Teddy Quinlivan Has Become The First Openly Transgender Model For Chanel

It’s another great news day for the transgender community as another humongous fashion brand in Chanel has decided to choose transgender model Teddy Quinlivan as the global face of their new beauty advert for their “Summer Look” campaign.

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The 25 year old – who has previously modelled for Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Redken and is a well respected advocate for the trans community – took to Instagram to deliver the news, where she said the following:

 

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💄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

I mean you gotta say fair play to her and congratulate her on that really haven’t you? I’m sure some people will trot out with comments like ‘kill it with fire’ on Facebook, but we’re not about that and have only got respect, admiration and time for women like Teddy fighting for transgender rights. Here’s to many more victories.

For more of the same, check out this story about a transgender woman who found love with a man who rejected her when she was male. Heartwarming.