Meet the world’s youngest transgender model, Noella McMaher: the 10 year old is about to walk at New York Fashion Week, knew her gender identity before age 3 and is already an LGBT activist
- Part of a ‘queer family’ with non-binary parents Dee and Ray McMaher, the ultra-confident Noella McMaher is being bombarded with modelling offers and already considers herself a trans activist
- This month’s New York Fashion Week won’t be her first go on the runway, having already starred in Trans Clothing’s show in February – although she’s struggled with bullying at school
She may only be 10 years old, but Chicagoan Noella McMaher will already be something of a catwalk veteran when she takes to the runway at New York Fashion Week this September. To say her career is taking off is something of an understatement: she is booked until November and set to walk in Paris next year.
According to her parents, it all started with a passion for dresses when she was little, which has culminated in McMaher becoming the world’s youngest transgender model. So how did she get here, and does she really earn millions from her role as a transgender icon?
Noella McMaher has two trans parents
Noella McMaher was born to Dee McMaher, 35, and their ex-husband, Timothy McCord. After the two split, Dee married Ray McMaher, 32, in 2019.
The couple also pointed out that their daughter came out much earlier than them. “My spouse and I are both non-binary,” Dee told British media. “In terms of gender identity, Noella came out before either of us. She was born with a fierce and confident sense of identity.”
She knew what her gender identity was at age two
McMaher first seemed to have a concept of gender when she was a toddler and was adamant that she didn’t want to wear boy’s clothes, according to her parents. As soon as she was able to speak, she made her opinions clear. “It first started at two-and-a-half, nearing three,” Dee told British media. “Someone would say to her that she was a cute boy and she would snap back and exclaim, ‘I’m not a boy, I’m a girl!’”
Her parents took her to a gender clinic, where she also expressed her wish to be a girl. Dee said that Noella socially transitioned at four and had her legal birth certificate changed from “boy” to “girl” at six. Meanwhile, her brother, Levi, also born to Dee and McCord, has affirmed that he is a boy and doesn’t plan to change, Dee told Forbes.
She had a “rough start” in life
Coming out so young, McMaher didn’t have an easy life at kindergarten. When her classmates found out about her transgender status, her teacher failed to explain what being transgender meant and McMaher soon became an outsider, Chicago Parent reported. The school also reportedly refused to change her name in their system.