Emira D’Spain is poised to become the first full-time transgender cast member of a Bravo show in the network’s history.
NBC confirmed the detail with Newsweek as Bravo’s newest show, Next Gen NYC, was announced on Tuesday. NBCUniversal owns the network.
A Bravo spokesperson told Newsweek: “It was important for Next Gen NYC to highlight the diversity and authenticity of this generation.”
Newsweek also reached out to D’Spain and her talent agency via social media and email.
Why It Matters
Bravo has been in the reality television game for many years, drawing big ratings from shows including Real Housewives, Vanderpump Rules and Below Deck.
But while the varied programming has provided viewers with front-row seats into the lives of straight and gay men and women for over a decade, D’Spain is the first transgender person to be featured as an official main cast member.
Billie Lee, transgender hostess at the Los Angeles restaurant Sur, was only a part-time cast member on Vanderpump Rules. Lee appeared in 10 episodes, first drawing attention for a speech during an annual pride celebration in West Hollywood. She left the show after Season 7 in 2019.
What To Know
D’Spain, 29, who was born in Dubai and raised in Dallas, is a New York University graduate who turned a New York-based internship into a career as Paper magazine’s beauty director.
She’s also a model, for brands like Victoria’s Secret, as well as an influencer with more than 159,000 Instagram followers.
Emira D’Spain attends the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards New York on May 11, 2024, in New York City.
Emira D’Spain attends the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards New York on May 11, 2024, in New York City.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for GLAAD
D’Spain told CR Fashion Book that she enjoys pizza and sushi, and wishes she could go back in time to meet Joan Rivers. She also refers to herself as a coffee “addict.”
“[My signature look is] Barbie glam…big hair, pink blush, wispy lashes,” D’Spain told CR. “My fashion style is very sexy but whimsical and fun, pink is my favorite color.”
Besides making Bravo history, she previously made a different kind of history when she became the first Black transgender model for Victoria’s Secret in 2022.
That same year, she appeared on the cover of Galore Magazine and was referred to as “TikTok‘s It-Girl.”
The publication asked her about using her platform to benefit the broader transgender community.
“Part of me goes back and forth where I feel like I’m not doing enough for my community, and then sometimes when I feel like my transness plays too big of a role on my platforms,” she said. “I never want my page to solely be about being trans because it’s just one part of my life.
“That being said, I still want to lift my community up and champion them always. So I don’t know yet—I’m still finding a way to accomplish that perfect balance.”
The series Next Gen NYC reportedly follows “a tangled web of friends raised in the spotlight—or at least close enough for good lighting—as they stumble into adulthood one brunch, breakup and spontaneous decision at a time,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
Other cast members include Ariana Biermann, Gia Giudice, Riley Burruss and Brooks Marks, who team up with rising stars Ava Dash, Shai Fruchter, Georgia McCann, Hudson McLeroy and Charlie Zakkour.
What People Are Saying
D’Spain, on Instagram: “Time to be messy.”
Giudice, on Instagram: “The news is finally out, I’m so excited!”
What Happens Next
Next Gen NYC will premiere at 9 p.m. ET June 3 and air on Peacock the next day.