Androgynous appearance brought resounding success to Australian model Andrei Pejic, the main apologist for androgynous beauty.
His photos before and after the operation do not leave the covers of glossy magazines; the most famous fashion designers vied with him.
Childhood
Andrey is of Croatian origin. He was born in 1991 and was the younger of two sons. In 1999, the family immigrated to Australia and settled in Melbourne. As a child, Andrei Pezhich preferred playing with dolls to boyish play in the yard. He loved to try on his mother's fluffy skirts, imagining himself as a ballerina. The boy could not explain his strange inclinations. In public, Andrei tried to behave like ordinary children, so as not to disturb his parents.
As he grew older, Pejic began researching gender identity online. At the age of 13, Andrei realized that he corresponded to the characteristics of a young man born in a female body. The family reacted with understanding to their son's discovery. Andrei thought about sex reassignment surgery, but the cost of therapy for his parents was prohibitive.
Andrei Pejic: biography
Andrej Pejic was born in the small town of Tuzla (SFR Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1991, on August 28. As an eight-year-old boy, he moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia. My mother worked as a lawyer, Serbian by nationality, my father was Croatian, an economist by profession. There is also a brother and grandmother.
At the Melbourne school, Andrei was forced to hide his unusual inclinations, otherwise conservative Australian society would not have accepted him. Classmates made fun of his femininity, and at the prom they awarded him the crown of prom queen.
The internal duality as a consequence of gender dysphoria caused him real suffering and psychological discomfort. He felt more like a girl than a boy.
This is what Andrei Pejic looked like in childhood and youth
Those around him advised him to try his hand at modeling. With his stunning good looks, fine features and slender figure, he had an excellent chance. He sent several pictures to Australia's largest modeling agency, CMA (Chadwick Modeling Agency). This bold step turned out to be fateful; a dazzling world of fashion and beauty opened up to him.
The fashion industry has acquired a face that is unique in its versatility. Very handsome, defiantly sexy, surprisingly feminine, with ideal figure proportions, blond with gray-blue eyes, Andrey, with a height of 1 m 88 cm, weighs only 57 kg, loves to walk in heels. His clothing size is 36L (European), shoe size is 44.
As a thirteen-year-old teenager, having found information on the Internet about gender reassignment operations, Andrei realized that this was his only chance. He began taking hormones to stop the changes that accompany puberty.
The family (in the photo on the left is Andrey, his mother, grandmother) accepted his decision. At the family council it was decided that he would change his gender after graduation. But plans had to be adjusted. The Melbourne office of the international fashion agency Chadwick Model Management invited him to become their model.
Suddenly, what had caused him suffering for many years turned out to be his main highlight, an advantage over other models. Andrey decided: this is a great chance to gain financial independence and stability. Having postponed the fulfillment of his dream for a while, he was not going to give it up.
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Carier start
Andrei Pejic's professional biography started when he was 17 years old. The young man worked part-time at McDonald's, where he was noticed by a representative of an Australian modeling agency. Pejic's unconventional image, which combined masculine and feminine appeal, responded to the industry's need for fresh faces.
Andrey agreed to the modeling agency's offer. He perceived the new job as an opportunity to see the world and earn money for gender reassignment surgery.
Andrej Pejic began his career on the catwalk as a youth model. The need to display men's clothing made him uncomfortable. However, the unique appearance aroused public interest. This had a positive effect on Andrey’s professional demand.
His first contracts in Australia were followed by collaborations with international designers such as Raf Simons, John Galliano and Paul Smith.
The glory of the androgynous model
Great success came to Andrei Pejic after participating in women's clothing shows. His debut project was working with designer Jean-Paul Gaultier in 2011. Andrey completed his Haute Couture show as a bride. The sensational show was followed by an advertising campaign for the same brand. In the photo, Andrej Pejic posed with another model of Slavic origin, Karolina Kurkova.
Designers and editors of glossy publications appreciated the potential of the mannequin. Pejic was in line with the fashion trend towards erasing gender stereotypes. The industry was abandoning traditional ideas about male and female attractiveness. Individuality and professionalism were now required from models.
Pejic participated in filming for the Marc Jacobs brand and international glossy magazines. He advertised underwear with a push-up effect. Photos of a male model looking convincing in a padded bra were intended to highlight the outstanding capabilities of the bras.
