Casey Legler

{{Infobox person

| name = Casey Legler

| image =

| alt =

| caption = Casey Legler photographed by Peter Lindbergh for Le Monde

| known_for = Olympic swimmer, model and athlete

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|4|26|df=y}}

| birth_place = Fréjus, Var, France

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = French American

| other_names =

| education = Graduated cum laude from Smith College

| alma_mater = Phi Beta Kappa

| notable_works = Godspeed: A Memoir

| spouse = Siri May

| website = https://www.caseylegler.com

}}

Casey Legler (born 26 April 1977) is a French-American writer, restaurateur, model, and former Olympic swimmer.

Early life

Legler was born in Fréjus, Var, France, to expatriate American parents.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/casey-legler-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417194532/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/casey-legler-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|title=Casey Legler|publisher=www.sports-reference.com|accessdate=15 June 2014}} They attended school in both France and America, and began competitive swimming at the age of 13. Legler identifies as "trans-butch" non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.{{cite news|last1=Manders|first1=Kerry|title=The Renegades|date=2020-04-13|work=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/13/t-magazine/butch-stud-lesbian.html|access-date=2021-10-12}}

Career

Legler competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics at the age of 19, where, after breaking the world record in practice the day before, they came 29th in the women's 50 metres freestyle event and 10th in the women's 4x100 metres freestyle relay event. Legler gave up swimming two years later and subsequently studied architecture, obtained a scholarship for law school, and began medical school. They are a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated cum laude from Smith College before moving to New York to focus on an artistic career.

In 2012, through a connection made by their friend the photographer Cass Bird, Legler became the first woman signed to Ford Models to exclusively model men's clothes.{{cite magazine|url=https://style.time.com/2012/11/20/male-models-the-female-of-the-species/|title=Male Models: The Female of the Species|first=Valerie|last=Lapinski|magazine=Time |date=20 November 2012 |publisher=|via=style.time.com}}{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/mar/03/model-casey-legler-perfect-man | title=Model Casey Legler: is she the perfect man? | work=The Observer | date=3 March 2013 | accessdate=6 March 2013 | author=Wiseman, Eva}} While no longer full time, Legler continues to model men's clothes in their spare time and their work has been featured in Vogue, Le Monde and Time.{{cite web|url=https://models.com/work/le-monde-m-magazine-casey-legler|title=Casey Legler for Le Monde M Magazine}}

Legler's first book, Godspeed: A Memoir, was released July 10, 2018 and is published by Simon & Schuster.{{cite book|title=Godspeed: A Memoir|last=Legler|first=Casey|date=10 July 2018|publisher=Atria Books|isbn=978-1501135750 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.simonandschusterpublishing.com/atria/|title=Home - Atria Books|website=www.simonandschusterpublishing.com}}

Personal life

Legler now dedicates their time to writing and pursuing their love of restaurants, dividing their time between New York and Sydney with their wife, Siri May.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out-pride30/pride30-international-advocate-siri-may-protecting-lgbtq-rights-globally-n764281|title=#Pride30: Advocate Siri May is protecting LGBTQ rights globally|website=NBC News |publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/model-ryan-mcginley-suit-balenciaga-city-hall-wedding|title=This Model Wore Ryan McGinley's Suit to Her City Hall Wedding|date=13 April 2017 |publisher=}}