Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue Has A Trans Model On The Cover For The 1st Time

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Model and actress Leyna Bloom has become the first trans person to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, the magazine's most famous and perennially bestselling edition.

"I dedicate this cover to all ballroom femme queens past, present and future," Bloom wrote on Instagram. "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."

The 27-year-old's star turn on the Sports Illustrated cover is just the latest on a growing list of barriers she's broken since she came out in 2014: one of the first trans women to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week, the first trans woman of color to star in a film at the Cannes Film Festival, and the first trans woman to grace the pages of Vogue India.

"This moment heals a lot of pain in the world. We deserve this moment; we have waited millions of years to show up as survivors and be seen as full humans filled with wonder," Bloom tweeted.