In 2014, Pejic decided to draw public attention to the problem of sexual minorities. Andrey created a special collection of jewelry in collaboration with American jewelers. The jewelry designs embodied his essence as a man who lives between two genders. Proceeds from the sale of accessories went to a fund to help homeless children in New York.
Sex-change operation
For a long time, Andrei Pejic did not dare to take the drastic step of becoming a woman. In 2014, the “X” moment arrived. The model hid the upcoming surgical intervention from his colleagues. A few days after the operation, the metamorphosis in Andrei’s figure was not yet noticeable, and Pejic appeared on the podium. He later admitted this act was a mistake and left the profession for several months.
The first six months after the operation became a difficult ordeal for transgender Andrej Pejic. In the summer of 2014, he made an official announcement about his gender change, publishing an appeal to subscribers of his Facebook account. From now on, the model asked to call himself Andrea Pejic and planned to continue working as a model.
Choice price
Before the operation that changed his gender identity, Andrej Pejic was at the peak of his popularity. His star rose rapidly, he had everything - fame, money, the love of millions. But Andrey did not feel happy.
Andrej Pejic was popular before and after the operation
After the operation, Andrea felt like a full-fledged person and found inner comfort. She is not afraid that she is doomed to take hormonal drugs for life; her career may decline.
Author of the article: N. Anisimova
Article design: Olga Pankevich
Career after surgery
Andrej Pejic returned to the industry in 2015. He moved to another agency that specialized exclusively in female models, and resumed participating in shows and photo shoots. In March 2015, Spanish Marie Claire placed a photograph of Pejic on the cover.
As a transgender model, Andrea was a trailblazer in many ways. She was awarded the title “Woman of the Year” by the men’s magazine GQ. Pejic posed for fashion photography legends Patrick Demarchelier and the duo Mert and Marcus.
In 2015, Pejic was the first transgender person to sign a cosmetics advertising contract with the Make Up For Ever brand.
Scandalous facts
Andrei Pejic, before and after the operation, more than once became the hero of scandalous chronicles. According to the English entertainment magazine FHM in the summer of 2011, he took 98th place in the first hundred most beautiful women in the world (photo on the right).
By mistake, he was included in the online voting on the publication's website. It received unanimous support from readers.
Having discovered the error, the editors banned the printed version of the magazine. The editors' apology for the typo was posted on the website.
In it, the editors spoke impartially about Andrei, calling him “it” (thing). This greatly hurt and offended Pejic’s representatives.
Later, the magazine's editors apologized to him. Andrei reacted to the incident calmly and with irony. He only asked again, is it really only 98th place?
People are interested in everything that goes beyond the usual, he said, and this is his main trump card. He ignores gender barriers, provokes excitement and indignation in a society accustomed to the traditional image of a man. He said about his fellow models that behind the scenes they flirt with him, although many of them have girlfriends.
For him, experimenting with his genetics is just fun. He doesn't fight, he just plays with it.
The next scandal, in May 2011, involved the two largest American bookstore chains (Borders and Barnes & Noble), which refused to sell a publication (Dossier). The cover featured a shocking photo (left).
They demanded that the publisher that printed the magazine change the cover. This shirtless boy could easily be mistaken for a topless young girl, they said. The magazine's founder, Skye Parrott, responded that this was exactly the effect they expected by placing such a strong androgynous model on the cover. The publication's circulation increased many times after this scandal.
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Projects in show business
Andrej Pejic already attracted the attention of entertainment content creators at the beginning of his career. The image of a fashion model, stunning social foundations, promised high ratings for projects with his participation.
In 2012, Pejic sat on the jury of the British version of the reality show Next Top Model. A year later, he starred in the Turkish television film “Fatih,” a serial drama from the creators of “The Magnificent Century.” The series, based on real events, told the story of Sultan Mehmet, who subjugated Istanbul. Pejic played the Slavic prince Radu, who was the lover of the Turkish conqueror.
The plot of “Fatiha” with homosexual motives caused mixed reviews from viewers, but the touch of scandal only fueled the public’s interest in the series.
Show business added participation in concerts and videos to Pejic’s projects. Andrey, along with his colleague Saskia de Brauw and actress Tilda Swinton, appeared in the David Bowie Stars music video. In 2013, Pejic appeared on stage in Taylor Swift’s show program as part of her “1987” tour.
