American model Leyna Bloom has made history, becoming the first transgender woman of color to be featured in Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit Issue. The historic moment will become official when the swimsuit issue hits stands in July, CNN reported.
Sports Illustrated praised the Chicago native, saying she has an “undeniable sense of self that shines through the minute she walks on set.”
"Leyna's story represents one grounded in resilience and we couldn't be more thrilled to help her tell it," the magazine said in a statement. "Her presence as the first trans woman of color to be in our issue is a result of her lifetime dedication to forging her own path that has led to acceptance, love and change. She represents every person's right to love themselves and be who they want to be."
Bloom becomes the second transgender woman to be featured in the Swimsuit Issue, a year after Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio became the first.
The American model said being in the magazine "is an incredible feeling and achievement," but "there's still so much work to be done for more representation."
Posting an image from the Sports Illustrated shoot on her Instagram, the fashion icon wrote, "this is what it looks like to be in full bloom."
“My spirit has reached new levels,” she wrote. “ This moment is bigger than my wildest infinite dreams. In this moment, I am a representation of all the communities I grew from, and all the communities I’m planting seeds in.”
According to Good Morning America, Bloom faced prejudice for many years, including losing a dance scholarship when transitioned. She also faced homelessness throughout her life.
But she continued to focus on her dream while being homeless in New York City.
“The dream was feeding me while I was starving in my body,” she said.
In the years since then, Bloom has found breakthrough opportunities in fashion and movies. One of her groundbreaking moments came in Port Authority, the first feature film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival featuring a transgender woman of color in a leading role.
The trailblazing model, who is Black and Filipina, said she never imagined that she would be "born in a time when something like this would happen to someone with her skin tone."
“This is a magazine that says that we are allowed to be beautiful in all our shapes and sizes,” she told GMA. “We’re not often seen in that way.”
MJ Day, editor-in-chief for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, said she wants all the models “to feel like they have a seat at the table, a right to be there.”
“We need to constantly remind ourselves to protect those people in our society that are different, that are beautiful uniquely as themselves, to go out in the world and do what they’re destined to do, which is to challenge society to make it better for everyone else,” Bloom said.
