Chanel Beauty hires first openly transgender model
Transgender model Teddy Quinlivan is making fashion history. She is the first openly transgender model to be hired for a Chanel campaign, Quinlivan announced on Instagram Monday.
In an emotional post featuring a video and photo from her Chanel Beauty campaign, Quinlivan shared the tough moments she's experienced trying to find her place in the modeling industry.
"My whole life has been a fight," she wrote on Instagram. "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 s*** worth it."
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
View this post on InstagramCHANEL PICK ME UP. Sun-kissed. Get a bronzed makeup look in just 5 minutes with SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL, LE VOLUME DE CHANEL and ROUGE COCO in Légende. GET THE LOOK: SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL PINCEAU ESTOMPE TEINT Foundation-Blending Brush LE VOLUME DE CHANEL N°10 Noir ROUGE COCO N°428 Légende @LuciaPicaOfficial @teddy_quinlivan --- #PickMeUp #SoleilTanDeCHANEL #GoldenGlow #CreateYourself #CHANELBeauty #CHANELMakeup
A post shared by CHANEL BEAUTY (@chanel.beauty) on
The 25-year-old walked runway shows for Chanel before coming out as transgender in 2017. She said on Instagram that she assumed she would no longer be able to work with the design house after coming out.
"But here I am in Chanel Beauty Advertising," she wrote. "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."
Since coming out, Quinlivan has worked with brands including Milk Makeup, Porter Magazine, Louis Vuitton, Maison Margiela Fragrances and Redken. She's also been an outspoken advocate for transgender models and the #MeToo movement.
"The world will kick you down, spit on you, and tell you you're worthless," she wrote. "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."
Sophie Lewis
Sophie Lewis is a social media manager and trending content writer for CBS News.
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