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Revision as of 13:46, 3 July 2006 by Malber (talk | contribs) (→Living individuals)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)A number of noted individuals are or were transgender.
The word transgender, for the purposes of this article, is an umbrella term that can include transmen and transwomen, who may identify themselves as transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, androgynous, cross-dressers, transvestites, drag queens, drag kings or those intersexual (some prefer hermaphroditic) people whose gender identity differs from the gender they were assigned; or people who use similar terms to describe themselves. See those pages for an explanation of these terms. People on the list have been described according to their self-identification. This article is not sorted by transgender behaviour.
Regarding historical persons, please also note that for individuals at least until the beginning of the 20th century, there were no names for transgender behaviour, and therefore we have no statements that are a clear documentation for their reasons to behave the way they did; most of the time, we have no statements by themselves at all. All we can say is that by today's standards, these people or their behaviour would be considered transgender.
The people on this list have been selected because their fame or notoriety was in some way due or connected to their transgender behaviour.
Living individuals
- Courtney Act, drag queen
- Calpernia Addams, actress, author, autobiographer, entrepreneur, activist, fiddle player
- Janice Allen, motion picture preservationist, transsexual
- Paul J. Allen, gay porn star
- Nadia Almada, Big Brother UK 2004 winner, transsexual
- Adèle Anderson, cabaret singer, actress, member of Fascinating Aida
- Enza "Supermodel" Anderson, drag performer
- Buck Angel, world's first FTM transsexual porn star
- Arcipello a British digital artist
- Alexis Arquette, actress, musician, member of the Arquette family of actors
- Nina Arsenault, writer, columnist
- April Ashley, model
- Brianna Austin, writer and gender columnist
- Mianne Bagger, golfer, transsexual woman
- Dana Baitz, musician (pianist, producer, songwriter)
- Shirley Temple Bar, drag performer
- Georgina Beyer, New Zealand's (and the world's) first transsexual mayor (1995) and member of parliament (2002)
- Joan Jett Blakk, drag performer
- Maddie Blaustein, New York-based VA and comic book writer
- Sister Boom-Boom, drag queen
- Kate Bornstein, transsexual author, playwright, performance artist and gender theorist
- Jennifer Finney Boylan, transwoman, author, and educator
- Sam Brodie, competitor in UK Big Brother 7
- Sara Davis Buechner (née David Buechner), concert pianist
- Lady Bunny, drag performer
- Charles Busch, drag performer
- Mauro Cabral, transman, educator
- Meryn Cadell, writer and singer-songwriter
- Patrick Califia, a writer
- Loren Cameron, transman, photographer
- Endry Cardeño, Colombian transsexual actor
- Wendy Carlos, American transsexual composer and electronic musician
- The Lady Chablis, drag queen
- Roberta Close, Brasilian transsexual model
- Coccinelle, French transsexual performer
- Lynn Conway, transsexual computer scientist, electrical engineer and transgender advocate
- Caroline Cossey, also Tula, British transsexual model, author, and Bond girl
- Ann Coulter, conservative columnist
- Jayne County, U.S. rock singer (previously famous as 'Wayne County')
- Ginger Coyote, San Francisco punk scenester and founder of Punk Globe magazine, singer for the White Trash Debutantes
- Jason Cromwell, trans academic, cultural anthropologist
- Jennifer Cross (née Carl Cross), computer programmer
- Katherine Cummings (née John Cummings), librarian
- Mark Angelo CummingsWriter, educator, owner of Bodies under Construction.
