(Newser) – "I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know her/me," Caitlyn Jenner tweeted yesterday, and she got a huge response: The former Olympian's new Twitter account gained more than 1 million followers in just over four hours, smashing a record set by President Obama less than two weeks ago, Mashable reports. "Another Jenner world record, and at 65? Who'da thought!" quipped Jenner, who's now closing in on 2 million followers. More:



Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, was one of many well-wishers, the AP reports. "The brave choice to live as your authentic self is a powerful example to so many," she said in a tweet retweeted by the White House.

Jenner, who made her public debut as Caitlyn on the July cover of Vanity Fair, discusses her transition from Bruce in the magazine's upcoming cover story and addresses critics who accuse her of cashing in with a reality series. "I'm not doing it for money. I'm doing it to help my soul and help other people," Jenner says, but "if I can make a dollar, I certainly am not stupid. [I have] house payments and all that kind of stuff. I will never make an excuse for something like that. Yeah, this is a business. You don't go out and change your gender for a television show."

To prevent leaks, the Vanity Fair story and photo shoot was surrounded by security so tight that cellphones were confiscated, the single computer used was never connected to the Internet, and it was all hand-delivered to the printer, Mashable reports.

Stylist Jessica Diehl helped Jenner choose her look for her public debut, and she tells Vanity Fair that while it wasn't easy keeping the secret for so long, the photo shoot with Jenner and Annie Leibovitz was a great experience. Jenner "was comfortable, confident, and has absolutely no reason not to be," Diehl says. "It was probably the most exciting thing to see—there was real joy in her feeling comfortable and happy in her skin."

Jenner's new name was the 421st most popular girl's name in the US last year, according to Time's rankings, though she may not meet many Caitlyns her age: There were fewer than five Caitlyns or Kaitlyns born in 1949, the same year as Jenner. The name's popularity peaked in 1998, and Time's baby name predictor forecast last year that the drop would continue—although that was before a new celebrity Caitlyn emerged.

(Read more Caitlyn Jenner stories.)