21st-century Australian model
Gemma Cowling is an Australian model. She is the first Australian-born transgender model to be signed with an agency.[1][2]
Biography
Cowling was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. She came out as a transgender woman and began transitioning after completing school, stating that she didn't feel like school was a safe and inclusive place for her to do so.[3]
She made her runway modeling debut in 2016 at the Adelaide Fashion Festival.[4] Later that year, at the age of nineteen, Cowling became the first Australian-born transgender model to sign with an agency.[5] She was first signed with Azalea Models. She later signed with Milk Models[6] and Chadwick Models.[7] In 2017 Cowling became the face of TONI & GUY's new campaign You Define You.[8]
Cowling has spoken out about people in the fashion industry exploiting her and other transgender models because of their gender identity in order to make a brand seem progressive.[9][10]
References