Remember the article we did on transgender model Andreja Pejic? Last year the model launched a Kickstarter campaign for a feature-leght documentary on her life as a transgender, she managed to raise $63,235. The beauty, who is the face of Make Up For Ever, is very willing to share her life as a transgender and has opened up to Harpers Bazaar about being a transgender woman in the spotlight.
Photo: Getty Images
What is your earliest beauty memory?
Andrea Pejić: Witnessing my mother put on makeup and color her hair. She’s a blush and lipstick kind of lady. So yeah, just envying her and feeling like, oh, that’s what I want to do when I grow up.
How old were you?
I was maybe five. I would go through her makeup and steal her things and put them on. Everyone thought it was really cute. Well, not everybody but she did. My mother played a big part in how I see myself.
People think when you’re little you’re going to grow out of it and it wasn’t until I was 13, 14 that I told her that I discovered who I was and figured out how to describe my feelings and all that.
On Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Caitlyn Jenner discussed how traumatic something as seemingly routine as getting a haircut was pre-transition—did you relate to that?
When I was younger, yeah. You know you kind of try and fight for any bit of expression or familiarity that you can get. And I did want to grow my hair out long and my grandma would say, oh your fringe is growing and you need to get a haircut, and I didn’t want to, so then I grew a little tail in the back. They let me grow a little mullet in the back with beads in it. And then when I was visiting my father once, he made me trim it off. I hated him for that. You definitely feel more suppressed. Sometimes I would just dress up in the bathroom before I went to have a shower. I was maybe like 12 or something. You need to have those moments. For a long time after childhood ended and before I expressed my femininity through androgyny, I really didn’t like looking in the mirror much because I just felt like I wasn’t attractive. You know, I couldn’t look like a girl so for me it felt like being unattractive. And then I would just dress up before taking a shower. And I would see someone that resembled a little bit of a girl and it made me happy, and my imagination definitely helped me get through that.
You only came out as trans fairly recently. Why did you decide to go public?
I mean that was always the end goal. I knew from the age of 13 that I needed to transition completely, to have my surgery, to live life as a woman. There was a period of androgyny, then there was a period of modeling. It was great and I had a lot of fun, but my goal was always to live life as a woman and it came to a point where I said to myself, well, it’s been a great ride but you have to be true to yourself and you need to live the life you’ve wanted and not live it for an industry or for other people. And it just came to a point and you know when you come to that point, you just go in. So I decided I was already in the spotlight and I figured I had this opportunity to tell my story.
How was the reaction?
I was definitely prepared for the worst and I think a lot of people are before they go into transition. I mean, losing employment, losing your family—it’s very common. I had my family, but I thought maybe there was a chance I could lose my career. Maybe there was a chance the industry wouldn’t find a place for me or accept me as a woman. But I had to do it to live life. And you know, whatever’s going to come is going to come and I’m happy to be standing here. It wasn’t easy though, there were definitely trials and tribulations.
You just landed a major beauty campaign with Make Up For Ever—do you think it’s going to change the industry?
I feel like it’s a pretty groundbreaking thing and I feel like they’re a pretty brave company for stepping up. And from a completely business standpoint, I feel like it’s going to open doors for other trans models. I feel like it makes this whole thing less gimmicky and hopefully will reduce the gimmick castings. Because I feel that I’m a woman and I feel like I can do anything that any other female model can do. And I don’t see why being trans should stop me from doing anything in the model category, so I think in a way it does open doors and obviously sends a great message out there: Be bold, be unexpected, be you.
Who are your beauty icons?
Veruschka is certainly at the top. I love Amanda Lear, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sharon Stone.
What is the best beauty advice you’ve ever received?
You know, you can wax on so much about your figure and your skin and your face and all of those really important, and I’m all about skin and keeping it healthy, but if you don’t have confidence, none of it matters. And I feel like confidence is such a huge part of being attractive. But I wasn’t always confident, it took me awhile to kind of assume my role in fashion and feel attractive and be able to walk into a room.
What do you feel most confident in?
Just a really sexy pencil skirt and a shirt. It’s changed—I’m all about power dressing now and dressing as a woman and feeling sexy and powerful.
