Leyna Bloom

Leyna Bloom is an American actress, model, dancer, and activist. In October 2017, Bloom became the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India. In May 2019, her feature film debut in Port Authority at theCannes Film Festival was the first time a trans woman of color was in a leading role of a movie feature at a major film festival.

Born in Chicago to a Filipina mother and an African American father, Bloom knew from a young age that she was a girl. Bloom faced a turbulent childhood and was raised by her father following her mother's deportation. Having a history of African American activism, Bloom's father supported her decision to transition.

A versatile dancer, Bloom is trained in ballet, lyrical, hip hop, jazz modern, tap, and vogue. She took her first dance classes in sixth grade, and performed on the American Ballet Theatre stage with Misty Copeland by the age of 14. She received a full dance scholarship to the Chicago Academy for the Arts as a teenager, however, in spite of this early promise and opportunity, she chose to give up on a traditional path to pursue her authentic self. After dropping out of the Academy because the men's scholarship did not allow her to dance as a woman, she left Chicago and moved to New York City, where she faced homelessness.

Bloom survived by working at a restaurant during the daytime. At night she earned cash prizes in the underground ballroom scene, voguing and serving face on the floors of vacant Harlem theaters and dance halls. In this world, she found acceptance and a safe space to be herself while competing with other queer youth. Her talent and beauty earned her status and recognition among her peers. Well respected in ball culture, Leyna Bloom is the New York City mother of the house of Miyake-Mugler in the mainstream scene and is known in the ballroom community as the “Polynesian Princess,” having made an international name for herself walking the category of face.

In 2014, Bloom appeared in a C☆NDY Magazine cover feature on prominent trans women. Bloom was not open about being transgender before that photo shoot. She decided to come out as she felt liberated sharing a major magazine cover with 13 other trans women.

As one of few openly transgender models working in the industry, in September 2017, Bloom made news for walking the runway for the Chromat label during New York Fashion Week. In October 2017, Bloom became the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India.

On April 9, 2018, she launched a viral campaign on Twitter to be cast as the first trans woman to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. She gained international attention from her viral campaign advocating for the inclusion of all body types on the sexy runway. Bloom's viral campaign encouraged the news media and young women of her generation to question and challenge Victoria's Secret on their lack of inclusiveness. Because of Leyna Bloom's comments and the reaction of other models, Victoria Secret's casting direction has been criticised by professionals and fashion journalists.

Later that year, Leyna Bloom was cast as one of the faces of the H&M x Moschino by Jeremy Scott Fall/Winter 2018 international campaign shot by the legendary fashion photographer Steven Meisel. H&M, the world's biggest fashion retailer, featured Bloom in their campaign images and videos, which were displayed at thousands of stores around the world as well as launched on international billboards and TV spots and advertised in global fashion magazines and newspapers.She starred in the campaign with Gigi Hadid, Stella Maxwell, Soo Joo Park, Imaan Hammam, and Yasmin Wijnaldum. Glamour (magazine) named Leyna Bloom as one of "6 Women Who Are Shaping the Future of Fashion” in the October 2018 issue.

In March 2019, Leyna Bloom was the only transgender woman of color to walk Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2019 at the Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya fashion show in an all black cast.

In October 2018, Deadline Hollywood announced that newcomer Leyna Bloom will star opposite Fionn Whitehead in Danielle Lessovitz's first feature film Port Authority, which is backed by executive producer Martin Scorsese. Port Authority tells a love story that begins at the New York City transportation center and dives into the kiki ballroom scene. On April 18, 2019, the 2019 Cannes Film Festival announced that Port Authority will compete in the Un Certain Regard competition. It was the first film in the festival’s 72-year history to feature a trans woman of color in a leading role.