Valentina Sampaio
Brazilian model and actress Valentina Sampaio is a bona fide trailblazer for the trans community in the fashion world.
She has made history not once, not twice, but three times! In 2017, she was the first trans woman to grace the cover of Vogue Paris. She made headlines once again in 2019, when she became the first openly transgender person to model for Victoria’s Secret, and again in 2020 when she was the first openly transgender model to feature in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue—something that Sampaio said she was “excited and honored to be part of.”
Hunter Schafer
Model, actress, and activist Hunter Schafer is one of the most prominent and globally adored trans celebrities in the world today. She became a household name for her role in HBO’s Euphoria, but even before that she’s been featured in an astonishingly long list of high-profile fashion brand campaigns, including Dior, Miu Miu, Calvin Klein, Rick Owens, Helmut Lang, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Maison Margiela, Vera Wang, and Marc Jacobs.
Schafer has always been open about her gender identity, saying to North Carolina public radio, “I do like people to know that I’m not a cis girl because that’s not something that I am or feel like I am. I’m proud to be a trans person.”