Transgender people are making themselves known more and more. Transgender people have always been courageous; however, many are now also becoming famous for what they are doing and how they are doing it. Younger people are no longer accepting arbitrarily-imposed definitions of gender identity or sexual orientation. In general, they are much more fluid about these things. They realize that these personal feelings are truly up to each individual. Diversity is amazing. It is what makes human beings so interesting. Here is our list of twenty famous celebrities who are surprisingly transgender for all kinds of intriguing and wonderful reasons:
Alexis (formerly Robert) Arquette
ebay This actor played Caligula, the Roman emperor famous for his debauchery. He lived his life in a similar wild and crazy way. He acted in over 40 movies including Pulp Fiction. He performed as a female impersonator called Eva Destruction. He transitioned to female in his late thirties. In 2016, at the age of 47, he died of a heart attack caused by HIV.
T13 Up next: Actress, outed by a former schoolmate, becomes even more popular.
Alicia Liu
youtube Alicia Liu is a popular model and television personality in Taiwan. She was born male but underwent sexual reassignment surgery when she reached 18. During 2010, a jealous schoolmate posted a graduation photo online, showing her as a boy. In response, she held a press conference to answer questions about her sex change. Because of her honesty, her fan base grew enormously.
youtube Up next: Cute teenage boy becomes a gorgeous woman.
Amelia Maltepe
kichometkar Amelia Maltepe is originally from Bangladesh. She was raised by a strict Muslim family, so she had to get away from them t become female. She went to Canada to make her transition. She dreams of becoming Miss Teenage World. She is a very popular model and is now considered one of the most successful transsexuals in the world.
twitter Up next: The success of an androgynous supermodel.
Andreja Pejić
FashionStraightUp Andrej Pejić was born in Yugoslavia. He went to Australia, where he became a supermodel because of his androgynous look. People who saw his photos would wonder if they were looking at a beautiful boy or a girl. In 2013, he transitioned to become a woman. She is one of the most recognized transgender models in the world.
NYDailyNews Up next: World-class female pole vaulter becomes a sexy-looking man.
Balian Buschbaum
culturehook Balian Buschbaum is from Germany. As a female, Buschbaum won first place for pole-vaulting in the 1999 European Junior Championship. He achieved 6th place in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. During 2002 and 2003 he won 2nd and 3rd place in European championships. In 2007, he had to retire from the sport, due to injuries. He underwent sexual reassignment to become a male during late 2008.
pinterest Up next: Former Olympic athlete becomes female while being part of the Kardashian clan.
Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner
nydailynews Bruce Jenner’s transition from male to female was played out in front of a huge television audience because he (now she) is part of the television reality show called Keeping Up With the Kardashians. For quite some time, everyone was aware of his desire for a sex change. When he underwent the surgical procedure and then afterward appeared, looking radiant, as Caitlyn Jenner on the cover of Vogue magazine; this was an amazing moment that got everyone’s attention.
vogue Up next: A reluctant spokesperson for the LGBT community.
Candis Cayne (formerly Brendan McDaniel)
culturehook Candis Cayne was born male as Brendan McDaniel in Hawaii. She has been performing in drag clubs in NYC since the 1990s. She was in hit comedic movies such as Wigstock and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. She played a transgender character in the ABC primetime hit Dirty Sexy Money. She says that she is not trying to be a spokesperson for the transgender community, even though she does plenty to support LGBT rights. She wants to simply live well and be a happy person_._
facebook Up next: A “she-male” who makes RuPaul upset.
Carmen Carrera
culturehook Carmen Carrera has been on RuPaul’s Drag Race and the spin-off called RuPaul’s Drag U. She got into a spat with RuPaul over the use of the term “she-male’ to describe some drag queens, which Carrera considers derogatory. She also objected to RuPaul’s use of the word “tranny.” Many thought Carrera was “biting the hand that feeds her,” when she continued to protest over RuPaul’s usage of words that she considers to be transphobic. Carrera was not fazed and the fans seemed to support her position.
pinterest Up next: Boy born with extra chromosomes.
Caroline Tula Cossey
pinterest Caroline Cossey was born male; however, she had a distinctive pattern of extra chromosomes. A regular male has the XY pattern. A regular female has the XX pattern. She has an XXXY pattern. She always felt more female than male. She underwent her transition starting when she was 18. She worked for many years as a “female” model and even got a role in a James Bond movie as one of the Bond “girls.” She was outed by the press. After her status, as transgender person become publicly known, she got a centerfold spread in Playboy magazine due to all the publicity. She was the first transgender person featured in Playboy.
scoopnest Up next: Cute daughter of pop singers grows up to be a plus-sized man.
Chaz Bono
Chastity Bono, who later shortened her name to Chaz when she transitioned to become a man, is the daughter of the singing duo Sonny and Cher. As a cute young girl, she regularly appeared on a popular television show starring her parents. They doted over her, especially her dad. As a young adult, she transitioned to become a man and then became a tireless spokesperson for LGBT rights along with gaining a significant amount of weight.
