08:22 AM EDT 04/13/2013
Jenna Talackova
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Jenna Talackova, Transgender Miss Universe Contestant, Makes Top 12
Originally posted 05/20/2012 12:05PM
Close, but no crown.
Jenna Talackova, the first-ever transgender contestant to compete in the Miss Universe Canada pageant, was among the final 12 hopefuls before failing to make the cut for the top five in Saturday night's competition.
But she didn't go home empty-handed. The leggy 23-year-old Vancouver resident, who had earlier strutted her stuff in the bikini portion of the competition, was one of four contestants named Miss Congeniality.
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Transgender Miss Universe Contestant Shows Off Bikini Body
Originally posted 05/18/2012 04:10PM
Jenna Talackova has finally gotten the chance to strut her stuff.
Talackova, the first transgender Miss Universe contestant, showed off her trim figure in a white bikini during the preliminary round of the Miss Universe Canada pageant in Toronto on Thursday.
She also wore a body-hugging white floor-length gown as she confidently walked onstage during the initial rounds of the pageant competition. A winner will be announced Saturday.
Talackova was born a boy, but started hormone therapy at age 14 and later underwent gender reassignment surgery to convert her male genitalia to female.
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Jenna Talackova: 'I Was in The Wrong Body'
Originally posted 04/07/2012 03:20PM
Transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant Jenna Talackova says that even at four years old, she knew she was "in the wrong body."
In her first interview since she was booted from – then allowed back into – the Miss Universe Canada competition for not being a "naturally born female," Talackova sat down with ABC News's Barbara Walters on Friday's 20/20.
Accompanied by her mother and her lawyer, Gloria Allred, the beauty revealed that at birth, she was named "Walter."
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Jenna Talackova Fires Back at Donald Trump, Pageant Officials
Originally posted 04/03/2012 03:30PM
Jenna Talackova, the Miss Universe Canada contestant who was disqualified last week from competing in the pageant because she is transgender, fired back at the pageant's organizers, including its owner, Donald Trump, at a press conference Tuesday.
First her attorney, Gloria Allred, criticized Trump's handling of the situation.
"Jenna entered this competition and gave the pageant her time, her best efforts and her money," Allred said. "She did not think for one moment that what she might have looked like at birth would be relevant. She did not ask Mr. Trump to prove that he is a naturally-born man, or to see the photos of his birth, to view his anatomy, to prove that he was male. It made no difference to her. Why should it have made a difference to him?"
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Jenna Talackova: Will She Compete?
Originally posted 04/02/2012 09:50PM
Reversing its position of last week, when it denied transgender contestant Jenna Talackova from competing, organizers of the Miss Universe pageant have now said she may walk down its runway, with certain provisos.
And it still remains to be seen if she will.
"The Miss Universe Organization will allow Jenna Talackova to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions," Michael D. Cohen, executive vice president and special counsel to Donald Trump, who owns the competition, said in an e-mailed statement Monday evening.
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Transgender Beauty Queen Contestant 'Overwhelmed' by Support
Originally posted 03/27/2012 12:40PM
After transgender beauty queen Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the Miss Universe Canada pageant, she's built a growing online fan base hoping to reinstate her in the competition.
"Jenna is overwhelmed, and deeply moved by the support she has received from around the globe," her publicist Rory Richards tells CBC News, "especially from fellow Canadians that have said how proud they would be if she represented Canada in the Miss Universe Pageant."
Talackova, 23, shared her disappointment in a statement Monday, but says she hopes the experience will help others.
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Jenna Talackova Removed from Miss Universe Canada for Being Transgender
Originally posted 03/26/2012 12:00PM
Should transgender women be allowed to compete in female beauty pageants?
That's the question at the center of a heated scandal involving one Canadian pageant contestant. Jenna Talackova, 23, was born male but has identified as a female since age 4. She began hormone therapy at 14 and underwent gender reassignment surgery at 19.
On Friday, Talackova, a Vancouver resident, was booted from the Miss Universe Canada competition "because she did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form," the organization said in a statement. "We do, however, respect her goals, determination and wish her the best."
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