Transgender beauty contestant Jenna Talackova crowned grand marshal of Vancouver Pride Parade

Beth Hong

Posted: Jul 17th, 2012

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Jenna Talackova (center), Miss Universe Canada's first transgender contestant, will lead Vancouver's Pride Parade 2012 as grand marshal. Photo credit: JennaTalackova.ca.

Jenna Talackova was crowned one of three grand marshals of the 2012 Vancouver Pride Parade, which takes place on August 5.

The 23 year old Vancouver-based model made headlines in May when she filed a lawsuit against the Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant for disqualifying her for being born a male.

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Donald Trump was forced to rewrite the rules regarding transgender contestants after heavy public pressure to allow Talackova to participate. Talackova made it to the Top 12 and won the Miss Congeniality award.

Also getting the honor of leading the parade as grand marshal are Bill Monroe, LGBT sport advocate and co-founder of the Starry Night fundraiser for People with AIDS, and the late David Holtzman, former director of Vancouver Queer Film festival and A Loving Spoonful.