Up next: Doctor who performs sexual reassignment surgeries waited twenty years for her chance.
Dr. Marci Bowers
Marci Bowers wanted to transition from male to female when she was 19 but could not afford it. She was top of her class at the university and became a doctor in gynecology. She waited twenty years before she was able to get her own procedure done. She first worked delivering babies and then worked with the pioneer of sexual reassignment surgery, Dr. Stanly Biber, who performed over 4,000 of these surgeries. Dr. Biber retired in 2003 at the age of 80. Dr. Bowers continues the practice in Burlingame, California. Most consider her to be the finest expert on sexual reassignment surgery in America.
Up next: Mixed Martial Arts fighter has to battle to fight as a female.
Fallon Fox (formerly Boyd Burton)
Fallon Fox was born male and did all the typical boy things. As a child, he was physically very strong. He grew up, married a woman, had a baby, and joined the Navy to support his family. In spite of this, he wanted to be female. When he got out of the military, he worked as a truck driver to earn enough money for his sexual reassignment surgery. After completing the surgery, she trained in mixed martial arts (MMA) and entered contests as a female. When everyone found out she was transgender; this created a huge national controversy. The argument was that previously being a male gave her an unfair advantage over biologically-born females. After much public debate and arguments among the officials, she was allowed to continue to fight in the MMA bouts as a female.
Up next: The first openly transgender model for the IMG modeling agency.
Hari Nef
When Hari Nef signed on at the IMG modeling agency, this was a first for a transgender person. Many other firsts followed, such as being on the cover of Elle magazine and starring in television commercials for L’Oréal. Transgender supermodels and others who have an androgynous look are now changing the definitions of what we consider to be beautiful. Hari Nef is one of the supermodels who is leading the way.
Up next: Trans woman competes in a major television fashion show.
Isis King
Isis King was the first transgender person to compete on the reality television show called America’s Next Top Model. At the time of her audition for the show, King was a homeless teenager in New York City living in a shelter. Her main modeling practice came from performing in the underground “Ball” dance events held in nightclubs. Out of the hundreds who auditioned, she was selected by Tyra Banks. She made it to the finals, where she ended up with tenth place.
Up next: World-champion male power-lifter becomes female.
Janae Marie Kroc
Janae Marie Kroc was a power-lifter before he transitioned to being a female. During 2009, Kroc set the world record for males in his weight class by power-lifting a total of 2,551 pounds in three events. In the past, he was a marine and served on President Clinton’s security team. After he transitioned to female, Muscle & Fitness magazine ran a positive story about it. This was the first time that a transgender person was featured in that magazine.
Up next: Being a sex worker as a teen to save money for sexual reassignment surgery.
Janet Mock
Janet Mock started her transition from male to female when she was a senior in high school. She was raised in Hawaii. She worked as a prostitute to save the money needed for her surgery. She wrote a best-selling book about her experiences called Redefining Realness. As a professional, she now works as an editor for People magazine.
Up next: How a boy, who mean students called an “it,” became a beautiful teenage girl.
Jazz Jennings
Jazz Jennings is one of youngest transgender persons to gain national attention. She became a YouTube sensation by posting videos called I am Jazz where she honestly and openly talks about things she experiences as a transgender person. She has a kind of light-hearted sweetness that is very compelling to watch. Because of her enormous following on YouTube, TLC created a reality show about Jazz, her family, and her life as a teenager facing transgender issues.
Up next: Acceptance of a transgender’s entry into Miss Universe beauty pageant.
Jenna Talackova
Jenna Talackova wanted to enter the Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant but was denied the chance because she is transgender. In 2012, she sued the promoters in order to be able to enter the contest. She had completed her sexual reassignment surgery five years prior. The case did not have to go to the courts. The promoters recognized that the Canadian government officially considered her to be female and therefore she could enter. She made it to the top 12 but not the top 5.
Up next: Woman who partially transitioned to being a man becomes pregnant.
Thomas Beatie
Thomas Beatie is the first transgender male to become pregnant. He was making his transition from female to male when he and his wife decided they wanted a baby. They used artificial insemination to get Beatie pregnant. Beatie ended up divorcing his first wife and then he re-married. In total, he had four children that he raises with his new wife. Beatie considers himself to be a man, even though his reproductive parts are still female.
Up next: Two brothers, who directed some of the greatest science fiction movies of all time, become sisters.
Lana and Lilly Wachowski
The Wachowski brothers co-directed the science fiction film series called the Matrix and its sequels. The films were hugely popular. While continuing to work on other film projects together, one of the brothers, the older of the two, Larry, decided to have a sex change. He became Lana Wachowski. Not very long thereafter, the younger brother, Andy, decided that he wanted to have a sex change too. He became Lilly. The two of them continue to work on films together; however, now as the Wachowski sisters.