Love and family
Andrey openly calls himself bisexual. At the beginning of his modeling career, he dated a peer - jeweler Rembrandt Durand. The relationship lasted for several years. In 2012, the couple announced their engagement. A year later, Duran published information about an allegedly legalized marriage with Pejic. It later turned out that this was a joke.
According to Andrei Pejic himself, his personal life has always been a difficult issue for him due to gender uncertainty. Gender reassignment surgery gave the model hope of starting a family. In 2015, Pejic hinted at having a boyfriend with whom she was in a serious relationship. Photos of the model with a ring on her finger became the basis for rumors about her imminent wedding.
To date, the fact of the marriage has not been confirmed, and the name of Andrea’s chosen one is kept secret.
Personal life
In 2012, the media started talking about Pejic's boyfriend. The press had little doubt that the model was gay in her personal life and preferred men. The model was increasingly seen at various events in the company of designer Rembrandt Duran, and in the photo on Instagram Pejic and Duran looked like a newlywed couple, which made journalists think about a budding romance.
Andrej Pejic and Rembrandt Durand
In July 2014, the fashion world was shocked by yet another news: Andrej Pejic changed his gender. The model now asks to call her Andrea.
Andrej Pejic has long stated that he does not know whether he is a man or a woman, admitting that he feels like a representative of both sexes at once. But Pejic didn’t like being the kind of man that social norms required him to be. At the age of 12, the future model already knew for sure that he was a boy, and for some time he tried his best to meet expectations and social norms. This attempt convinced Andrei even more that the male role was not for him.
Andrej Pejic before and after surgery
According to an interview that transgender model Pejic gave after the operation to the American publication People, in fact, she always dreamed of being a girl and already at school she began taking puberty blockers in order to change her gender when she came of age.
A dizzying modeling career temporarily delayed Pejic’s plans for a gender change, but now, having acquired financial independence, the world-famous androgyne decided to complete what he started in order to henceforth be in harmony with his own nature.
Andrej Pejic after surgery
Subsequently, with donations from numerous fans, Pejic filmed a 4-minute documentary film “Andrej(a) - The Documentary”, in which she told the story of reincarnation and how gender change affected her life in the first person. Since the model initially had an androgynous appearance, her appearance in clothes before and after the operation did not change, her figure and facial features remained the same.
Documentary film “Andrej(a) – The Documentary”
At the beginning of 2021, Pejic began wearing a ring on her ring finger, symbolizing her engagement, and later information appeared in the media that Andrea married Rembrandt Durand.
Model in 2018
Today Andrea Pejic remains popular. Transforming into a woman and leaving the androgynous image did not deprive her of professional demand. She appears in fashion and beauty shoots for glossy publications. In September 2021, a new photo shoot with Andrea was published in the issue of American Vogue.
Transgender Pejic is a well-known social activist. Andrea sees her task as spreading tolerant attitudes towards sexual minorities. On the Internet and in magazine publications, Pejic draws attention to the issue of the LGBT community. In her articles, she talks about the difficulties associated with being transgender and encourages readers to be understanding of the characteristics of those around them.
Pejic does not limit himself to the modeling business. This year she will make her debut in a big movie. Andrea is starring in the sequel to the blockbuster “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” A new film called The Girl in the Spider's Web is set to be released in October 2021.
The story of Andrej Pejic illustrates the changing standards in the field of gender issues and beauty standards. A strange appearance, devoid of gender definition, has become the key to a successful career for a transgender person. Today Pejic is a role model and a symbol of hope for a tolerant and respectful attitude of society towards representatives of sexual minorities.
Andrea Pejic now
Now Pejic successfully continues his modeling career. She entered into a contract with the Ford Models agency, whose representatives over the years were Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Brooke Shields and others.
Caitlyn Jenner and Andrea Pejic
In 2021, rumors appeared about a romance between Andrea Pejic and Kim Kardashian's stepfather, transgender Caitlyn Jenner. The couple appeared several times at social parties, holding hands tightly. But according to the Gossip Cop portal, the model and the athlete are most likely just friends, as they have a lot in common.
In 2021, Pejic decided to try her hand at cinema. The model starred in the film “The Girl Who Got Caught in the Web,” the sequel to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” In the dramatic thriller, Andrea played a character named Maria. The main roles went to Claire Foy and Sverrir Gudnason.
Andrea Pejic in 2021
At the premiere of the film, which took place at the Rome Film Festival, the model appeared in a pearl-colored dress with a train and an open back.
