Published: 26 November 2019
Last updated: 5 March 2024
A COFFEE DATE with Stav Strashko goes something like this: we arrange to meet at The Norman, Tel Aviv’s most exclusive boutique hotel, but there’s no space at the bar. All the while, heads are turning in our direction and I can tell you they’re not looking at me.
At 5 foot 10 inches tall with razor sharp cheekbones and flawless skin, Strashko cuts a noticeable figure, but she’s also very famous in Israel. As the country’s most successful transgender model and actress, her profile is on the rise.
But life wasn’t always like this for the 27-year-old. Born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, Stav moved to Israel aged two, when her parents decided the time was right for a new life in the Jewish state.
“It was two years after the Soviet Union broke apart,” Strashko explains. “My family was looking for an excuse to move out and run away as fast as possible. My grandfather moved here first and a year later he sent the message “come here,” so we came. I was a little child so I had no say in it.”
The family settled in Ramat Gan. “I’m lucky,” she says.
FULL STORY ‘I want to show people it’s fine to be trans’ (Jewish Chronicle)
Photo: Strashko before and after her transition (Youtube)
