Transgender Model Andreja Pejic Had Never Met Taylor Swift Before Being Pulled Onstage
Andreja Pejic at the Yahoo Style & Zac Posen Celebrate the Women of Pixels party. Photo: BFAnyc.com
She is tall, leggy, bombshell blonde, and part of Taylor Swift’s ever-expanding girl squad. But though Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, and Martha Hunt also fit that description, we’re not talking about them. Instead, we’re currently obsessed with Swift’s newest BFF contender, a Bosnian-born, Australian-raised model named Andreja Pejic.
A 23-year-old Virgo, Pejic is signed with the prestigious Society Management, which also boasts Kendall Jenner and Grace Jones (really) on its roster. She’s modeled for Marc Jacobs and DKNY. And she was born biologically male, as Andrej Pejic—though she underwent gender reassignment surgery over a year ago.
We spoke with Pejic at the Pixels x Yahoo Style dinner last night about video games and model icons—but mostly about T-Swift, because, hello.
Yahoo Style: Pixels is a movie about killer video games. Would you survive in a Nintendo battle?
Andreja Pejic: I think so, because I played a lot of Mortal Kombat growing up. I was quite good at it, to be honest! I was a very good video game fighter.
YS: Which video game character should be a style icon?
AP: The girl in Mortal Kombat! The one I always played—[Princess Kitana]. She’s tough but she still has great style… oh my gosh, Iman is over there. I love her.
YS: Is Iman your favorite model?
AP: I don’t have favorites, but I’m definitely in love with her. I was in the David Bowie video [for The Stars Are Out Tonight] and I was so excited knowing she could see it.
YS: We have to ask—how was dancing with Taylor Swift onstage?
AP: Major. [Laughs.]
YS: How did it happen?
AP: The stars aligned, I guess. Taylor and I have a lot of friends in common, but I’d never met her before, although obviously I love her music. So we were going to her concert—me and Lily [Donaldson], and she requested that we come onstage. It was one of the most thrilling things I’ve ever done.
YS: What’s harder—being onstage with Taylor Swift, or walking in a couture show?
AP: You know, there were 60,000 people at that concert, so it can’t even compare it to a fashion show. But somehow, being up there still felt very natural. I don’t know if it’s because Taylor herself was so welcoming and calm backstage—and it really was just so lovely and calm backstage!
YS: You were twirling in some major heels… Were you scared?
AP: No, because I’m a classically trained ballerina. [Laughing.] No! But I guess I just learned from modeling how to handle high shoes. Who knew it would come in handy at a concert?!
YS: Besides being a newly minted T-Squad member, you’re also Make Up For Ever’s latest face. What else is coming up for you?
AP: Ah, lots of things… but I can’t tell you about them yet. So all I’ll say is, please stay tuned.
Related: Martha Stewart Admits to Being a Gamer at the ‘Pixels’ Dinner Hosted by Yahoo Style & Zac Posen
Related: Taylor Swift & Andreja Pejic Are Now BFFs
Related: Taylor Swift Invited Her “Bad Blood” Crew, Heidi Klum & the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Onstage
