Ines-Loan Rau (born 1990) is a French model. She was ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine's

Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

of the Month for November 2017 and 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 ...

Playmate.

Early life

Rau was born in Paris and is of Algerian descent. Rau transitioned and underwent

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and al ...

at the age of 16, after being inspired by the life story of English trans model Caroline "Tula" Cossey.

Career

After turning 18, Rau started dancing for DJs in Ibiza, during which she became friends with

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

. In 2013, at age 23, she first posed nude with

Tyson Beckford Tyson Beckford (born December 19, 1970) is an American model and actor best known as a Ralph Lauren Polo model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo program '' Make Me a Supermodel''. Beckford has been described as one of the most ...

for a spread in ''OOB'', a French luxury magazine, shortly after coming out as transgender. In May 2014, she first appeared in ''

''s "A-Z issue" in a spread titled "Evolution" that aimed to depict the growing acceptance of gender identities beyond the male-female binary. She became the second transgender woman to be featured in ''Playboy'' after Cossey in 1981 and the first who came out voluntarily (Cossey was outed against her will and reappeared in the magazine in 1991). Following her magazine appearances, Rau worked as a model for

Nicole Miller Nicole Miller is an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Miller attended the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Apparel Design. She studied for a year at L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture ParisienneBal ...

Alexis Bittar Alexis Bittar is the designer and CEO of the eponymous jewelry and lifestyle brand. He was credited for reviving the art costume jewelry movement in the 1990s. In 2004, Bittar was named "Rising Star of the Year" at the ACE Awards. In 2010, he w ...

and Barneys New York. She also appeared in ''

Vogue Italia ''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 ''N ...

'' and in a campaign for

Balmain Balmain may refer to: Places * Balmain, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Electoral district of Balmain, an electoral division in New South Wales, Australia * Balmain East, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Balmain Hou ...

. In October 2017,

Cooper Hefner Cooper Bradford Hefner (born September 4, 1991) is an American businessman. He has worked as the chief creative officer and chief of global partnerships at Playboy Enterprises, a company founded by his father Hugh Hefner. He was also founder and ...

, son of ''Playboy'' founder Hugh Hefner, announced that Rau would appear as "

of the Month" in the magazine's November/December 2017 issue, making her the first openly transgender woman to be featured this way. Hefner likened the choice to feature Rau to his father's decision to feature Jennifer Jackson as the first African-American model to appear in ''Playboy'' as a Playmate in 1965.

Activism

Following her coming-out, Rau became more active campaigning for transgender rights. In 2016, she appeared on the

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is pa ...

news format ''Sept à Huit'' on an episode focused on her life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rau, Ines French female models French people of Algerian descent 2010s Playboy Playmates Transgender female models French LGBT people Living people 1990 births Models from Paris