LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympic decathlon champion formerly known as Bruce who is transitioning to life as a woman, on Monday unveiled her new name and look in a sexy pose on the cover of Vanity Fair.
"I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self," Jenner wrote in her first tweet, after the magazine released the picture by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.
"Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know her/me," added the 65-year-old, sporting a cream-coloured strapless bodysuit and long brown hair for Vanity Fair's July issue.
In a video clip of the photo shoot on the magazine's website, Jenner said: "Bruce always had to tell a lie. He was always living that lie. Every day, he always had a secret, from morning till night.
"Caitlyn doesn't have any secrets," Jenner said. "As soon as the Vanity Fair cover comes out, I am free."
The reality television star is also shown in a black evening gown in the video.
"Caitlyn Jenner" and the hashtag #CallMeCaitlyn quickly rocketed to the top of the Twitterverse, as the top trending topic in the United States and worldwide.
Jenner's new look drew comparisions with actress Jessica Lange, and the similarities between the two were so striking that Lange herself became a trending topic on twitter. The 66-year-old star, who had not seen the Vanity Fair cover, reacted positively to the comparison, saying in an interview with The Daily Beast: "That's so wonderful. Well now I'm going to have to look for that picture."
Jenner was widely praised for revealing in a television interview broadcast in April that she was transitioning to life as a woman, earning praise for coming out as transgender.
Jenner became an American sports hero by setting a world record in the decathlon in the 1976 Olympics.
But it was through a marriage to the former Kris Kardashian that Jenner once again became a household name with the reality TV series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, appearing as the sometimes bemused stepfather of her flamboyant daughters.
The couple married in 1991 and have two daughters together, Kendall and Kylie. They recently divorced.
What celebrities are tweeting about Caitlyn Jenner:
