Elon Musk's transgender daughter steps into the spotlight

21-year-old transgender model Vivian Wilson, Elon Musk's eldest daughter, stands at approximately 6 feet tall. She previously petitioned the court to change her name and sever ties with her father.

Vivian Wilson graces the cover of The Cut's fall issue, marking her arrival as a fresh face in international modeling.

In early September, the magazine revealed Elon Musk's eldest daughter as one of its cover stars. In an in-depth interview, she discussed her childhood, current life, and future aspirations. Wilson also addressed the conflict with her father, stemming from his past remarks considered discriminatory towards the transgender community and her gender identity.

Born in 2004 as Xavier Alexander Musk, Wilson publicly came out as transgender at 16. She is the eldest of Elon Musk's 14 children and has a twin brother. Her mother, Justine Wilson, is a Canadian novelist and Musk's first wife. The couple had six children together. Two years before Vivian's birth, they lost their first son at 10 weeks old. In 2008, Elon Musk and Justine divorced, sharing custody of their five surviving children.

A younger Vivian (right) poses with her father, his second wife, actress Talulah Riley, and her twin brother, Griffin. According to Vivian, Elon Musk announced his engagement to Riley six weeks after divorcing her mother. The couple first married in 2010, divorced in 2012, remarried in 2013, and finally separated three years later. Image: AP

At 18, the conflict between Vivian and her father escalated. In 2022, she filed a petition to legally change her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson and affirm her female gender identity. In the court documents, she stated she no longer lived with her father and wished to have no relationship with him whatsoever.

Wilson enjoys learning languages and speaks French, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese. She briefly attended university in Quebec, Canada, to improve her French. Finding life there unfulfilling, she transferred to Temple University's Tokyo campus to study Japanese. After a year and a half, she left, disliking living alone. In early 2024, she returned to Los Angeles to live with her mother.

Despite being the daughter of one of the world's richest individuals, the magazine notes that Wilson still worries about finances. She hopes to enroll in a community college in the fall to continue her language studies, citing lower tuition costs compared to traditional universities. "College is expensive, and I don’t have that inheritance," she added.

She expressed a desire to save money and avoid relying too heavily on her mother. Currently, Wilson lives independently with three roommates to reduce expenses. "People think I have a ton of money. In reality, I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw around," she said.

The model wears Miu Miu in Dazed magazine's September issue. Her hair has been compared to Rapunzel's.

In May, Wilson made her modeling debut in a campaign for the fashion brand Wildfang. She had previously appeared in Teen Vogue and Carcy. According to The Cut, Wilson is signed with talent agency CAA and is exploring the influencer industry. In June, she participated in a show by drag queen Pattie Gonia in Los Angeles.

Vivian Wilson at Interview magazine's LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebration in Los Angeles in June.

Speaking to The Cut, Wilson stated she doesn't "aspire to be a super-rich person." She explained, "I can pay for food. I have friends, a place to live, and disposable income. This life is good and fortunate compared to many people my age in Los Angeles."