- Paisley Currah, trans man, educator, executive director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies and co-founder of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute
- Molly Cutpurse, English author
- Vaginal Davis, drag queen
- Delia Death, model and singer
- Andie DeRoux, transgender American artist,
- Aaron H. Devor, trans academic
- Morty Diamond, transman filmmaker and performance artist
- Dreuxilla Divine, drag queen
- Colin Kennedy Donovan, genderqueer/trans disability writer and anti-racist activist
- Aaron H. Dover, writer and educator
- Qwo-Li Driskill, writer, activist, and educator
- Michelle Dumaresq, transsexual professional mountain bicyclist
- Monet Dupree, drag performer
- Julian Eltinge, drag performer
- Jackie Enx, transsexual drummer for the heavy metal band Rhino Bucket
- Bulent Ersoy, Turkish transsexual singer
- Karine Espineira, Communication manager, Activist, Director of the trans' association Sans Contrefaçon
- Leslie Feinberg, transgender activist and author
- Jamie Faye Fenton, computer game designer
- Bibiana Fernández, Spanish transsexual actress, model, performer
- Harvey Fierstein, drag performer, Hairspray
- Jacqualine Elizabeth Gaynor, female illusionist, show promoter
- Joli(e) Ghianni, artist and filmmaker
- James Green, transman, writer & educator
- Stasha Goliaszewski, corporate activist, minister, TransPhillyRadio host and producer
- Rachael Goss a computer programmer and founder of TACT (Transgender Activists of Central Texas) and political activist
- Aidy Griffin (née Aidan Griffin), activist
- Jacob Hale, transman, philosopher
- Lauren Harries, famous as child prodigy 'James Harries'
- David Harrison, performer
- Harisu, transsexual model, singer and actress
- Mike Hernandez, writer and activist
- Blaine Paxton Hill, transman, psychic
- Jenny Hiloudaki, Greek transsexual model
- Clover Honey, drag queen
- Mary Ann Horton, (also Mark Horton), transgendered (bi-gendered) Internet pioneer
- House of Diabolique, drag queen
- Dana International, Israeli pop singer
- Eddie Izzard, comedian who cross-dresses and calls himself an "executive transvestite"
- Andrea James, transwoman, entrepreneur, film producer, screenwriter, actress, and activist
- Michelle Josef, Canadian musician
- Kamikawa Aya, or Aya KAMIKAWA Tokyo municipal official (first transgendered person to seek elected office in Japan)
- Mara Keisling, transsexual, founder of the National Center for Transgender Equality, key leader in passing several laws protecting transgender people
- Taff al-Khalifa, transsexual man, member in exile of Bahrain's royal family
- Parinya Kiatbusaba, also known as Parinya Charoenphol and Nong Thoom, kathoey (transwoman), Muay Thai (kickboxing) champion, model and actress.
- Andreas Krieger, transman, athlete
- Mado Lamotte, drag performer
- Danny La Rue, drag performer
- Jennifer Jane Leitham, transsexual jazz bassist
- Amanda Lepore, transexual icon and model
- Hedda Lettuce, drag performer
- Miss Shangay Lily, drag performer
- Shirley Q Liquor, drag queen
- Lypsinka (John Epperson), drag queen
- Christine Mancini, drag performer
- Roslyn Manley, transsexual advocate/activist, first openly out transsexual to hold elected office in the United States, elected June 2004 to Democratic Central Committee in California
- Mimi Marks,Chicago transgender entertainer
- Brini Maxwell, drag performer
- Deirdre McCloskey, noted American Economist, argued The McCloskey critique
- Siobhan Meow, member of Howard Stern's entourage, The Wack Pack
- Annah Moore, Musician, Artist, Author
- Dana Moran, NASCAR driver 1970, sprint car champion, super modified champion, advocate
- Billy More, drag queen
- Angela Morley, (née Wally Stott), composer and conductor
- Shannon Minter, transsexual man, attorney, legal director of National Center for Lesbian Rights
- Jan Morris, transsexual author, winner of English Golden Pen Award for a Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature
- Sally Mursi, first legally accepted Egyptian MTF-transsexual, see and
- Nancy Nangeroni, trans activist, GenderTalk Radio founder/producer/host, writer, musician, engineer
- Richard J. Novic, crossdresser (as Alice Novic), psychiatrist, author
- Terri O'Connell, stock car racer, previously participated in NASCAR under the name J.T. Hayes
- Kathy Padilla, transsexual, aka Kathleen Padilla, the first openly transgender official in Pennsylvania, Democratic delegate to the 2004 Democratic Presidential Convention in Boston, Commissioner Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission
- Dee Palmer, (née David Palmer), transsexual musician
- Larry Paciotti, porn movie director, transvestite
- Pauline Pantsdown, Australian drag queen and musician
- Roberta Perkins (née Robert Perkins), anthropologist
- Grayson Perry, artist whose work sometimes features his female alter ego, Claire. Winner of the 2003 Turner Prize for art
- Charles Pierce, drag performer
- Angela Piland, model
- Rachel Pollack, transsexual author
- Genesis P-Orridge, androgynous musician, performer, artist
- Mark Rees, activist
- Madame Regina, transgender author
- Jennifer Diane Reitz, computer programmer, cartoonist and gender rights advocate
- Rebecca Richards, computer programmer
- Dr. Renee Richards, transsexual, professional tennis player
- Joan Roughgarden, professor of biology; evolution and ecology expert
- RuPaul, AKA RuPaul Andre Charles, American drag queen
- Antonia San Juan, Spaniard actress.
- Fulvia Celica Siguas Sandoval the person with the most Gender Reassignment Surgeries in the world and perhaps the first transsexual in Peru
- José Sarria, drag performer, first LGBT person to run for elective office in the USA, activist, noted fund raiser for AIDS services
- Lily Savage, drag performer
- Erik Schinegger, 1966 women's world champion downhill skier for Austria
- Scott Turner Schofield, writer, performer
- Melissa Sklarz, the first openly transgender public official in New York State, Democratic county judicial delegate in Manhattan
- Fonda Shepards, drag queen
- Dean Spade, transman, attorney, and founder Sylvia Rivera Law Project
- Adrya Stembridge, musician, motocross rider
- Sandy Stone, transgender activist and author
- Susan Stryker, author and editor
- Ethan St. Pierre, transsexual man, hate crimes survivor, radio host transfm.org
- Margaret Stumpp, transsexual co-manager of Quantitative Management department at Prudential Financial Inc.
- Jolene Sugarbaker, drag queen
- Karen Taylor (aka Rodney Taylor), Australian drag queen
- Tina Dee Taylor, transgendered actor, artist and writer in Hollywood
- Terre Thaemlitz, musician
- Nicole Thomas, scientist
- Stephen Thorne, transman, police officer
- Pussy Tourette, drag performer and singer
- Miss Understood, drag performer and entrepreneur
- Pieter Dirk Uys, drag performer
- Daniel Van Oosterwijck, transman, lawyer
- Max Valerio, performer
- Kelly Van Der Veer, transsexual Big Brother Holland contestant
- Del LaGrace Volcano, transman, performer and photographer
- Megan Webb (née Lee Webb), cyclist
- Stephen Whittle, transman, lawyer, writer and educator
- Cristan Williams, transsexual, founder of the CATS TG Homeless Shelter, activist and program manager for the Houston Area Community Services' Transgender Program
- Holly Woodlawn, U.S. drag queen, part of Andy Warhol's Factory and featured in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side"
- Jin Xing, transsexual Chinese dancer
20th and 21st century individuals
- Gwen Araujo, U.S. pre-operative transsexual girl, murdered 2002
- Valerie Arkell-Smith, British soldier
- Danielle Bunten Berry, U.S. software developer, formerly Dan Bunten, author of several titles for Electronic Arts in the 1980s, died of lung cancer
- Jackie Curtis, U.S. drag queen who had a friendship with the famous pop artist, Andy Warhol
- Candy Darling, part of Andy Warhol's Factory and subject of The Velvet Underground song "Candy Says", and Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side"
- Ethyl Eichelberger drag performer, actor, performance artist
- Lili Elbe, Danish transsexual, one of the first women to undergo a crude form of sexual reassignment surgery, through five operations which were completed by 1930. Fifteen months after her final surgery, she either died from complications or faked her own death to avoid the media attention. She is the subject of the 1933 book Man Into Woman, although it is likely she was never biologically male, but rather born intersexual, supposedy with rudimentary ovaries which would conflict with the speculative diagnosis of Klinefelter's Syndrome
- Bella Evangelista, also known as Elvys Perez, drag performer who was murdered in Washington, D.C.
