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Tyra to Transform Transgender 'Top Model'
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Banks announced Monday she found a doctor to pay for Isis King, the first transgender contestant on "America's Next Top Model," to undergo sex reassignment surgery. King, 22, was born male and went from a homeless shelter to cycle 11 of Banks' reality competition show after producers discovered her at a photo shoot. Now she's eager to be known for more than her gender.
"I look at it like, 'Yes, I'm the first transgender contestant, but OK, lets move past it now," King tells Banks in today's episode of "The Tyra Banks Show." "I try not to think about [being transgendered] because ... I feel like I really was born in the wrong body, and it's just the one thing that makes me feel uncomfortable."
Banks later surprises King with Dr. Marci Bowers, the gender reassignment surgeon who will evaluate and operate on King, to the tune of $20,000 to $35,000.
Banks' decision to debut King as her show's first transgender contestant was a bold move for a network reality series. King was eliminated almost midway through the current season, in part because she was uncomfortable posing in a swimsuit.
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