Scream’ (2007), ‘Humanoid’ (2009), ‘Kings of Suburbia’ (2014), ‘Dream Machine’ (2017) and ‘2001’ (2022)). Tom has been using a Gibson guitar since 2007. Tom also plays piano, keyboards, backing vocals, and percussion.

Personal life

Tom was known for his style and hairstyle. He wore baggy clothes, a cap, a lip piercing, and dreadlocks or braids. He speaks 3 languages: German, English, and French. He got his first guitar from his stepfather when he was nine years old. He owns 17 guitars and 50 caps. Once when he was on tour he had an entire luggage just for his caps.

Tom and Bill used to live in Hamburg but moved to Los Angeles in October 2010 in response to an incident involving stalkers and a robbery. They are currently living in Los Angeles making music.

Stalking incident

In late 2008- early 2009, several female stalkers pursued the band relentlessly, even following Tom Kaulitz to his parent’s home in Germany and attacking the twins’ mother. The issue seemed to end after Tom allegedly hit one of the stalkers at a gas station in April 2009 and drove off. However, an article in Bild stated that the issue had resurfaced and that Tom Kaulitz may stand trial for assault. In late December 2009, the charges against himself - against the girl he allegedly hit - were on grounds of stalking. Kaulitz cited a break-in at their home in Germany as a deciding factor in their move to the United States.

Other activity

On August 4, 2010, Tom Kaulitz got his own Reebok shoes commercial. Reebok signed the 20-year-old Tokio Hotel guitarist and sneaker addict to model shoes for the company. “At home, I created a little room, like a little storage room,” he said of his sneakers. He also said that he gets 10 new pairs a week.

Tom and Bill released an app named “BTK Twins” for Android on December 19, 2011, and on iOS on January 16, 2012, to keep in touch with their fans. On the app, Tom and Bill posted photos, videos, and text messages, and fans could leave messages which the twins often respond to. In November 2013, the app was removed from both the Android and IOS stores, due to the imminent release of Tokio Hotel’s new album.

Car maker Audi hired the two frontmen to star in their new advertising campaign to attract the younger generation. They were featured in an episode of ‘Tokio Hotel TV’ (on Tokio Hotel’s website) and also in a commercial.