Transgender YouTube Star Gigi Gorgeous: How My Mom's Death Inspired Me to Transi

[stephaniec]

Transgender YouTube Star Gigi Gorgeous: How My Mom's Death Inspired Me to Transition

http://www.people.com/article/gigi-gorgeous-youtube-transition-mothers-death

People/By Patrick Gomez  @PatrickGomezLA 09/09/2015 AT 02:15 PM EDT

"Gigi Lazzarato was just 19 years old when she lost her mother to cancer.

The YouTube sensation – better known to her 1.7 million subscribers as Gigi Gorgeous – had always had a close relationship with her mom, but there was one secret Lazzarato had kept from her: she is transgender.

"I never got to say it to her face," says Lazzarato, now 23, says in the latest issue of PEOPLE. "[Her death] made me realize, 'Life is too short to not do what you want to do. Let's become the most authentic you that you can be."