Leyna Bloom Named Miss Tribeca NY USA, Reflects on Evolving Nature of Pageantry

The actress’s newest film ‘ATTAGIRL’ premiered at Tribeca Film Festival last weekend.

Leyna Bloom was photographed by Amanda Pratt in Dominica. / Amanda Pratt/Sports Illustrated

Leyna Bloom is on a roll. The actress, model and activist made waves at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where she premiered her short film, ATTAGIRL, and was crowned Miss Tribeca NY USA. The pageant win qualifies her to compete at Miss New York USA later this year—a full-circle moment that blends her passion for performance, identity and storytelling.

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A post shared by Leyna Bloom (@leynabloom)

“Just following my dreams✨,” Bloom captioned a celebratory Instagram post. “Still processing the magic of this moment.”

The multihyphenate, who made history as the first transgender cover model for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2021, is once again breaking barriers. “To represent Tribeca both on screen and on stage feels like a full circle dream where art, identity, and transformation meet,” the Illinois native wrote. “Thank you to our visionary director @klimovski_ for trusting me with the opportunity to lead such a beautiful and bold piece. Telling this story was an honor and a reminder of the kind of art I want to keep creating.”

The short film, in which Bloom plays the lead, was included in Tribeca’s “Shorts: NY Off Peak” program and follows a high-heeled rampage through Chinatown and Brooklyn. Directed by Chris Klimovski, the film centers around Siren, “the baddest b---- in all of New York,” who runs the city’s underworld alongside her fierce crew: Viper, Vixen and The Boss. When someone named Scumbag tries to escape a $22K debt, Siren tracks him down—ready to collect far more than just money.

The project, Klimovski notes, was designed to reclaim queer power and “reshape a cinematic system that was never built for our stories.” He explains: “Queer people aren’t just ‘resilient’—we’re powerful... unstoppable. And that’s exactly how we should see ourselves on screen... push us and we’ll push back.”

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Bloom has long been a trailblazer across industries. The Port Authority star, who made her feature film debut at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, was the first transgender woman of color in a leading role at the prestigious event. The SI Swimsuit legend, who has posed for the magazine four separate years, has modeled for Dior, H&M, Moschino and Tommy Hilfiger, and made history again in 2019 as the only trans model to walk in Paris Fashion Week, appearing in the Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya show. She’s also a professionally trained dancer, hairstylist and makeup artist.

Growing up, pageants were an unspoken dream, Bloom revealed. “I was always in awe of how deeply pageantry is woven into my Filipino🇵🇭 culture—the grace, the strength, the commitment, the storytelling behind every walk,” she continued. “I admired it quietly from the sidelines, never feeling like there was space for someone like me in that world. Until now.”

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A post shared by Chris Klimovski (@klimovski_)

Now, she’s using her platform to redefine what representation looks like. “Pageantry is evolving✨ and I’m proud to walk as a reflection of that shift where visibility becomes power and identity takes center stage,” she wrote. “Because dreams, confidence and impact don’t have an expiration date.”

For Bloom, this moment isn’t just about the crown. “It is about legacy. It is about representation,” she explained. “It is about carving out space for those who were never told they belonged but showed up anyway✨ … I don’t just want to be seen. I want to shift what’s possible. Let’s make history beautifully 💫.”