Transgender Australian model Andreja Pejic is unrecognisable after quitting the catwalk

She became one of Australia’s most powerful and in-demand models, paving the way for the transgender movement in the fashion industry.

But the life of Andreja Pejic looks very different these days.

The Bosnian-born model, who grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows, is virtually absent from the haute couture world she once dominated and lives a life far removed from her glamorous past.

The 31-year-old, who now calls Los Angeles her home, has replaced her blonde locks with a long, dark shaggy style and has rarely been seen on red carpets or runways since she stepped out of the public eye in 2019.

With dark hair and dressed in an Adidas tracksuit, Pejic posted these most recent photos from her LA apartment three weeks ago.

Instead, the one-time fashion superstar, who underwent a gender reassignment in 2013, quietly enters the audition scene, appearing in a number of small independent films, including the 2022 thriller The Other Me and the 2021 comedy Habit opposite Bella Thorne. .

More recently, Pejic was briefly featured in the Salvador Dali biographical film Daliland, which premiered this month at the Toronto International Film Festical (TIFF) and starred British acting legend Sir Ben Kingsley.

The film has received mixed reviews from critics, with Variety noting Pejic’s performance as “(Dali’s) lover…Amanda (Pejic) a transgender beauty with a husky, knowing voice.”

Pejic plays ‘Amanda’ in the new Salvador Dali biopic – a character based on Dali’s real-life transgender muse

Far from the bright lights of the fashion world, Pejic seems to live a very different life and often posts photos of her stripped-down style

The role marks Pejic’s biggest foray on the big screen since she switched to acting in 2019 with her film debut The Girl In The Spiders Web.

Off-camera, the history-making model, who became the first openly transgender model to be profiled by Vogue in 2015, has grown louder about a number of issues on its social media platforms.

Regular fan updates with lengthy and sometimes abstract monologues, Pejic talks about everything from the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 theories, as well as frequent pledges of support for transgender whistleblower Chelsea Manning and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

In one video, in which a disheveled, wide-eyed Pejic appears in heavy makeup, the former model condemns what she identifies as “the capitalist elite” and warns of an emerging “revolution.”

“There’s a storm coming… and it’s not a goddess, magical spiritual wave… it’s not QAnon, it’s the storm of the revolution, it’s the masses revolting,” she says directly to the camera .

“It will bring the capitalist elite and their upper middle class servants to their knees.

“And they’ll stop looking at their stupid horoscopes and stupid stock prices and they’ll have a lot to answer for.”

In one of the many monologues posted to her Instagram account, Pejic berates the ‘capitalist elite’ and warns of a coming ‘revolution’

Pejic pictured here in 2019, appearing on the red carpet at a gala at the National Gallery of Victoria

Pejic identified as a “socialist-minded artist” and gave her last notable interview in 2019 when she spoke to the World Socialist Website (WSWS.org) and discussed at length the Australian government’s treatment of Assange.

In a long and at times animated sit-down, Pejic accused the Liberal government of deliberately failing to protect Assange and described the situation as an “internationally organized witch hunt.”

“I think Labor should really stand up to the government’s failure to protect Australia’s leading anti-war journalist from political persecution,” she said.

Pejic made a rare return to the red carpet this month to promote Daliland at the Toronto International Film Festival

At the height of her modeling fame, Pejic signed a number of major contracts, including a deal with Australian underwear giant Bonds.

“It must admit that it has failed in the past and are working to expose this issue to the wider public so that a movement can be built to stop the rendition.”

Before that, Pejic’s last major appearance on the world modeling stage was in 2017 on the cover of GQ Magazine, making her the first-ever transgender model to do so.

The year before, she also became one of the first trans models to land a cosmetics contract and struck a deal with beauty line Make Up For Ever.

Pejic slays the catwalk in 2011 for Jean Paul Gaultier at Paris Fashion Week

At the height of her career, Pejic – who was scouted in 2009 while working at McDonalds in Melbourne – appeared on the covers of international editions of Elle, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar and L’Officel.

She was also once ranked number 98 on FHM’s list of 100 Hottest Women in the World.

Often photographed at parties with fellow Australian model Jordan Barrett, Pejic was also friends with British model Stella Maxwell and her then-girlfriend actress Kristen Stewart.

The Bosnian-born model became one of the first transgender models to land a cosmetics contract and struck a deal with the beauty line Make Up For Ever