Leyna Bloom

Leyna Bloom is an American actress, model, dancer, and activist. She has attracted press as a trailblazer for transgender performers in the entertainment and fashion industries.[2][3]

Leyna Bloom
Bloom at New York Fashion Week 2018
Born1993 or 1994 (age 29–30)[1]
Chicago, IL
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationFashion model • dancer • actress • activist
Modeling information
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorBrown

In 2019, Bloom made her feature film acting debut in Port Authority, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.[4] She has modeled for several brands and fashion designers, including Jeremy Scott, and has appeared in magazines such as Vogue India and Sports Illustrated.[5][6]

Early life

Bloom was born in Chicago, Illinois to a Filipina mother and an African-American father.[7] Bloom's father later supported her decision to transition.[8]

Career

Acting

In October 2018, Deadline Hollywood announced that Bloom would star opposite Fionn Whitehead in Danielle Lessovitz's first feature film, Port Authority, which is backed by executive producer Martin Scorsese.[9]

In 2019, Bloom made her feature film acting debut in Port Authority, directed by Danielle Lessovitz, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section,[10] marking the first film in the festival's 72-year history to feature a trans woman of color in a leading role.[4][11]

In 2021, Bloom appeared in the third and final season of the FX drama series Pose.[12]

Ballroom

Bloom is a fixture in the queer ballroom scene and is the New York City mother of the house of Miyake-Mugler and made an international name for herself competing at balls in the category of face.[3]

Bloom modeling the Chromat Spring-Summer 2018 Serenity Collection at New York Fashion Week

Modeling

In 2014, Bloom appeared in a C☆NDY Magazine cover feature on prominent trans women.[13][14] Bloom was not open about being transgender before that photo shoot; she decided to come out as she felt liberated sharing a major magazine cover with 13 other trans women.[7]

As one of few openly transgender models working in the industry, in September 2017, Bloom made news for walking the runway for the Chromat label during New York Fashion Week.[15][16] In October 2017, Bloom became the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India.[5]

On April 9, 2018, she launched a viral campaign on Twitter to be cast as the first openly trans woman to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.[17] Because of Bloom's comments and the reactions from other models, Victoria's Secret casting direction has been criticized by professionals and fashion journalists.[18]

Later that year, Leyna Bloom was cast as one of the faces of the H&M x Moschino by Jeremy Scott Fall/Winter 2018 international campaign shot by the legendary fashion photographer Steven Meisel. She starred in the campaign with Gigi Hadid, Stella Maxwell, Soo Joo Park, Imaan Hammam, and Yasmin Wijnaldum.[19]

Glamour named Leyna Bloom as one of "6 Women Who Are Shaping the Future of Fashion” in the October 2018 issue.[20]

In March 2019, Leyna Bloom was the only transgender woman of color to walk Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2019 at the Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya fashion show in an all black cast.[21]

In March 2021, it was announced that Bloom would appear as a model in the July swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated, making her the first openly transgender Black and Asian-American Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue model.[6][22][23]

See also

References
  1. Kaufman, Amy (May 19, 2019). "How Leyna Bloom became the first transgender actress of color to star in a film at Cannes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  2. "Who Is Leyna Bloom? Meet the Groundbreaking 'Sports Illustrated' Model". Us Weekly. 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  3. "Meet Leyna Bloom, First Trans Woman of Color to Lead a Cannes Premiere". www.out.com. 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  4. "Inside Leyna Bloom's History-Making Cannes Experience". Vogue. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  5. Lubitz, Rachel (October 13, 2017). "Model Leyna Bloom becomes the first out transgender model of color to be featured in 'Vogue' India". Mic.com. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  6. "Leyna Bloom makes history as 1st Black, Asian transgender Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model". Good Morning America. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  7. "Show Up and Show Out: Leyna Bloom". Chromat. August 8, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  8. "This trans woman has a message: 'When you accept us, you accept yourself'". BuzzFeed. Facebook. March 11, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  9. Wiseman, Andreas (2018-10-19). "Martin Scorsese's Sikelia & RT Features Wrap 'Port Authority' With 'Dunkirk' Star Fionn Whitehead, MUBI's First Production". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  10. "Cannes festival 2019: full list of films". The Guardian. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  11. Setoodeh, Ramin (2019-05-16). "Cannes: Leyna Bloom Makes History as First Transgender Lead Actress of Color at Festival". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  12. June 03, Marcus Jones; EDT, 2021 at 03:23 PM. "'Port Authority' star Leyna Bloom on making Cannes history and her full-circle 'Pose' moment". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  13. Nichols, James (December 16, 2014). "Some Of The World's Most Famous Transgender Women Cover CANDY Magazine". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  14. Friedman, Megan (December 17, 2014). "The Most Famous Transgender Women Have Their Own Magazine Cover: Yes!". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  15. "Transgender and plus-size models make this fashion's most diverse runway ever". Yahoo!. September 9, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  16. Tai, Cordelia (February 23, 2017). "Diversity Report: Landmark Gains at New York Fashion Week Fall 2017, but Is It Enough". The Fashion Spot. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  17. "Leyna Bloom Is Campaigning to Be the First Trans Woman of Color on the Victoria's Secret Runway". Teen Vogue. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-12.
  18. "Kendall Jenner Posts Support for Transgender Women After Victoria's Secret Exec's Controversial Comments". Teen Vogue. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  19. "H&M x Moschino Fall 2018 (H&M)". MODELS.com. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  20. "These 6 Women Are Making Diversity in Fashion a Reality". Glamour. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  21. "Fall 2019 Runway Diversity Report: Racial and Age Diversity Step Forward, Size and Gender Inclusivity Step Back". theFashionSpot. 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  22. "Leyna Bloom is Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue's first trans cover star". The Guardian. 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  23. "Leyna Bloom Becomes 1st Transgender Model to Cover Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: 'A Living Testament'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
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