Valentina Sampaio makes history as first openly transgender Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model

Rasha Ali, USA TODAY
·3 min read

Valentina Sampaio is continuing to break barriers.

The 23-year-old became the first openly transgender model to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue since the iconic magazine's inception over 50 years ago.

"I was so surprised and I feel 'Oh my God, really?,' it's like a dream," the Brazilian model told "Good Morning America" in an interview Friday. "Not just for myself but to all the LGBTQ+ community."

The Brazilian model said being transgender in the modeling industry hasn't been easy, but she wants to see more companies and brands embracing the trans community with "compassion and respect."

"I had a high profile modeling job where once they realized I was trans on set, I was suddenly fired," she said. "It's hard but you have to keep strong."

View this post on Instagram

I am excited and honored to be part of the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The team at SI has created yet another groundbreaking issue by bringing together a diverse set of multitalented, beautiful women in a creative and dignified way. I was born trans in a remote, humble fishing village in northern Brazil. Brazil is a beautiful country, but it also hosts the highest number of violent crimes and murders against the trans community in the world—three times that of the U.S. Being trans usually means facing closed doors to peoples’ hearts and minds. We face snickers, insults, fearful reactions and physical violations just for existing. Our options for growing up in a loving and accepting family, having a fruitful experience at school or finding dignified work are unimaginably limited and challenging. 💜🧡💛❤️💚

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Jul 10, 2020 at 5:44am PDT

Making the Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue isn't the first time Sampaio, has made history.

In 2017, the model smoldered on the cover of French Vogue's March issue in a metallic dress, making history as the first transgender model to front a cover in the magazine’s 97-year history.

“The world has taken huge steps for transgender people in recent years,” Sampaio told BuzzFeed News at the time. “My cover is another small step — an important step that shows we have the force to be Vogue cover girls. The fashion industry is an instrument to raise flags promoting diversity, where things are more fluid and beauty evolves. Fashion is a world that’s freer.”

Last year Sampaio also announced history-making gig as the first transgender model to be featured in a Victoria's Secret campaign.

Sampaio's cover is the latest step forward in inclusivity for Sports Illustrated.

Last year, the magazine featured trailblazer Halima Aden, a model who made headlines for competing in hijab at her state's Miss USA pageant in 2016.

Aden was the first woman to sport a hijab and burkini in the magazine, SI revealed in April 2019.

For her shoot, Aden returned to her home country of Kenya, where she was born and remained at the Kakuma Refugee Camp until heading for the U.S. at the age of 7, SI reported.

In the states, Aden found success and broke barriers. She signed to IMG Models after making headlines for competing in hijab at her state's Miss USA pageant in 2016. She became the first woman to wear her traditional Muslim headpiece for the entire competition, also opting to wear a burkini for the swimsuit round.

Contributing: Erin Jensen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Valentina Sampaio is first trans model for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit