“Before most people had ever even heard of the transgender community, there was Lauren in the pages of VOGUE, already reshaping what it means to be a beautiful woman. Lauren Foster continues to be a remarkable trailblazer on the path to equality and I am left both humbled & honored to call her my friend."- Herndon Graddick, President of GLAAD

Foster grew up in Durban, South Africa. Through her early years and puberty, she identified as female and was diagnosed with Klinefelter's syndrome, where she had the genotype XXY. With the love and support of her family, Lauren began transitioning in her teens. By seventeen, she was receiving hormone therapy, living full-time as a female. Foster's parents were supportive and empathetic, paying for her gender confirming surgery, at the age of 18.

Foster began an active social life as a woman, taking care to conceal her past. A childhood friend remembers, "At this time, I never saw anyone as much a project under construction as Lauren. One usually does that type of evolution on the wings of our personalities, but with Lauren you could almost see the plumbing and the wires as she transitioned in full view, like a chrysalis. She transformed herself and found untold success in her new role. Once her career took her to Europe, she never looked back."

She worked extensively as a model in Europe, South America and the USA, appearing in top magazines such as VOGUE (Mexico). A tabloid journalist contacted her, revealing he had discovered her past, and planned to write about it. Other journalists researched her past, attempting to interview her family members and friends. She gave an interview, on the advice of an agent, thinking it would be better if she took control of the story. The story was picked up by Reuters. Tabloids like BUNTE, GLOBE and other international press ran the story, "REVEALED; VOGUE MODEL WAS A MAN!".

Described by her friend, Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn, as the "It Girl for the Trans community", her world was the glittering mosaic of New York's downtown scene. Her liaisons with rockstars, royalty, international politicians and as a confidante to other rich and infamous were tabloid fodder. She was a regular at Studio 54 on the East Coast and the Playboy Mansion on the West. "Whether she's partying at Hugh Hefner's Mansion, stuck in a lift with Grace Jones or modeling minks for Hollywood wives, she remains a goddess of the radiant night"