- Dee Farmer, transgender prison inmate
- Tyra Hunter, U.S. transsexual woman, died 1995
- Marsha P. Johnson, transgender activist, involved in Stonewall (UK), co-founder of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR).
- Frankie 'Halfpint' Jaxon, American singer and entertainer who has often sung with a female voice
- Christine Jorgensen, one of the first Americans to have sexual reassignment surgery in 1952
- Dawn Kereluik, hate crime survivor in Columbus, Ohio. Legally married in a Same-Sex Marriage to Katheryn Kereluik.
- Pepper LaBeija, Harlem, New York drag queen, subject of the documentary Paris Is Burning
- Vladimir Luxuria, member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, first transgender member of Parliament in Europe
- Cam Lyman millionaire transman, disappeared in 1987, found murdered in 1997.
- Glen Milstead, actor and drag performer also known popularly as Divine, star of many John Waters films
- Sylvia Rivera, transgender activist, resisted police at Stonewall on June 27, 1969
- Craig Russell, Canadian actor and female impersonator Outrageous
- Jeanette Schmid, World famous whistler
- Jade Hines Toronto trans-woman, personal story featured in several publications.
- Brandon Teena, U.S. transsexual boy who was murdered, subject of the film Boys Don't Cry
- Billy Tipton, woman who lived as a male jazz musician
- Ed Wood, Jr., film-maker, transvestite
Earlier historical individuals
It is often difficult to construe the gender and sexual identity of pre-modern individuals. In many societies, those whom Western society might consider homosexual or bisexual are or were considered transgendered. Therefore, see also List of famous gay, lesbian, or bisexual people.
Many of these persons cross-dressed during wartime for various purposes. Such people are covered under the article Crossdressing During Wartime.
- Herculine Barbin, 19th Century French hermaphrodite
- James Barry, female bodied surgeon who lived as a man throughout his/her life, according to some accounts in order to be able to practice medicine.
- Christina of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654 who went by the name of "Count Dohna" at one point, dressing in male attire as part of the role. Despite speculation, modern medical examinations of her remains have not uncovered any evidence of intersexuality, although such examinations might not be conclusive.
- Elagabalus, Roman Emperor
- Chevalier d'Eon, French diplomat (1728-1810) who claimed that he had been born a girl and later adopted a female persona.
Fictional individuals
- Azure C., a transsexual model on the American soap opera The City. The first transsexual portrayed on American soaps, she was played by Carlotta Chang from 1995 to 1996.
- Bree, a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual played by Felicity Huffman in the 2005 film Transamerica.
- Myra Breckinridge, transsexual character in two best-selling novels by Gore Vidal, Myra Breckinridge and Myron, and a well-known film.
- Bridget, biologically male but raised and dresses as a girl. Appears in the Guilty Gear series of fighting games.
- Liane Cartman, parent of Eric Cartman and local hermaphrodite in the fictional town of South Park
- Nuriko (born Chou Ryuuen), biologically male but living as and referred to as a woman throughout the course of the anime and manga series Fushigi Yūgi. Expresses a wish to be reincarnated as a woman.
- Chloe, pre-operative transsexual nightclub singer from the comic book How Loathsome by Ted Naifeh and Tristan Crane.
- Herbert Garrison, schoolteacher in the fictional town of South Park, who, in the Season 9 premiere, underwent sexual reassignment surgery.
- Hayley Cropper, transsexual character in the popular British soap opera Coronation Street. First transsexual portrayed on British soaps, since 1998.
