November is Transgender Awareness Month and we're bringing awareness by showing you the wonderful transgender models that have made huge waves in the industry over the past few decades. They're doing big things for the fashion industry! Learn more about Transgender Awareness Month here.
International Chrysis
A popular print model in the 1960s, International Chrysis was also a muse of Salvador Dali. Later in her career she was a cabaret performer.
April Ashley
April Ashley worked in the famous cabaret Le Carrousel, was a popular model of the ’60s and ’70s and was one of the first British people known to have sex reassignment surgery.
Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore is know for her doll-like facial and body features. She became a muse for photographers David LaChapelle and Terry Richardson. She is one of the most notable transgender public figures and has appeared in numerous advertising campaigns including M.A.C.
Carmen Carrera
Carmen Carrera got her start on RuPaul’s Drag Race and quickly went into a career as a Cover Girl. She’s a transgender model, performer and advocate.
Caroline “Tula” Cossey
Caroline Cossey was a model, a Bond girl and also the first transgender women to pose for Playboy.
Ines-Loan Rau
Ines-Loan Rau is a French-born transgender model who always dreamed of being a princess and a rock star. She definitely encompasses both these dreams in her successful modeling career today.
Arisce Wanzer
Arisce Wanzer is a transgender model from Northern Virginia. She’s a successful and popular model today.
Isis King
Isis King is an American fashion model and designer. She’s been on America’s Next Top Model twice and is a successful model today.
Geena Rocero
Geena Rocero is a popular transgender model and advocate. Along with modeling, she is also the founder of Gender Proud, an organization that stands up for the rights of transgender people all over the world.
Lea T
Lea T. is an Brazilian-born and Italian-raised model who is a muse for Riccardo Tisci and is a regular model for Redken hair products.
Aydian Dowling
Aydian Dowling first became popular on his YouTube channel where he talked about his transition. It quickly went viral along with his version of Adam Levine’s iconic nude photo shoot for FTM magazine. He is now a quarterfinalist for Men’s Health’s Ultimate Guy contest and is leading by nearly 50,000 votes. If he wins, he’ll be the first transgender model to appear on the cover.
Amelia Maltepe
Amelia Maltepe was born to a strict Muslim family. Although she has become popular for her racy lingerie shots, she wants to be in the Miss World pageant.
Andreja Pejic
Andreja Pejic is an Australian model who until 2014 identified as an androgynous male model. In 2014 she came out as a transgender women and was the first transgender model profiled by Vogue in its May 2015 issue.
Hari Nef
Hari Nef is IMG Worldwide’s first ever transgender model. She is also an actress and recently announced she is going to star in Amazon’s “Transparent.”
Octavia Saint Laurent
Octavia Saint Laurent stared in many documentaries and was a popular transgender women in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Candy Darling
Born in 1944, Candy Darling starred in many of Andy Warhol’s films and was a muse of the band The Velvet Underground. She had a short lived, acting and modeling career and was only 29 when she died of lymphoma.
Jenna Talackova
Jenna Talackova is a Canadian-born model who has a reality show on E! about her life called “Brave New Girls.” She was disqualified from the Miss Universe Canadian pageant for being outed as transgender in 2012.
Dezjorn Gauthier
Dezjorn Gauthier is a model currently signed to Trans Model New York agency. Besides being a model, he is the CEO and founder of I Am Here, I Am He, which is an organization aimed at educating and empowering transitioning men. He is also attending law school!
Valentijn De Hingh
Valentijn de Hingh’s transition between ages 8 and 17 was made into a documentary. She has modeled for top labels and even wrote a funny TED Talk on being transgender.
Juliana Huxtable
Juliana Huxtable is a transgender model, artist, poet and DJ. She really does it all! Her modeling career includes modeling for DKNY, Eckhaus Latta and BCALLA.
Laith Ashley De La Cruz
Laith Ashley de la Cruz is a famous male transgender model who became famous when he appeared in Barney’s “Brothers, Sisters, Sons and Daughters” campaign.