Lea T is a transgender model. She was born a boy, but began her transition in 2010. Her first public appearance was in a Givenchy fall/winter 2010 ad campaign with Mariacarla Boscono, Cat McNeil, and Malgosia Bela. After the campaign, she started to open up about her transgender identity. In 2008, she underwent gender reassignment surgery.
In September 2010, givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci chose transgender model Lea T to be the face of their fall/winter 2010 campaign. In an interview with Details magazine, he admitted that he chose Lea because of her gender reassignment surgery. He later described her as a ‘beautiful girl’. Despite the controversies surrounding the surgery, the model was successful and has a positive post-surgery image.
As one of the most prominent transgender models, Lea T is in the news these days. She was named as the face of the ‘Baby Blue Man’ ad campaign and is the first openly transgender MMA fighter. Her name was shortened to Lea T after Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel, a leading facial plastic surgeon. However, many people are not aware of her history, but she was born with a X-chromosome, so her last name became a hindrance in her transition.
The Brazilian model, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2014, is now a leading fashion designer. Before her surgery, she appeared on the Love cover of French Vogue. She is now the face of the hair care brand Redken. It is the first global beauty campaign to star a transgender model. The BBC also named her one of the 100 most influential women in the world. She is also the first transgender woman to star in a global advertising campaign.
