Lea T - between two sexes

     Lea T (born Leandro Cerezo in 1981), is a Brazilian fashion model. Lea T is the daughter of well-known former Brazilian football player Toninho Cerezo. Lea was assigned "male" at birth, but now identifies as female. On January 4, 2011 interview, Lea T stated intentions to undergo sex reassignment surgery in March 2011.


      Lea T was first discovered by Givenchy senior designer Riccardo Tisci and became the face of Givenchy in late 2010. Her first runway show was for Alexandre Herchcovitch during São Paulo Fashion Week in January 2011.
     She has been featured in editorials in Vogue Paris, Hercules Magazine, Interview Magazine, Cover Magazine and Love Magazine. In 2011, she was also the cover star of two editions of the Spring/Summer 2011 edition of Love Magazine, one as the solo model and another featuring her kissing Kate Moss.
She is ranked 42nd on the Top 50 Models Women List by models.com.

     While Lea T has stated an attraction to both sexes in her adolescence, she did not experiment with her sexuality until her twenties.
     
    Speaking to Oprah in February, Lea broke down as she talked about the challenges she faced when she began the gender reassignment process in 2008.
She told Oprah: 'I was hoping I was gay. I was like, ok, I'm gay, because for my family it's less painful.
'I wish I could accept my body as a man. I would be a straight guy, having a girlfriend and a family, daughters, married, a normal life, but it's something in your brain.'
But she needn't have any regrets as her mannish look is proving popular in the industry.
Colleague Andrej Pejic has been equally as successful as a womenswear model - despite being a man.
Andrej told Vogue.co.uk: 'There are similarities between myself and Lea T, and we're placed in the same category, but our look is very different.
'Lea has been extremely brave in being very honest about her journey - but I don't really see myself as being here to challenge transgender stereotypes.'