Ervin underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2004, completing her transition. In interviews Ervin has talked about the problems of being a tall woman. Other topics she has addressed include her troubles growing up dealing with teasing in high school, family problems and her modeling experience.
In 2011 she was crowned the World's Tallest Professional Model by Guinness World Records.
In the September 2013 issue of Harper's Bazaar, Carine Roitfeld, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, wrote an article, "Carine Roitfeld's 'Singular Beauties'", with photographs by Karl Lagerfeld. The article includes 25 Models and is "an homage to the diversity of women". Among the Models are Scarlett Johansson, Carmen Dell'Orefice (82 years old), Gabourey Sidibe, and Ervin who is paired with 5'9" Xiao Wen. There is also a video about the making of the article in which Xiao Wen and Ervin appear.
