Current index status
#37 in the live index.
The rating reflects current verified work and prestige weighting. It is an editorial assessment, not a judgement of personal worth.
Index Rating · Medium confidence · evidence reviewed
84.5
- Runway · 40%
- 81
- Campaigns · 30%
- 87
- Editorial · 20%
- 86
- Cultural aura · 10%
- 88
01 / Why they matter
What Hari is known for.
Gucci runway, campaign and editorial visibility
02 / Career record
Early life
Hari Nef was born on 21 October 1992 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to advertising executive David Neff and Robin Clebnik, and was raised from age two in Newton, Massachusetts, after her parents’ divorce. She graduated from Newton South High School and earned a B.A. in Theater from Columbia University in May 2015.
03 / Career record
Entering modelling, 2014–2016
Nef’s runway debut came in Spring 2015 at New York Fashion Week, for Hood By Air and Eckhaus Latta, and she signed with IMG Models that May — reported as the first openly transgender model on the agency’s roster. Her early runway work also included Adam Selman, VFiles, Vejas and Degen. In September 2016 she appeared on the cover of Elle UK, reported as the first openly transgender woman to appear on a major British magazine cover.
04 / Career record
A parallel acting career, 2015–2023
Alongside modelling, Nef built a significant acting career, most notably as Tante Gittel in Amazon’s Transparent, a role writer-creator Joey Soloway wrote for her, earning a 2016 Screen Actors Guild ensemble nomination. In January 2017 she fronted L’Oréal Paris’s True Match campaign alongside Blake Lively. Her film and television credits expanded through the following years with Assassination Nation and Mapplethorpe in 2018, You the same year, And Just Like That... in 2022, and a role in HBO’s The Idol in 2023, the same year she appeared as Doctor Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
05 / Career record
Recent record
Nef walked nine runway shows during New York Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer 2023 season, and continues to combine modelling with an active acting and theatre career, including a 2018–19 New York stage debut in "Daddy" at The New Group and a 2023 run of "The Seagull/Woodstock, NY" alongside Parker Posey. She remains represented by IMG Models.
06 / At a glance
Quick facts.
- —Born 21 October 1992 in Philadelphia; raised in Newton, Massachusetts; graduated Columbia University with a B.A. in Theater, 2015
- —Signed with IMG Models in May 2015, reported as the first openly transgender model on the agency’s roster
- —Fronted Elle UK’s September 2016 cover, reported as the first openly transgender woman on a major British magazine cover
- —Played Tante Gittel in Amazon’s Transparent, a role earning a 2016 SAG Award ensemble nomination
- —Fronted L’Oréal Paris’s True Match campaign alongside Blake Lively in January 2017
- —Played Doctor Barbie in the 2023 film Barbie
07 / Current index evidence
Why is Hari Nef ranked #37?
- Gucci runway, campaign and editorial visibility.
- Eligibility reviewed against work and public visibility in the 2021–2026 window; booking-level citations are maintained in the linked industry and biographical records.
Confidence: Medium confidence · evidence reviewed. Scores may change when a source is corrected or new work enters the current window.
Facts on this page are drawn from public work records and industry press, and summarised in our own words. This is an independent editorial profile — it is not endorsed by the subject, their agencies, or the brands named. Last reviewed 2026-07-14. Corrections: desk@thecastindex.com.