Ariel Nicholson
Ariel Nicholson Murtagh[1] (born 2001) is an American model and LGBT rights activist. She was the first transgender model to walk in a fashion show for Calvin Klein. Nicholson has been featured on the cover of Italian Vogue and Love.
Early life
Nicholson was born and raised in Mahwah, New Jersey.[2] At an early age, she told her parents that she did not "belong as a boy" and, in fifth grade, began using female pronouns and taking Lupron to suppress the effects of male puberty.[1] She was also seeing a therapist from the Ackerman Institute for the Family at the time.[1] When she was in eighth grade she was featured in the PBS documentary Growing Up Trans, where she talked about her decision to go on estradiol.[1][3]
Career
While she was a high school student, Nicholson signed with DNA Model Management.[4][5] She was chosen by Raf Simons to walk for Calvin Klein's 2018 Spring/Summer fashion show, making her modelling debut.[1][6][7] She was the first transgender woman to walk in a Calvin Klein fashion show. Nicholson has since appeared in Calvin Klein advertisement campaigns, editorials in Vogue and W, and has walked in runway shows for Marc Jacobs and Miu Miu.[1][6] She was photographed by Mert & Marcys for the cover of Love's anniversary issue.[1][8]
She was featured on the September 2020 cover of Italian Vogue.[6]
In October 2020, Nicholson was featured in V Magazine's The Thoughts Leaders issue.[9]
Activism
She volunteers with Gender & Family Project, an organization that supports transgender youth and their families.[1]
Personal life
Nicholson lives with her parents and siblings in Park Ridge, New Jersey.[1]
References
- "Ariel Nicholson is part of the BoF 500". The Business of Fashion.
- "Model Ariel Nicholson on art, anxiety and being an Aquarius". Dazed. February 11, 2019.
- "Growing Up Trans - Transcript". FRONTLINE.
- "DNA Models". www.dnamodels.com.
- "ARIEL NICHOLSON BY GREG HARRIS". THE LAST MAGAZINE. February 17, 2018.
- "The Graduates: Ariel Nicholson | models.com MDX". MODELS.com.
- Bernstein, Jacob (September 8, 2017). "Last Night, Calvin Klein — This Morning, Algebra (Published 2017)" – via NYTimes.com.
- "Model, activist and writer Ariel Nicholson shares her 10 self-care tips during social distancing". LOVE. March 17, 2020.
- "The Thought Leaders Issue: Ariel Nicholson". V Magazine.