Laith Ashley is an American model, actor, singer-songwriter, and advocate of Dominican heritage who has become one of the most recognizable transgender men in fashion and entertainment.
Raised in New York City, Ashley has openly shared his experience of discovering his identity, transitioning, and eventually building a career that placed an openly transgender man in spaces where trans male representation was once extremely limited.
Discovering Who He Was
Growing up, Ashley knew that he felt different, but he did not initially have the language to describe what he was experiencing.
He later discovered videos of transgender men documenting their transitions online. Ashley has explained that seeing those stories helped him recognize his own identity.
He eventually began medically transitioning shortly before turning 25.
Ashley has continued to speak openly about being a transgender man. In a 2024 interview about coming out, he explained that although there was some initial resistance, his family tried to understand that he needed to live authentically.
Breaking Into the Modeling Industry
Ashley did not originally plan to become a professional model.
After college, a friend encouraged him to submit photographs for a Barneys New York campaign featuring transgender people. That opportunity helped introduce him to the fashion industry.
His visibility grew quickly. He went on to work in major fashion campaigns and walk during New York Fashion Week.
Ashley has worked with brands including Diesel, and Out has described him as the first trans male model to shoot a Diesel campaign.
His success was important not simply because he was modeling men's fashion, but because he was doing it while openly identifying as transgender.
Television, Acting and Music
Ashley gradually expanded his career beyond modeling.
He appeared on television projects including I Am Cait, Strut, Pose, and RuPaul's Drag Race. His appearance on Drag Race made him the show's first openly transgender Pit Crew member.
Music has also been part of his creative career. Ashley has released songs while pursuing acting and modeling, allowing him to establish himself across several areas of entertainment.
Appearing With Taylor Swift
One of Ashley's most widely seen appearances came in 2023 when he starred opposite Taylor Swift in the music video for “Lavender Haze.”
Ashley played Swift's love interest in the video.
The casting attracted particular attention because an openly transgender man was presented as the romantic leading man in a music video from one of the world's biggest pop stars.
For Ashley, it represented another opportunity for transgender men to be seen in mainstream entertainment without their entire presence being defined by transition.
Speaking Openly About Being a Trans Man
Ashley has never presented himself as someone who can speak for every transgender person.
Instead, he has discussed his own experiences while recognizing that transgender people have many different stories.
He has spoken publicly about representation, discrimination, masculinity, opportunities for transgender actors, and the complicated experience of being both visible and transgender in entertainment.
That openness is an important part of why Ashley belongs in a collection celebrating transgender people who proudly show the world who they are.
Representation That Creates Opportunities
Laith Ashley's career demonstrates what can happen when transgender performers are given opportunities beyond narrowly defined transgender roles.
He has modeled men's fashion, appeared on television, pursued acting, released music, and played a romantic lead in a globally viewed music video.
Each accomplishment adds another image of what a transgender man's life and career can look like.
Ashley does not need to hide his transgender identity to participate in mainstream entertainment. At the same time, being transgender is only one part of a much larger story involving his talent, heritage, creativity, career, and ambitions.
For younger transgender men who rarely saw people like themselves represented in fashion or entertainment, that visibility can matter.
Laith Ashley continues to show that transgender men can stand confidently in front of the camera, tell their own stories, and take their place in mainstream culture while remaining open about who they are.