Anjali Lama (born Nabin Wabia) is a transgender Nepali model and LGBTIQA+ activist. She was born as a boy but later underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2009 and became a woman.
Anjali Lama as a boy
She is known for being the first transgender woman to walk the runway of Lakme Fashion Week (2017).
Anjali Lama selected for Lakme Fashion Week 2017
She is also known for speaking openly about her sexuality. She supports the LGBTQIA community.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Anjali Lama was born in the year 1985 (her date of birth is not known) (age 36 years; as of 2021) in Nuwakot District, Bagmati Province, Nepal. She completed her schooling in the year 2013. When she was in school, her classmates used to make fun of her when she behaved like a girl. She liked talking to girls more than boys in her class. She was closer to her mother and sister than her brothers and father. At this time, she could not recognize her originality and in 2013 she moved to Kathmandu for further studies. He discovered his sexuality when he watched a show at his friend’s house in which men dressed like women. She was very happy to see them. She also met a group of transgender women and talked to them about her sexuality. She introduced Anjali to The Blue Diamond Society which helps the transgender community. In 2005, Anjali decided to tell her family about her sexuality. When he told his parents about his sexuality, they were completely against it. He became very angry and stopped considering Anjali as his son. His family was not accepting of him due to which he had to break all contact with them. In 2009, she underwent partial gender reassignment surgery. She started living her life the way she wanted. In an interview, she told how she felt when she was undergoing surgery. He said,
Keeping aside the financial part, which was undoubtedly difficult to manage, there was a lot of pain to be endured for a month. However, the pain was worth it because I knew this experience would take me closer to my true and real self.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight (Approx): 54 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Body Measurements (Approx): 34-26-34
Family
Anjali Lama comes from a family with an agricultural background.
parents and siblings
Anjali Lama’s father Suvan Singh Tamang is a farmer and she has six siblings (her mother’s name is not known). His sister’s name is Neha Vaiba.
Anjali Lama’s parents
Anjali Lama’s sister
livelihood
modeling
After Anjali’s surgery, some of her friends suggested her to start modeling because she had good height and body. She followed his advice and joined an agency in Nepal to receive training for the audition. His sexuality became a hindrance in his career. She was rejected in many auditions but in 2009 she got a chance to work in ‘Voice of Women’ magazine.
Anjali Lama on the cover of Voice of Women magazine
In 2016, she auditioned for Lakme Fashion Week but was not selected twice in the same year. Then she decided to improve herself, and watched videos on YouTube to learn proper gait, dressing style, body postures, etc. She was selected for Lakme Fashion Week in 2017 and walked the ramp for Monisha Jaising.
Anjali Lama during Lakme Fashion Week (2017)
She then worked with designers Amit Agarwal, Anita Dongre and Tarun Tahiliani. Anjali was also featured in the documentary “Anjali: Living Inside Someone Else’s Skin” in 2014.
In the documentary based on the life of Anjali Lama
In 2019, she became part of a Calvin Klein campaign. This was a major success for Anjali as she became the first transgender model to feature in an international brand. This campaign was shot in Phuket, Thailand in March. In an interview, Anjali shared her experience of being a part of the campaign and said,
I never thought I’d be fronting a Calvin Klein campaign one day. There were women from 10 countries in the campaign and I was one of them.
Anjali Lama’s Instagram post about Calvin Klein
She was featured on the cover of Elle magazine in 2017 and GQ India magazine and Cosmopolitan 2020 edition in 2018.
Anjali Lama on the cover of Elle magazine
Anjali Lama featured in GQ magazine
Anjali Lama on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine
Anjali was also seen in a video for Levi’s in which she shared her story of becoming a model.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Won ‘Miss Charming’ in 2007, a competition for transgender women.
- In 2017, she became the first transgender to walk in Lakme Fashion Week.
- In 2019, she won “Model of the Year” at the “Vogue Beauty Awards” and “Grazia Millennial Award”.
Anjali Lama with Vogue Beauty Award
Anjali Lama with the Grazia Millennial Award
Facts/General Knowledge
- Anjali had to work hard to get work as she was rejected by agencies because she was transgender.
- In an interview, he had said that when he wanted to buy a house, the brokers used to disconnect his phones.
- When asked if she always wanted to be a model, she said,
Yes, like every other girl, I too grew up flipping through glossy magazines dreaming of becoming a model one day.
- Anjali often shares pictures while practicing yoga on Instagram.
Anjali Lama doing yoga
- She believes that children should be taught about LGBTQIA from a young age so that they can accept transgender people.
- He also said in an interview that there is more commercialism in fashion than other fields.
- Anjali has walked in many shows but her favorite is the Rainbow Fashion Show. While discussing about the show in an interview he said,
My favorite is when I opened for Gaurav Gupta at the Rainbow fashion show soon after Section 377 was repealed to celebrate LGBTQ people. This was especially memorable because I wasn’t just running for myself; This was a victory for my entire community.”
Anjali Lama in Rainbow Fashion Show
- She said in an interview that fellow members of the Lakme Fashion Week show were very supportive and helped her with the instructions written in English. He added,
I felt a little lost as all the instructions were given to us in English. Then I contacted models Deepti Gujral and Alessia Raut, who helped me.
- Her favorite supermodel is Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima.
- He likes traveling and watching movies.
- He believes that India is more accepting and developed than Nepal.
- In an interview, Anjali talked about the success mantra she believes in. They said,
Hard work is my only mantra. I describe myself as a person with strong self-determination, a never-say-die attitude, and the ability to wisely choose people who will encourage me to prosper.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn