Australian model Andrej Pejic has sex reassignment surgery

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Androgynous Australian model Andrej Pejic has had sex reassignment surgery.

Now known as Andreja, the catwalk model has told her story for the first time to People magazine in the US.

Pejic, who had previously said she lived “in between genders”, underwent surgery earlier this year.

Pejic tells People that she always dreamt of being a girl, but after she moved with her family to Melbourne in 2000 she realised she was expected to act like a boy.

"I wanted to be a good kid and I wanted to please my parents," she said. “But I was hiding who I was.”

In 2010 Pejic hit the headlines after she appeared in both the men’s and women’s show for Jean-Paul Gaultier, one of the model’s most steadfast supporters.

In 2011 she closed a Gaultier show dressed as a beautiful bride - which she described as a highlight of her career so far.

"I was proud of my gender nonconforming career. But my biggest dream was to be comfortable in my own body. I have to be true to myself and the career is just going to have to fit around that," she told People.

Pejic is keeping details of the surgery private, but did reveal that it took three months to feel herself again.

Now she wants to share her story to help raise awareness around transgender issues.

"I think I have a social responsibility," she told People. "I hope that by being open about this, it becomes less of an issue."

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