Lea T

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Medeiros and the second or paternal family name is Cerezo.

Leandra Medeiros Cerezo, known professionally as Lea T (born 19 February 1981),^[3][4] is a Brazilian-born, Italian-raised transgender fashion model.^[5] She has been called the "muse" of Riccardo Tisci,^[6] chief creative officer of British luxury brand Burberry; her professional last name of "T" stands for Tisci.^[7]

Lea T
Lea T in 2015
Born	Leandra Medeiros Cerezo^[2] (1981-02-19) 19 February 1981 (age 43) Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Modeling information
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Agency	Women Management (New York, Paris) Elite Model Management (Milan) Uno Models (Barcelona)^[1]

She is the face of American hair-care brand Redken.^[8][9]

She is also a pop culture icon of transgender advocacy in the LGBT community.^[10] She has stated that discrimination against LGBT people is an ongoing issue, and that society has more to do before it is resolved.

Early life

Assigned male at birth, T is the daughter of well-known former Brazilian football player Toninho Cerezo and was raised in Italy.^[11][12][13]

Career

Lea T was first discovered by model agent Piero Piazzi, who signed her aged 17, before her transition. Givenchy senior designer Riccardo Tisci then discovered her, asking her to assist him, before making her the face of Givenchy in late 2010.^[14][15] Her first runway show was for Alexandre Herchcovitch during São Paulo Fashion Week in January 2011. T has featured in campaigns for Givenchy, Benetton and Philipp Plein, shot by Terry Richardson.

She has been featured in editorials in Vogue Paris, Numero, Interview and Love. In 2011, she was also the cover star of two editions of the Spring/Summer 2011 edition of Love, one as a solo model and another featuring her kissing Kate Moss. T has also graced the covers of international editions of Elle, Marie Claire, Grazia and Glamour.

In 2013, she participated in the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars on Rai Uno entitled Ballando con le Stelle.

In February 2015, Lea T was chosen by Forbes magazine one of the 12 women who changed Italian fashion, alongside names like Miuccia Prada, Anna Dello Russo and Franca Sozzani.^[16] In 2014 she became the face of American hair-care brand Redken, thus making her the first openly transgender model to front a global cosmetics brand.^[8][9][17]

Lea T became the first openly transgender person ever to participate in the opening ceremonies of an Olympics when she led the Brazilian team into the stadium on her bike during the 2016 Rio Olympics,^[18][19] leading out a 465-strong team contesting 29 sports, modern pentathlete Yane Marques carrying the Auriverde flag into the stadium.

Personal life

In a January 2011 interview, T stated her intention to undergo sex reassignment surgery. The surgery occurred in March 2012, in Thailand.^[20][21] In an interview to Fantástico, in January 2013, she described the surgery in a negative way^[22] but two weeks later she said that she "[felt] satisfied with the results".^[23]

T has stated that she considers herself to be bisexual.^[24][25]

 

Lea T in 2011

Award

She was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.^[26]

References

1. "Lea T". models.com.
2. Kinsella, Felicity (25 November 2014). "Lea T Promotes Diversity as the First Transwoman to Front a Global Beauty Campaign." I-D (i-d.vice.com). Retrieved 5 June 2019.
3. [1] Lea T., transgender Model, Talks Sex Change & The Night She Found Herself
4. [2] 1 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Lea T: "Nunca tive namorada nem namorado"
5. Van Meter, William (8 December 2010). "Transsexuals Are Edging Into the Mainstream". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2014. The clearest call to arms was the arrival of the transsexual model Lea T.
   For Givenchy's fall advertising campaign, Ms. T. was photographed by Mert and Marcus in a feathery blouson. When the ad was released in May, it set off a press frenzy, with Ms. T.'s modeling agency, Women, receiving more than 400 interview requests.
   Ms. T., 28, has been a friend of the Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci, since she was 17. (The "T" stands for Tisci; he unofficially adopted her into his family.)
6. "Lea T Reunites With Riccardo Tisci for Burberry Campaign". PAPER. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
7. Van Meter, William (8 December 2010). "Transsexuals Are Edging Into the Mainstream". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2014. Ms. T., 28, has been a friend of the Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci, since she was 17. (The "T" stands for Tisci; he unofficially adopted her into his family.)
8. Vingan, Alyssa (4 November 2014). "Transgender Model Lea T Lands Big Redken Contract". Fashionista.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014. Now, Lea T has received her most groundbreaking campaign yet: She's signed on to be a brand muse for global haircare brand Redken, with print and digital campaigns set for a January 2015 release.
9. Friedman, Megan (4 November 2014). "Transgender Model Lea T Is Redken's Newest Face". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
10. "21 Transgender People Who Influenced American Culture". Time Magazine.
11. "Lea T: "Ora che lui non c'è più"". vanityfair.it. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
12. Tom Phillips (31 July 2010). "Lea T and the loneliness of the fashion world's first transsexual supermodel". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
13. . COLORLINES. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
14. "In Bolsonaro's Brazil, the fashion industry emerges as a center for LGBT resistance". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
15. Suraci, Di Marika (25 May 2011). "News: Lea T." Vogue. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
16. . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
17. Morwenna Ferrier (5 November 2014). "Lea T, the transgender hair-care model who's shifting our perception of beauty norms". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
18. . rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
19. ALEX GAROFALO. "Who Is Lea T? At Rio Olympics, Brazilian Model Will Be First Transgender Person Featured In An Opening Ceremony". IBT Media Inc. ibtimes. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
20. [3] 1 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine She often defends her choice by countering the common derogatory statements of sexuality or sexual orientation by stating, "I never had a girlfriend or boyfriend."
21. "'Sou mais homem do que mulher', diz Lea T. após cirurgia" (in Portuguese). Globo.com. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
22. Ceribelli, Renata (28 January 2013). "Lea T.: "Nunca vou ser 100% mulher, mesmo depois da cirurgia"" (in Portuguese). WordPress.com. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
23. (in Portuguese). Caras. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
24. [4] Lea T.: Who Is She?
25. Phillips, Tom (31 July 2010). "Lea T and the loneliness of the fashion world's first transsexual supermodel". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2014. She had been attracted to girls and boys and remembers feeling she had no "defined sexuality, or a precise direction to follow".
26. "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lea T.

• Lea T at IMDb