One of the brightest stars in the modelling world has come out as transgender.
Teddy Quinlivan posted a series of videos on her Instagram page Wednesday, the first of which showed her as a child before cutting to a close-up of her mouth as she says: ‘My name is Teddy. I’m transgender.’
It was a surprising admission from the 23-year-old model, who has publicly presented herself as cisgender until this point.
‘I remember living my whole life as male, but feeling like I was playing a part,’ says Teddy in the first clip.
‘I always knew I was female like just in my soul, in my heart in my brain. I kind of knew I had to pretend to be male to appease like everybody else.’
She then adds: ‘At one point, I just stopped giving a f***.’
And just a few hours after making her big announcement Teddy was back at work, closing out another New York Fashion Week on the runway at Marc Jacobs.
Brave new world: Model Teddy Quinlivan has come out as transgender (above on Friday after the Jeremy Scott show in NYC)
In the beginning: Teddy revealed that she transitioned at the age of 16 in a series of videos posted on Instagram (young Teddy above)
Flawless: The 23-year-old American had publicly presented herself as cisgender until this point (Teddy above with Emily Ratajkowski)
Journey: ‘I always knew I was female like just in my soul, in my heart in my brain,’ explained Teddy (above) in a video posted to instagram
Inspiration: One of the clips included a touching conversation between the model and her mother (pair above at Teddy’s graduation)
Eleganza Extravaganza: Teddy (above in November of last year) recently scored photos spreads in the Russian and Spanish editions of ‘Vogue’
Teddy dedicated that final walk to members of the transgender community who had been murdered in a poignant Instagram post.
‘Today I walked for Marc Jacobs, but I also walked for Venus Extravaganza, Mesha Caldwell, Jo Jo Striker, Jaquarrius Holland, and countless other trans women who’s lives were cut short due to senseless violence and lack of understanding,’ wrote Teddy.
‘I love all my Transgender brothers and sisters and I will do whatever it takes to make a difference. Know that you are not alone, know that I’m here fighting for our community; fighting for our liberation.’
She explained in a statement on Wednesday that she was coming out now in hopes of shining more light on transgender issues and to assume an advocacy role given the recent actions made by President Trump and his administration rolling back LGBT rights.
‘I want to help break the stigma of what it means to be transgender,’ explained Quinlivan.
‘We need more and more trans voices to speak out and share our humanity so that the world stops seeing us as “other.”‘
Teddy also spoke about her political motives as well after coming on Wednesday.
‘Our rights are under constant threat from the highest levels of our government, and through cruel proposed legislation across the country that is designed to put us in harm’s way. Enough is enough,’ said Teddy.
‘I will use my voice to help our diverse, vibrant, and resilient trans communities overcome these obstacles and thrive.’
Her three videos however for far more personal, and included brief snippets where she described the lengths she went to in order to present as cisgender.
The first video also includes an incredibly moving conversation between Teddy and her mother, who spoke about her daughter’s journey and how easy it was to accept her transition.
‘We used to talk about when you were a little kid, if someone came and said that you were purple, you would know in your heart that you weren’t purple and what they were saying was silly,’ said the model’s mother.
Stomp and repeat: Teddy burst onto the scene after Nicholas Ghesquiere booked her as a worldwide exclusive for his Louis Vuitton show (Teddy above in the designer’s Spring/Summer 2017 show in October 2016)
Serving notice: Teddy had a busy New York Fashion Week, walking for Carolina Herrera (left) and Oscar de la Renta (right)
Poignant moment: Teddy dedicated her final walk of NYFW at Marc Jacobs (above) to transgender women who lost their lives due to acts of violence
Style star: Teddy has been getting notice off the runway for years thanks to her street style (above in July outside the Maison Margiela show in Paris)
Strike a pose: ‘I will use my voice to help our diverse, vibrant, and resilient trans communities overcome these obstacles and thrive,’ said Teddy
In 2016, the model showered her mother with love in an Instagram post on Mother’s Day which showed the two at her high school graduation.
‘In this moment I think neither of us knew what the future held for me or that I’d have this career as a model,’ wrote Teddy.
‘My mom has been so extremely supportive throughout my entire life and particularly on this most recent journey in fashion. Whether it was me calling because I didn’t book a show or because of a panic attack at 4am mid-fashion week, she has always been there.’
She went to to say: ‘Thank you for all of your support and love even when times were tough and all of the inevitable frantic phone calls to let you know I wasn’t confirmed for a job or because some stupid boy broke my heart in the future. I love you more than anything!’
Teddy now joins a growing list of transgender models working in the industry, including Gucci muse Hari Nef and Australian stunner Andreja Pejic.
Her admission also comes just nine months after Belgian beauty Hanne Gaby Odiele came out as intersex, almost 12 years into an illustrious career where she has been the model-of-choice for designers including Alexander Wang, Raf Simons and Iris Van Herpen.
Hanne was one of the first to applause Teddy’s bravery, writing on Instagram: ‘So proud of @teddy_quinlivan for speaking out, living authentically and pushing boundaries.’
She later added: ‘I love you. You’re a star.’
Teddy certainly is a star, especially when it comes to the catwalk, having walked in 12 shows over the past week in New York.
That comes on the heels of her first appearances in ‘Vogue,’ where she landed a 10-photo spread in the September issue of the magazine’s Russian edition and a 12-photo spread in ‘Vogue Espana.’
And this looks like it is only the beginning for Teddy.
The red-headed American beauty has stomped the runways for everyone from Jason Wu and Victoria Beckham to Chanel and Fendi in the two years since she burst onto the scene.
Quinlivan’s rapid rise came after Nicholas Ghesquiere booked the model as a worldwide exclusive for the Spring / Summer 2016 Louis Vuitton Ready-to-Wear show.
She had been working for two years prior to that, but it was her turn on the Vuitton runway that quickly made her one of the most in-demand catwalk models.
Quinlivan’s profile has been growing too with more editorial appearances, booking spreads in ‘InStyle’ and ‘Glamour,’ and ad campaigns, having been the face of MGSM for their Spring / Summer 2017 campaign.
She is now waiting to see how coming out could impact her career.
‘I’m definitely a little bit nervous, because I’ve been presenting as cisgender for so long,’ said Teddy in a interview with CNN.
‘Since I transitioned when I was 16, I’ve been living as a cis female … I was very lucky, because I won the genetic lottery — I looked a certain way and my voice hadn’t dropped. That privilege gave me a lot of confidence to walk down the street, date and [work] in the fashion industry, where people I would presume I was a “normal” girl.’
She went on to say: ‘But when you come out as transgender to the world, on a platform, there may be some backlash. People might be violent against me because of something I never chose. That makes me nervous, but I’m really excited to share my story with the world.
‘My optimism outweighs the fear.’
Meanwhile, Marc Jacobs was quick to applaud the brave young beauty for her courage, saying: ‘I respect, admire and support Teddy’s decision to come out as transgender. Now more than ever it is vital that we pledge our allegiance to the LGBT community and use our voices to encourage and inspire acceptance, equality, understanding and love.’
Teddy said she know hopes to be a role model to other transgender youngsters, and that her visibility can make them feel less alone.
‘When I was growing up it was all Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. I was seeing this exploitation of trans women,’ explained Teddy.
‘They were made to seem like a bad joke. I felt like that was such a negative portrayal. I wasn’t like the women on these TV shows, so it gave me a lot of confusion.’
She later said in that interview: ‘There are not a lot of openly trans people in media, and I think it’s really important to show people that not only am I trans, I’m (also) very successful and good at what I do.’
And Teddy is very, very good at what she does.