A Sports Illustrated cover is one of the most coveted in the world and the ladies are here making history with the magazine! While Megan Thee Stallion is celebrating being the first female rapper to be featured on the cover, Leyna Bloom is proud to reveal she is the first trans woman to pose on the first page of the publication!
In an Instagram post, Leyna expressed her deepest gratitude for the opportunity to break glass ceilings for the women of her community. Posing in a beautiful white one-piece swimsuit, Leyna explained she’s humbled and honored to grace the cover.
“This moment held a lot of pain in the world,” Leyna wrote. “We deserve this moment; we have waited millions of years to show up as survivors and be seen as full humans filled with wonder. I am so happy, honored, and humbled to share that I’m the 1st trans woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.”
Leyna went on to dedicate the cover to women in the LGBTQ+ community who haven’t felt comfortable living in their truth.
“I dedicate this cover to all ballroom femme queens past, present and future,” Leyna said. “This historical moment is important to #girlslikeus because it allows us to live and be seen. Many girls like us don’t have the chance to live our dreams, or to live long at all. I hope my cover empowers those who are struggling to be seen, feel valued.”
Leyna spoke with Page Six about her how her modeling career started and the inspiration she found in her grandmother who taught ballroom and runway classes on the South Side of Chicago. Leyna was discovered in New York City at the age of 17 and has since been featured in Vogue India, campaigns for H&M and Levi’s and has even walked the runway for Tommy Hilfiger.
“We honestly have to keep moving,” Leyna said about the SI cover. “This is not my first time making history, and this is probably not going to be my last. I want to just go out in the world and not limit myself.”
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