Ariel Nicholson Murtagh (born 2001) is an American model and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

activist. She was the first openly

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

model to walk in a fashion show for

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, a ...

and the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. Nicholson has also been featured on the cover of ''

Italian Vogue ''Vogue Italia'' is the Italian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world. It's been in publication since 1964. Name ''Vogue Italia'' was first published as ''No ...

'' and ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

''.

Early life

Nicholson was born and raised in

Mahwah, New Jersey Mahwah is the northernmost and largest municipality by geographic area () in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the township was 25,487, a decline of 403 from the 25,890 counted in ...

. 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. She was also seeing a therapist from the Ackerman Institute for the Family at the time. When she was in eighth grade she was featured in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

documentary ''Growing Up Trans'', where she talked about her decision to go on

estradiol Estradiol (E2), also spelled oestradiol, is an estrogen steroid hormone and the major female sex hormone. It is involved in the regulation of the estrous and menstrual female reproductive cycles. Estradiol is responsible for the development o ...

Career

While she was a high school student, Nicholson signed with DNA Model Management. She was chosen by

Raf Simons Raf Jan Simons (; born 12 January 1968) is a Belgian fashion designer. Beginning in furniture design, Simons launched his own menswear label in 1995. He was creative director at Jil Sander (2005–2012), Christian Dior (2012–2015), and Calvin K ...

to walk for

's 2018 Spring/Summer fashion show, making her modelling debut. 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 ''

'' and '' W'', and has walked in runway shows for

Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was ...

and

Miu Miu Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. It is headed by Miuccia Prada and headquartered in Paris, France. History Miu Miu was established in 1992 by Miuccia Prada. The ...

. She was photographed by Mert & Marcys for the cover of ''

s anniversary issue. She was featured on the September 2020 cover of ''

''. In October 2020, Nicholson was featured in '' V Magazines ''The Thoughts Leaders'' issue. In 2021, Nicholson became the first openly transgender person to be featured on the cover of ''

''.

Activism

She volunteers with Gender & Family Project, an organization that supports transgender youth and their families.

Personal life

Nicholson lives with her parents and siblings in

Park Ridge, New Jersey Park Ridge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Park Ridge had a population of 8,645 as of the 2010 United States Census,2001 births Living people Activists from New Jersey Female models from New Jersey LGBT people from New Jersey American LGBT rights activists People from Mahwah, New Jersey People from Park Ridge, New Jersey Transgender rights activists Transgender female models Women civil rights activists 21st-century LGBT people