Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...
'', April 5, 2012.
She experienced
gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
beginning in early childhood, and began her gender transition at age 14, while attending Vancouver's Killarney Secondary School, before completing her sex reassignment surgery at 19. She initially took the name "Page" when she began transitioning, before changing it again to Jenna.
Talackova is currently a student of holistic nutrition.
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...
'', April 4, 2012. Sources are in conflict as to whether she identified herself as transgender on her application; however, after she was selected as one of the Top 65 applicants who would proceed to the pageant, a person who recognized her from Miss International Queen contacted the Miss Universe Canada organizers, and the organization then disqualified Talackova on the grounds that the pageant rules required its competitors to be "naturally born" women.
Talackova subsequently contacted lawyer Gloria Allred, who took on the case and challenged the pageant organizers, including future president Donald Trump in his capacity as owner of the international Miss Universe organization, to reverse the decision and allow Talackova to compete. The organization reversed its decision before the case reached the courts, with Trump's office issuing a statement that "as long as she meets the standards of legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, which we understand that she does, Jenna Talackova is free to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant."
At the pageant on May 19, 2012, Talackova made it into the Top 12, but failed to reach the Top 5."Transgender contestant falls short at Miss Universe Canada" CBC News, May 19, 2012. She was, however, one of four contestants awarded the title of Miss Congeniality. Talackova was named co-grand marshal of the 2012
Vancouver Pride Parade
The Vancouver Pride Parade and Festival is an annual LGBT Pride event, held each year in Vancouver, British Columbia, to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. It is run by the Vancouver Pride Society (VPS), ...
in recognition of her fight to be in the Miss Universe pageant.
Television
A reality show based around her life, ''
Brave New Girls
''Brave New Girls'' is a Canadian television reality series, which premiered on E! Canada on January 19, 2014.Toronto to pursue a modeling career. The series, produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment, premiered on
E! Canada E! is an American television network.
E! may also refer to:
Television
* E! (Asian TV channel), the Asian franchise of E!
* E! (Australia and New Zealand), the Australian version of E!
* E! (Canadian TV channel), a Canadian cable/satellite telev ...
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...