- Henry "Hildegarde" Desmond, a hetero male who dresses as a woman to live in a budget "women's hotel" in the TV sitcom Bosom Buddies. Portrayed by Peter Scolari.
- Frank N. Furter, the transvestite antagonist of the cult musical Rocky Horror Show and Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- Emily Howard, the "unconvincing transvestite" character in the BBC sketch show Little Britain.
- Dorothy Michaels, a male actor posing as an actress in the film Tootsie. Portrayed by Dustin Hoffman.
- Josephine Monaghan, the protagonist of "The Ballad of Little Jo", dresses as a man to escape the bourgeois East and survive in the rugged West as a single person. Played by Suzy Amis.
- Ava Moore, transsexual character in the American drama Nip/Tuck, played by Famke Janssen from 2004.
- Roberta Muldoon, a large muscular transexual woman (former male football player) in The World According to Garp. Portrayed by John Lithgow in the film version.
- Orlando, An Elizabethan era immortal from the novel of the same name by Virginia Woolf. After 200 years, Orlando changes from a man to a woman. Also a 1993 film.
- Princess Ozma of the Land of Oz, temporarily changed into a boy, later restored to girlhood.
- Hedwig Robinson, "internationally ignored song stylist" and lead role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Nao Tsurumoto, a 15-year-old female from season 6 of the Japanese television drama 3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei who despises her female body and knows she is male inside. The season focuses heavily on Nao's trials and peer reactions throughout the 22 episode span. Played by Aya Ueto.
- Kip "Buffy" Wilson, a hetero male who dresses as a woman to live in a budget "women's hotel" in the TV sitcom Bosom Buddies. Portrayed by Tom Hanks.
- Sadako Yamamura, the genetically male psychic villain of the Ring series of novels. Victim of a birth disorder causing "her" to have a vagina and breasts. Her physical appearance was that of a very beautiful young woman. (Note: There is no evidence that the version of Sadako portrayed in the Ringu movie series, and it is even less likely that Samara Morgan of the American remake has the same condition)
- Stephen - female character in The Well of Loneliness, a novel by Radclyffe Hall. Commonly thought of as a lesbian, modern reading of the text identifies Stephen as transgendered rather than a lesbian.
- Angel Dumott Schunard, an AIDS-infected street performer in the broadway musical Rent.
- Birdo, Nintendo's Super Mario Bros 2 character who, according to the original manual, "...thinks he is a girl...He'd rather be called 'Birdetta.'" Eventually sticking with Birdo, she is currently accepted as female and is rumoured to be dating Yoshi.
- Patrick "Pussy" Braden, the heroine of Patrick McCabe's Breakfast on Pluto, which takes place in Ireland during the height of the IRA. Made into a film in 2005 starring Cillian Murphy.
Mythological figures
- Alfhild, beautiful maiden in Norse mythology who dressed as a man to avoid marrying King Alf
- Guan Yin, Bodhisattva of Compassion, who has both been depicted as male and female, and, according to the Lotus Sutra, has the ability to change form in order to help people.
- Heracles, was dressed as a woman when enslaved by Omphale
- The Norse god Thor put on the wedding gown and veil of his enemy's bride, married his enemy, and then slew him at the end of the ceremony.
- Tiresias, soothsayer to Oedipus from Greek mythology changed into a woman and back in an unrelated tale
- Pope Joan, who according to legend was a cross-dressing woman elected Catholic Pope (given the name "John VIII"), whose reign was variously attributed to several periods of history. She allegedly died or was murdered in childbirth during a papal procession. There is no evidence for her existence, and the story originates from a much later date than the purported events.
Books
- Wheelwright, Julie (1989). Amazons and Military Maids: Women Who Dressed As Men in Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness. London: Pandora Books. ISBN 0-04-440494-8
- The Mirror Makes No Sense, March 2006 ISBN 1-4259-2404-2
See also
- List of transgender-related topics
- List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people
- Transgenderism
- Category:Transgender and transsexual people
- Category:Transgender people and behavior
- Transgender in film and television