Chanel just hired its first-ever openly transgender model

Transgender model Teddy Quinlivan has made history by becoming the new face of Chanel Beauty.

She is the first openly trans model to front a beauty campaign for the iconic fashion house.

Quinlivan, 25, announced the move with an Instagram post on 26 August.

“I find I don’t cry anymore when things are sad, but isn’t it interesting when we shed tears in moments of triumph,” she wrote.

“This was one of those triumphant cry moments for me.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

?CHANEL BEAUTY? -I find I don’t cry anymore when things are sad, but isn’t it interesting when we shed tears in moments of triumph. This was one of those triumphant cry moments for me. My whole life has been a fight. From being bullied at school consistently, kids threatening to kill me and going into graphic detail how they were going to do it, my own father beating me and calling me a fagot, to receiving industry blowback after speaking publicly about being sexually assaulted on the job… This was a victory that made all of that shit worth it. I had walked 2 shows for Chanel while I was living in stealth ( stealth meaning I hadn’t made my trans identity public yet) and when I came out I knew I’d stop working with some brands, I thought I’d never work with the iconic house of Chanel ever again. But here I am in Chanel Beauty Advertising. I am the first openly trans person to work for the house of Chanel, and I am deeply humbled and proud to represent my community. The world will kick you down, spit on you, and tell you you’re worthless. It’s your job to have the strength to stand up and push on, to keep fighting, Because if you give up then you will never experience the tears of triumph. Thank you to everyone who made this dream a reality! @nicolaskantor @shazmakeup @sebastienrichard1 @casadevallbelen

A post shared by Theodora Quinlivan (@teddy_quinlivan) on Aug 26, 2019 at 9:20am PDT

“My whole life has been a fight,” Quinlivan continued.

“From being bullied at school consistently, kids threatening to kill me and going into graphic detail how they were going to do it, my own father beating me and calling me a f****t, to receiving industry blowback after speaking publicly about being sexually assaulted on the job… This was a victory that made all of that s**t worth it.

“I had walked two shows for Chanel while I was living in stealth (stealth meaning I hadn’t made my trans identity public yet) and when I came out I knew I’d stop working with some brands, I thought I’d never work with the iconic house of Chanel ever again.

“But here I am in Chanel Beauty advertising. I am the first openly trans person to work for the house of Chanel, and I am deeply humbled and proud to represent my community.

Quinlivan joins fellow trans models Andreja Peijić and Valentina Sampaio, who have both fronted beauty campaigns.

Quinlivan came out as trans in 2017.  She made the announcement in an interview with CNN Style, saying that she wanted to come out because of the way Donald Trump’s administration was treating trans people.

In 2017, she said: “I’ve decided to reveal my trans identity because of the political climate in the world right now – particularly in the United States.

“We made an amazing progression under the Obama administration, and since the new administration took office there’s been a kind of backlash.”

Quinlivan has walked in shows for  Louis Vuitton and Gucci, as well as Chanel.

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