'Playboy' Has Just Featured Its First-Ever Transgender Playmate
“It’s the most beautiful compliment I’ve ever received.”
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FEr2dDxuCv7ZCvVsqWUDd8-415-80.jpg)
French model Ines Rau has just made history as the first transgender Playmate in Playboy magazine's history. Rau is the magazine’s November Playmate, and has a photo spread and centerfold in the magazine, all photographed by Derek Kettela.
"Being a woman is just being a woman." Meet November 2017 Playmate Ines Rau, the first transgender Playmate. https://t.co/w28vfilSP9 pic.twitter.com/iVAqOgB0TKOctober 18, 2017
Rau posed for Playboy once before, in the May 2014 special edition of Playboy A-Z. “It’s how I celebrated my coming out, actually,” she told the magazine. “I took that chance, and then I signed with an agency.”
A post shared by INES RAU (@supa_ines)
A photo posted by on
The 26-year-old has also starred in a Balmain ad campaign and posed for Vogue Italia, according to People. But she told Playboy being named a Playmate is a good way to speak her own truth. “When I was doing this shoot, I was thinking of all those hard days in my childhood,” she said in the magazine. “And now everything happening gives me so much joy and happiness. I thought, Am I really going to be a Playmate—me? It’s the most beautiful compliment I’ve ever received. It’s like getting a giant bouquet of roses.”
A post shared by INES RAU (@supa_ines)
A photo posted by on
A post shared by INES RAU (@supa_ines)
A photo posted by on
Though Rau is the first transgender Playmate, she isn’t the first transgender model to be featured in Playboy. The first was Tula, who appeared in the September 1991 issue. Caroline Cossey, who went by the name Tula as a model, said Playboy offered to photograph her after she was outed, which at the time threatened her career, and ran the photos despite advertiser pressure. “[Hugh] Hefner once said that life is too short to be living someone else’s dream and I think it spoke loudly of how respectful he was of the individuality of others,” she told the Huffington Post. “He certainly was with me.”
The first transgender woman to pose for Playboy was Tula in September 1991. pic.twitter.com/Xpl65HZaEUOctober 19, 2017
Cooper Hefner, son of the late Hugh Hefner and current chief creative officer of Playboy, tweeted Wednesday that the magazine, and society at large should “be fighting for a more open world, not one that promotes hatred and a lack of acceptance.”
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Megan Friedman is the former managing editor of the Newsroom at Hearst. She's worked at NBC and Time, and is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.
-
Our Complete Quiet Luxury Shopping Guide
30 quality closet classics that always have—and always will—endure.
By Emma Childs Published
-
Kaia Gerber and Cindy Crawford Medal in Mother-Daughter Olympic Matching
The pair touched down in Paris wearing coordinating navy looks.
By Julia Marzovilla Published
-
Prince Harry Reveals Royal Family Rift Was Worsened by Tabloids
"Yeah, that’s certainly a central piece to it."
By Amy Mackelden Published
-
The Best Bollywood Movies of 2023 (So Far)
Including one that just might fill the Riverdale-shaped hole in your heart.
By Andrea Park Published
-
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ 2023: Everything We Know
Cue up Mike Reno and Ann Wilson’s “Almost Paradise."
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
Who Is Gerry Turner, the ‘Golden Bachelor’?
The Indiana native is the first senior citizen to join Bachelor Nation.
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
‘Virgin River’ Season 6: Everything We Know
Here's everything we know on the upcoming episodes.
By Andrea Park Last updated
-
The 65 Best Musical Movies of All Time
All the dance numbers! All the show tunes!
By Amanda Mitchell Last updated
-
'Ginny & Georgia' Season 2: Everything We Know
Netflix owes us answers after that ending.
By Zoe Guy Last updated
-
35 Tasteful Nude Movies That Feel Like Art
Steamy and sensual, but in an elevated way.
By Kayleigh Roberts Last updated
-
The Cast of 'The Crown' Season 5: Your Guide
The Mountbatten-Windsors have been recast—again.
By Andrea Park Published