Andrej Pejic built her modeling career off her uncanny ability for seamless gender-bending. She posed as a man on several occasions, but as we know, she also made for quite a beautiful woman. Designers and brands seemed to love Andrej’s androgynous versatility, putting her in suits, gowns and swimsuits — she even scored a campaign modeling lingerie for women.
The model had been going by she for a while now, but yesterday she took to Instagram to announce that her days as Andrej are officially over. Andreja, as she will now go by, has come out as a transgendered woman, and she’s not looking back. According to Style.com, she went through gender reassignment surgery earlier this year and is now unveiling her true self to the world. Still, in spite of the change, Andreja stresses that she is still the person you loved when she walked down the runway as Jean Paul Gaultier‘s bride. “I think we all evolve as we get older and that’s normal but I like to think that my recent transition hasn’t made me into a different individual,” she wrote. “Same person, no difference at all just a different sex I hope you can all understand that.”
She seems happy to finally be public with her true self, and hopes to serve as a positive example of what transition looks like: “As a transgender woman I hope to show that after transition (a life-saving process) one can be happy and successful in their new chapter without having to alienate their past. Most importantly differences should not equal divisions, let’s all stand together in union.#betruebeyou.”
It’s wonderful to see Andreja out, happy and finally open about who she really is. Onward and upward, Andreja!
[h/t Roygbiv]
