Andreja Pejić (English pronunciation: / / or //[2]) (born Andrej Pejić, 28 August 1991) is an Australian model of Bosnian Croatand Bosnian Serb ethnicity.[3] Pejić is a transgender woman, who until 2014 was billed as an "androgynous" male model, self-describing as living "in between genders."[4]
Early life
Pejić was born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina and has one older brother, Igor. Pejić's mother, Jadranka Savić (Cyrillic Script: Јадранка Савић),[5] is a Bosnian Serb, and Pejić's father, Vlado Pejić, is a Bosnian Croat. The couple divorced shortly after Pejić's birth. During the Bosnian War, Pejić and Igor fled to Serbia with their mother and grandmother, settling in a refugee camp nearBelgrade. After the refugee camp, the family settled in Vojska village nearSvilajnac.[6]
After the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia, Pejić's mother felt unsafe and decided to initiate the process of emigration to Australia. In 2000, the family moved to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia as political refugees when Pejić was eight years old.[7][8]
While attending high school at University High, Pejić was described as being 'academically brilliant.'[9]
Career
It has been reported that Pejić was scouted as a model just before turning 17 while working at McDonald's,[10] but she has also referenced being scouted at a swimming pool whilst still in high school in Melbourne.[11]
Pejić is notable for modelling both masculine and feminine clothing. In the Paris fashion shows of January 2011, Pejić walked both the men's and women's shows for Jean-Paul Gaultier and the men's shows for Marc Jacobs. In May 2011, her magazine cover for the New York-based magazine Dossier Journal—in which Pejić is pictured taking off a white shirt with long blond locks in curlers—was ruled too risqué by US bookstores Barnes & Noble and Borders, which covered the image with an opaque sleeve.[12]Concerns were expressed that customers would read Pejić as a topless woman.[13]
At the Stylenite in July 2011, Pejić appeared on the catwalk both in masculine and feminine clothes from Michalsky.[14] The following year, she stunned audiences by wearing bridal creations by Spanish designer Rosa Clara at Barcelona’s Bridal Week 2013.[15]
In 2011 Pejić ranked No. 18 on the models.com Top 50 Male Models list,[8][16] was named one of Out's Most Compelling People,[8] and was ranked No. 98 in FHM magazine's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2011—[17] an award that was criticized for its hostile tone to transgender individuals, especially transgender women; the magazine referred to Pejić as a "thing," commenting, "Pass the sick bucket."[18] FHM subsequently removed the copy accompanying Pejić's entry and posted an apology.[19]
On 6 August 2012, Pejić appeared as a guest judge on Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model.[20]
In 2013, Pejić appeared alongside Iselin Steiro, Saskia de Brauw, Tilda Swinton and David Bowie in the video for Bowie's 2013 single "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)".[21]
In early 2014, Pejić underwent sex reassignment surgery. In July, she spoke about her transgender identity with an interviewer from People.[22]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrej_Peji%C4%87
