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Anjali Lama Height, Age, Family, Biography & More

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Marital Status: Unmarried
Age: 36 Years
Hometown: Nuwakot Province, Nepal

Anjali Lama

Bio/Wiki
Birth nameNabin Wabia [1]The Hindu
Profession(s) • Nepalese Model
• LGBTIQA+ Activist
Famous forBeing the first transgender woman to walk the runway of Lakme Fashion Week (2017)
Anjali Lama at Lakme Fashion Week
Physical Stats & More
[2]Hindustan Times Height in centimeters- 175.2 cm
in meters- 1.75 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Weight (approx.)in kilograms- 54 kg
in pounds- 119 lbs
Figure Measurements (approx.)34-26-34
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack
Career
Awards, Achievements • In 2007, she won the title of 'Miss Charming' in a contest for transgender women.
• She appeared on the cover of the magazine 'Voice of women'.
Anjali Lama on Voice Of Women Magazine
• She became the first transgender to walk the Lakme Fashion Week in 2017.
• In 2019, she won the “model of the year” at the “Vogue Beauty Awards” and at the “Grazia Millenial Award.”
Anjali Lama wins Vogue beauty award
Anjali Lama wins Grazia Millenial Award
Personal Life
Date of Birth1985 (Date not known)
Age (as of 2021) 36 Years
BirthplaceNuwakot District, Bagmati Province, Nepal
NationalityNepalese
HometownNuwakot, Nepal
HobbiesTravelling, Watching movies
Relationships & More
Marital StatusUnmarried
Family
Husband/SpouseN/A
ParentsFather- Suvan Singh Tamang (Farmer)
Anjali Lama`s father
Mother- Name not known
Anjali Lama`s mother
Siblings(6 siblings)
Sister- Neha Waiba
Favourites
Model Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima

Anjali Lama

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anjali Lama

  • Anjali Lama became the first transgender woman to walk the Lakme Fashion Week in 2017. She is known for being confident and outspoken about her sexuality. She has come out boldly about who she is. She was born in the Nuwakot Province of Nepal. Her father was a farmer and she has six siblings. She completed her schooling in the year 2003.
  • During her school days, she was made fun of because she used to behave like a girl. She used to be close to the girls in her class. She was also close to her mother and sister more than her brother and father. At that time, she was not able to realize why she was behaving like this. Later she went to Kathmandu for further studies.
  • One day, she was watching TV at her friend`s house where. she came across a show about transgender people. When she saw men dressed as women, she felt really happy. That was the moment when she realized that she was transgender. She also saw a transgender nightclub and talked to them about her sexuality. They introduced Lama to the Blue Diamond Society that worked for the welfare of LGBTQI.
  • In 2005, when she told her parents about her sexuality, they got really upset and angry, and they did not accept her sexuality. They refused to consider him as their son. As her family was not accepting her, she cut all contact with them.

    Anjali Lama when she was 16 years old and now

    Anjali Lama when she was 16 years old and now

  • After moving out from home, she decided to live like a girl and removed all the menswear from her closet. She chose to live the way her heart wanted since childhood. She underwent partial sex reassignment surgery in 2009.
  • In an interview, she talked about the gender change process. She said,

    Keeping aside the financial part, which was undoubtedly tough to manage, there was a fair amount of pain for a month. However, the pain was worth it as I knew the experience was going to get me closer to my true and real self.”

  • After undergoing the process of gender change, her friends started telling her that she had the body of a model, and she should try modelling. So, she took training at a local agency in Nepal so that she could audition for modelling projects.
  • During her initial auditions, she was rejected because of her sexuality. In 2009, she got a chance to feature on the ‘Voice of Women’ magazine. After this success also, she could not get any work.
  • In 2016, she auditioned for the Lakme Fashion Week. She got rejected twice in that competition. She then worked hard on improving her walk, dressing style, body postures, etc.,  by watching the videos of models on YouTube.
  • After two failed attempts, she got selected for the Lakme Fashion Week in 2017. She walked the ramp for designer Monisha Jaising.
  • She said in an interview that India is more developed than Nepal and it is more accepting of the LGBTQI community.
  • In an interview, she claimed that she got nervous when all the instructions in the competition were given in English. She said,

    I felt a bit lost as all the instructions were given to us in English. Then I approached models Deepti Gujral and Alesia Raut, who helped me out.”

