10-year-old trans model Noella McMahon is a former NYFW runway vet

A 10-year-old Chicago transgender girl will already be a runway veteran when she walks the runway at New York Fashion Week next month — and plans to walk in Paris next year.

Noella McMahon, whose parents identify as transgender and who has a baby sibling, was one of the first trans and non-binary models to walk for a trans clothing company at NYFW in February. She was the youngest person to attend the event.

Noella has a lively presence on social media and what appears to be a thriving home life with her parents, Dee McMaher, 35, and Ray McMaher, 32, who were both born biologically female but are now non-binary.

“Noella’s first show was Chicago Fashion Week when she was 7,” her parent Dee told Forbes earlier this year. “The young trans teenager told her about open auditions, and she watched YouTube videos to prepare. She hired two designers at her first event. Since then, she has been in two Chicago Fashion Weeks and a few smaller shows.

Dee told The Post Wednesday that even as a baby, Noella didn’t like wearing baby clothes and often did. De says she eventually came to her senses after being taken to a sex clinic and feeling liberated to be a girl.

“Our job as parents to all three of our kids is to embrace their individual needs,” Dee told the Post. “We have a son with Noella who knows who she was from a young age.”

Neither of Noella’s parents pushed her to be a girl, Dee says.

“My husband and I probably have two pairs of shoes between us,” she said. “We never go into fashion. Noella is the opposite. She loves glitter and makeup and clothes. We didn’t even know how to encourage such feminism.

For anyone wondering how a child knows they’re transgender at age 10, Dee says she has the answer ready.

“At the age of 2, she started telling us that she was not a boy. At 4.5, she changed socially and at 7 she changed legally.

“My husband and I are also transgender,” De added. “Noela changed way before we did. She’s the most confident person I know. I always tell her I want to be like her when I grow up.”

In the year In 2019, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whose billionaire family is one of the world’s largest donors to transgender causes, signed an executive order aimed at promoting rights for LGBTQ students in schools. Among those sitting next to him was Noella, wearing a pink jumpsuit with a giant bow in her hair and a t-shirt that read, “This is what trans looks like.”

Noella and her younger brother Levi (whose parents say they are boys and want to remain boys) were born to Dee and Dee’s then-husband Timothy McCord, a scientist in the Chicago area.

McCord told the Post that he’s fine with Noella coming out as trans, but he’s concerned that her life as a model is so public. McCord said he’s not sure what to do, given that Noella has future medical interventions, like puberty blockers and hormones.

“I have no say in this matter,” he said. “She’s not my daughter anymore.”

Dee and McCord separated years ago and finally divorced in 2019, but McCord still saw the children regularly, he said.

In the year An incident in 2016, when he grabbed Noela’s arm after she had a fit of rage, would tear the family apart forever and he has not seen the children since, he said. “The next day D calls and says you need a break from the kids because Noella is having a spasm.” “Then she called back and said Noella’s arm was broken. I think you need a lawyer.

McCord said a legal nightmare ensued, eventually leading to his arrest and spending several nights in the Cook County Jail in Chicago. He then said he decided to plead guilty because he felt it would be hopeless to continue fighting the legal system.

He tried to continue the tour with the children but said it was impossible.

“I tried to get back into their lives but it became very contentious and stressful for everyone,” he said. Although he says he doesn’t believe he’s guilty of what he’s accused of, Dee and her partner decided to have regular custody of the children and waived all rights.

“I was given the opportunity to step back and allow D’s partner to receive the children and I did so in the hope that they would not have the stress this would bring to their lives,” he said.

McCord said he would be open if the children tried to contact him when they were older.

“If they have questions, I’m here,” he said. “I’m not hard to find.”

Noella’s parents and their representatives did not return multiple emails and calls from the Post.