Kat Graham, the famous actress behind Bonnie Bennett on The Vampire Diaries, is being reborn. She embraced her metaphorical death to dismantle her former identity as Graham and reintroduce herself as Toro Gato.

The triple threat first announced her symbolic death through a Twitter post on August 30, 2021. "Kat Graham is dead," she wrote before announcing the arrival of Gato.

Then, she disclosed she would host a private listening party to celebrate her birthday, the coming out of Gato, and the release of her debut EP Toro Gato on September 10 on YellowHeart. 

A day after the announcement, The Vampire Diaries star debuted the look of her reinvented identity during an interview with Daily Pop. She talked in length about her groundbreaking decision. 

Kat Graham's New Identity Embraces Truth

In the tell-all interview, the budding singer shared she wanted to dismantle her older self with the release of her new Toro Gato project.

Her upcoming project contains six films that echo her metaphorical death. Directed by her partner and The Vampire Diaries' cinematographer Darren Genet, one of the music videos was released on August 20. 

"I actually bury myself in one of these films," the 31-year-old said regarding the videos. Then, she expressed her desire to embrace truth, stating entertainers often forget their core and integrity. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kat Graham (@katgraham)

The artist mentioned how people were calling her new identity her alter ego. However, she contrasted their remarks, saying Graham was the alter ego to her genuine West African personality. 

The Pandemic Prompted Kat Graham to Shed Her Identity

As per her accounts, the Geneva native started working on self-discovery in 2016 and had never planned on coming out in such a fashion. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine changed everything. 

In isolation, she started getting comfortable in her own skin and got candid about her natural hair. She even detailed her natural hair journey through her YouTube videos and in interviews in August 2020. 

In the wake of her honesty, the multi-hyphenate found young black girls being inspired by her story. And their reaction only strengthened her decision to quit all superficial matters and be herself. 

Significance of Toro Gato's Look

When the actress attended the interview, she wore a traditional dress without shoes. When asked about her costume's significance, Gato explained that her reinvented identity was based on her West African origin. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kat Graham (@katgraham)

Her ensemble was the regular dress of The Kpelle tribe, her native ethnic group. Then she pointed at her headpiece called the Zulu hat and said it belonged to South African culture. 

In her own words, she wanted to represent who she was as a woman and where her ancestors were from. She also talked about wigs and clarified that her new identity wouldn't wear them.

I just wanted to annihilate this idea that we needed to be a certain way to be accepted, that we need validation. 

After talking about her appearance, the talented songstress elaborated that her new identity represented two egos. Toro embodied the dark side, including the anger and fear of one's monster, whereas Gato stood for peace. 

Comparing them to the subconscious and conscious minds, she implied both sides could coexist in a human.