Transgender model Andreja Pejic: ‘Now if I go on a date I don’t have to worry about that moment when he finds out’

The model tells how going public has benefited her love life and career

Transgender model Andreja Pejic says she has finally found love and is enjoying being “a mature woman” and “not a 19-year-old alien any more”.

Pejic, 24, underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2014, three years after modelling both male and female collections for Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris and was the first (openly) transgender model to be profiled by American Vogue.

Pejic said of her transition: “I never imagined I’d be so public about it. Perhaps if I was in a different profession, I wouldn’t have worn ‘trans’ on my forehead. But there’s a difference between not wanting to make a big deal of something and fearing the effect it will have on my life. It’s all out there now.

“If I go on a date, I don’t have to worry about that moment when he finds out.”

ES_5.tif Andreja poses for ES Magazine Jesse John Jenkins.
Jesse John Jenkins

She told ES Magazine: “I’m not a 19-year-old alien any more, I’m a mature woman.

Instead of trying to be the queen of cool, it feels like more of an achievement to work with mainstream brands and reach as many people as possible. It’s more unexpected for someone like me.”

Pejic had never felt comfortable on the gay scene and is now dating a straight New York real estate agent. She said: “It’s been great. And the best part is that he sees me as just another girl he has a special connection with. It’s nice to have that connection to a world outside activism and fashion.”

Andreja poses for ES Magazine
Jesse John Jenkins

Born Andrej Pejic in Bosnia, she moved to Melbourne, Australia, as a refugee with her mother Jadranka and younger brother Igor.

She was scouted as a model while working in McDonald’s aged 16, but says as a teenager she ordered illegal medication over the internet to delay puberty and originally planned to earn enough money for surgery and then give up the fashion industry.

Andreja Pejic through the years

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The model said transgender issues had become a “trendy topic” with the prominence of people such as herself and Caitlyn Jenner, but doubted youngsters would take such “drastic” action as transitioning “just to be on-trend.”

Asked if she had any regrets, Pejic said: “God, no. I was like: ‘Throw it away.’”

She added: “I’d planned on a pussy shower but actually the time afterwards wasn’t easy as I had to work out what to do with my career.”

Her intention at first was to give up modelling. “But then I thought, ‘You may as well own this.’ I’ve invested a lot in this career. And now amazing things are happening, which are testament to the times we live in.”

Read the full interview in ES Magazine - Free on Thursday and Friday

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