Laith Ashley in the 2021 music video "Girl Baby" by Ezra Michel | |
| Born | July 6, 1989 |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Model, actor, singer-songwriter, activist |
| Known for | Model |
Laith grew up in a Dominican American household[2][failed verification] in Harlem, New York. He practiced individual and team sports and by age 9 was already into boxing, baseball and particularly basketball, his preferred sport. He continued playing sports into high school, including competitively, sometimes in the boys' team. He was named the top athlete amongst both boys and girls by the school's athletic director.[3]
Laith was raised in a church-oriented family[clarify], his father being Roman Catholic and his mother Pentecostal Christian which influenced some of the attitudes held by family during his coming out. First, Laith came out as homosexual when he was 17 years old,[4] although he never called himself a lesbian. He explained, "Being assigned female at birth, I thought I was a lesbian, even though I hated the word.”[2] Later, at age 19, he realized that he was transgender after watching videos produced by transgender people on YouTube. This prompted him to come out as a transgender man in 2013.[2] Laith began medically transitioning in January 2014 with masculinizing hormone therapy. His voice deepened and he quickly grew a beard. Nine months later, he had a double mastectomy.[2] and adopted the name Laith (meaning "lion" in Arabic) having admired the works of Laith Hakeem.[citation needed]
Laith attended business school and studied psychology at Fairfield University in Connecticut.[5] He subsequently worked at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, where he worked with LGBT homeless youth as a social worker.[2] He explained in an interview, "When I was a kid, I’d always wanted to be a performer, singer, dancer — but as a guy. But then, I didn’t think it was possible. I did what my parents said: went to college, got a 9-to-5 job... and people would always tell me, 'You should model!'"[6]