  • She said in an interview that even after working hard she got rejected many times because she was transgender. It was not easy for transgender to get jobs or accommodation easily in Mumbai.
  • When she walked the Lakme Fashion Week, she said that her fellow members were supportive of her.
  • In an interview, when Anjali was asked about her favourite show, she said,

    My favourite is when I opened for Gaurav Gupta at the Rainbow Fashion Show soon after section 377 was repealed to celebrate LGBTQ people. This one was especially memorable because I wasn’t walking just for me; it was a victory for my entire community.”

Anjali Lama at Rainbow Fashion Show

Anjali Lama at Rainbow Fashion Show

  • At the beginning of her career, she worked with designers Amit Aggarwal, Anita Dongre, and Tarun Tahiliani.
  • She also said in an interview that in fashion, there was more professionalism than in other fields.
  • As people in Nepal were not ready to accept her sexuality, she said that kids should be taught about LGBTQ at a younger age.

    In South Asian countries people still aren’t that accepting, they treat it like an illness. The public looks at you differently and treats you in a different manner.”

  • She was strong and bold as she had faced the words that people threw at her. In 2014, she featured in a documentary named “Anjali: Living Inside Someone Else’s Skin” in which she wished to become a girl someday.

    Anjali Lama`s documentary

    Anjali Lama`s documentary

  • The model shared pictures of herself doing Yoga on Instagram and wrote the caption as health comes first. She is seen doing headstands, camel pose and meditation.

    Anjali Lama practicing Yoga

    Anjali Lama practising Yoga

  • In 2019, she became part of the Calvin Klein campaign. She became the first transgender model to be featured in an international brand campaign. The shooting of this campaign was done on 14 March for which Anjali went to Phuket, Thailand.

    Anjali Lama featured in a Calvin Klein campaign

    Anjali Lama featured in a Calvin Klein campaign

  • Sharing her experience in an interview about being featured in the campaign, she said,

    I never thought I’d do a Calvin Klein campaign one day. There were women from 10 countries in the campaign and I was one of them.

  • Lama had also appeared on the cover of Elle magazine in 2017.

    Anjali Lama on Elle magazine

    Anjali Lama on Elle magazine

  • She appeared on the cover of GQ India magazine in 2018.

    Anjali Lama on GQ magazine

    Anjali Lama on GQ magazine

  • In 2019, she was seen in a video made by Levi`s that was based on ‘Shape My World.’ Anjali shared her story of becoming a model in this video. She also walked for Sabyasachi in the same year.

    Anjali Lama on Shape My World by Levi`s

    Anjali Lama on Shape My World by Levi`s

  • She was featured in the Cosmopolitan 2020 edition.

    Anjali Lama on the cover of Cosmpolitan

    Anjali Lama on the cover of Cosmpolitan

  • This year, she was seen on the cover of the Annual list of 100 people to watch Arts by Business 360.
  • On being asked about her thoughts 0f quitting modelling, she said that modelling had given her a lot. She got a chance to travel countries and to wear designer clothes that made her happy. She further added that she didn`t want to retire soon.
  • She said in an interview, that there should not be any age bar in modelling. Models who were fit at an old age should be given chance to remain models. She said that if she was not a model, she would be an LGBTQ activist.
  • When she came to Mumbai in 2016, she lived with a friend. She said in an interview that she feels really sad and hurt when brokers cut the call after they get to known Anjali was on the other side of the phone.
  • Talking about the work, she said in an interview that she does not get work easily because she was transgender. Initially, she thought that this happened to all the models but it was specific in her case. She used to get rejected by the agents even after the whole shoot was discussed with her.
  • In an interview, she talked about her thinking to become a model. She said,

    Yes, like every other girl, I grew up flipping through glossy magazines dreaming of becoming a model one day.”

  • She faced a lot of rejection even after working too hard. She said that models had a responsibility on their shoulders as they were associated with brands. Also, they do not have the freedom to eat anything or wear anything as they could be captured anywhere.
  • Her success mantra is –

    Hard work is my only mantra. I describe myself as a person with strong self-determination, an attitude to never give up and an ability to choose people wisely, who will encourage me to prosper.”

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