The 21-year-old trans model and activist bared all in an exclusive Cosmopolitan interview
BY HONOR WOLSTENCROFT, IMAGE VIA YOUTUBE (HYBE LABELS)
Vivian Wilson, the estranged daughter of multi-billionaire Elon Musk, has spoken out about her current lifestyle and upbringing in a new interview with Cosmopolitan, describing her childhood as “very strange and very isolating.”
The LA-based rising model opened up about being born into Musk’s extreme wealth and her choice to reject it.
“It was a very strange experience. The upper class have their own private schools, social circles and whatever,” she said.
Despite coming from enormous generational wealth, it is clear that Vivian is the polar opposite of her right-wing father, whom she simply referred to as “this guy”.
Vivian filed to legally change her name and gender back in 2022, with the then-18-year-old stating in leaked private documents that she no longer wished to be associated with Musk in “any way, shape or form.”
Musk responded two years later in a video interview with right-wing commentator Jordan Peterson, stating that Vivian was “killed by the woke mind virus.” Vivian responded by putting these words onto iconic pieces of merchandise.
After coming out, Vivian was projected into the modelling spotlight when her cover for Teen Vogue in January 2025 broke the internet. The photoshoot encouraged Vivian to step into her own light and out of her father’s shadow. “I started getting modelling opportunities, which I’m very grateful for, and now that’s how I pay my own rent.”
Despite having walked a runway for Gucci, the interview revealed that Vivian is just like any other young adult trying to find their feet. With no financial help from her family, Vivian lives a modest and simple life.
“I’m pretty introverted and chronically online,” she said, which her Threads account can vouch for.
Vivian revealed that on a typical day, she is most likely “playing video games, sketching, doomscrolling.” She also said “I don’t buy a lot of clothes, and I wear the same shirt constantly,” before addressing that she desperately needs to do her laundry.
Born and raised in LA, Vivian also touched on the diet culture that dominates the city.
“I was made fun of for my weight as a kid, but looking back on photos now… I was not even chubby. I was just born in Los Angeles,” she explains.
Confidence seemingly oozes out of Vivian, most notably seen in her drag persona of Vivillainous, but she admits that this environment impacted her life for years.
“It has very much affected me. I was a very modest person. I wouldn’t like to show my body off at all.”
Vivian also said that the internet has an obsession with “commenting on women’s bodies, especially trans women’s bodies.” But the online trolls and LA’s toxic environment haven’t held Vivian back, as she frontlined a Savage X Fenty lingerie campaign back in January.
The full interview can be read here.
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