Laith Ashley

Laith Ashley De La Cruz is an American transgender model and actor.

Ashley grew up in a Dominican American household in Harlem, New York. Ashley was raised in a church-oriented family, which influenced some of the attitudes held by family during his coming out. First, Ashley came out as homosexual when he was 17 years old, although he never called himself a "lesbian." He explained, "Being assigned female at birth, I thought I was a lesbian, even though I hated the word.” Later, he realized that he was transgender at 19 years old, after watching videos produced by transgender people on YouTube. This prompted him to come out as a transgender man.

Ashley attended business school and studied psychology at Fairfield University in Connecticut. He subsequently worked at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, where he worked with LGBT homeless youth as a social worker. He explained in an interview, "When I was a kid, I’d always wanted to be a performer, singer, dancer — but as a guy. But then, I didn’t think it was possible. I did what my parents said: went to college, got a 9-to-5 job... and people would always tell me, 'You should model!'"

In January 2014, Ashley began his transition process. Soon after, in 2015, Ashley organized a photo shoot with a friend, and he posted the images on Instagram. The images caused viral attention, and many people posted negative comments. He was on the verge of deleting his Instagram account due to the negative comments, but Laverne Cox then reposted his images on her account. This helped inspire him to continue his online presence. Since that time, Ashley has modeled for a variety of venues and campaigns, including Barneys (photographed by Bill Weber), Diesel (shot by David LaChapelle), and Calvin Klein. He has also appeared in British GQ, Vogue France, Out Magazine, Elle UK, and the Gypsy Sport catwalk at New York Fashion Week.

In addition, Ashley has done musical and television work. In 2016, Ashley appeared in Strut, a television program about transgender models, which was produced by Whoopi Goldberg. In June 2018, Ashley performed his music, including his single "Can't Wait," at L.A. Pride. The bill included acts such as Jessica 6, Icona Pop, Keke Wyatt, Eve, Cece Peniston, Kim Petras, Jesse Saint John, Allie X, Gio Bravo, Karisma, and Saturn Rising. In September 2018, Ashley released a music video for his song "Before You Go." Furthermore, in 2018, Ashley became the first transgender member of the pit crew in Rupaul's Drag Race. He appeared in the "Pants Down Bottoms Up" mini-challenge in Season 10.

• Laith Ashley on IMDb