NEW YORK — Bruce Jenner made his debut as a transgender woman in a va-va-voom fashion in the July issue of Vanity Fair.
“Call me Caitlyn,” declares a headline on the cover, with a photo of a long-haired Jenner in a strapless corset, legs crossed, sitting on a stool. The image was shot by famed celeb photographer Annie Leibovitz. Prior to the unveiling of Caitlyn, Jenner had said he prefers the pronoun “he,” but Vanity Fair contributing editor Buzz Bissinger, who wrote the accompanying story, refers to “she.”
Jenner debuted a new Twitter account as well with: “I’m so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can’t wait for you to get to know her/me.” In about 45 minutes, the account had more than 180,000 followers.
According to the magazine, which took to Twitter with the cover Monday, Jenner spoke emotionally about her gender journey: “If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, ‘You just blew your entire life.’”
The photo was shot at Jenner’s Malibu, California, home and comes on the heels of her two-hour ABC interview with Diane Sawyer in which she confirmed her transition to a woman. The much-anticipated “20/20” interview on April 24 was watched by more than 17.1 million viewers.
The Olympian who married and divorced reality show “momager” Kris Jenner has appeared for years on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” Jenner’s own still untitled docu-series chronicling her transition is scheduled for the same network, E!, beginning July 26.
In addition to the corset, Vanity Fair released a black-and-white video on the making of the cover. It shows Jenner getting her hair done and posing in a long, off-the-shoulder gown with ample cleavage.
“Caitlyn doesn’t have any secrets,” Jenner narrates. “As soon as the Vanity Fair cover comes out, I’m free.”
