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Lili Elbe

Lili Elbe (28 December 1882 in Vejle, Denmark – 13 September 1931 in Dresden, Germany) was a possibly intersexed person and one of the first identifiable^[1] recipients of male to female sex reassignment surgery.^[2] Elbe was born in Denmark. Born as Einar Mogens Wegener, she presented as male for most of her life and was a successful artist with that name. After transitioning, however, she took the name Lili (some sources state Lily) Elbe.

Elbe's year of birth is sometimes stated as 1886. This appears to be from the book about her, which has some facts changed to protect the identities of the persons involved. Factual references to Gerda Gottlieb's life indicate that the 1882 date is correct as they clearly married while at college in 1904.^[3][4]

Lili and Gerda[link]

Lili met Gerda Gottlieb at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen^[5] and they married in 1904, when Lili was 22 and Gerda 19.^[3] The two of them worked as illustrators, with Lili specializing in landscape paintings while Gerda illustrated books and fashion magazines.

They both traveled through Italy and France, eventually settling in Paris in 1912, where Lili could live openly as a woman and Gerda could be actively lesbian.^[3] Lili Elbe received Neuhausens prize in 1907 and exhibited at Kunstnernes Efteraarsudstilling (the Artists Fall Exhibition), Vejle Art Museum and in the Saloon and Salon d'Automme in Paris. She is represented at Vejle Art Museum in Denmark.^[6]

Lili[link]

Lili Elbe was "born" one day while filling in for Gerda's absentee model; Gerda asked Lili to wear stockings and heels so that she could substitute Einar's legs for those of her model. Lili felt surprisingly comfortable in the clothing.^[6] Over time, Gerda became famous for her paintings of beautiful women with haunting almond-shaped eyes dressed in chic fashions. In approximately 1913, the unsuspecting public was shocked to discover that the model who had inspired Gerda's depictions of petite femmes fatales was in fact Lili.^[3]

After that, in the 1920s and 1930s Wegener regularly presented as a woman, attending various festivities and entertained guests in her house as Lili Elbe. One of the things Lili liked to do was to disappear, wearing her modeling fashions into the streets of Paris in the throngs of revelers during the Carnival.^[7][8] Only her closest friends knew that she was transsexual and to others, Elbe was introduced by Gerda as Einar's sister.^[2]

Surgeries[link]

In 1930 Elbe went to Germany for Sex Reassignment Surgery, which was only in an experimental state at the time. A series of five operations were carried out over a period of two years.^[8]

The first surgery, removal of the testicles (orchiectomy), was made under the supervision of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin.^[8]

The rest of Elbe's surgeries were carried out by Dr. Kurt Warnekros in the Dresden Municipal Women's Clinic. The second operation was to remove the penis, and transplant ovaries, which were taken from a 26-year-old woman. These were soon removed in a third then fourth operation, due to rejection and other serious complications.^[9] The fifth operation was to transplant a uterus and was intended to allow Elbe, then nearing the age of 50, to become a mother. She soon after died of transplant rejection.^[10][11]

Gender identity[link]

It is believed that Elbe was probably intersexed; and may have had Klinefelter's Syndrome or some other SRY gene transfer condition.^{[citation needed]} As most of the known intersex conditions were not formally identified until after Lili's death, it is difficult to be exact. She certainly had a feminine body and facial features that allowed her to pass as a young woman better than she passed as a man. When presenting in public as a man, she was often taken for a young woman masquerading as a man in trousers.^[11]

A Dresden doctor claimed to have noticed rudimentary ovaries and pre-operative blood tests indicated large amounts of female hormones at the expense of the male ones. During surgery, evidence of both male and female organs were found within her body.^[10]

Legal identity[link]

At the time of Elbe's surgery her case was already a sensation in newspapers of Denmark and Germany. The King of Denmark invalidated the Wegeners' marriage in October 1930, and Elbe managed to get her sex and name legally changed, including receiving a passport as Lili Elbe. She also stopped painting believing it to be something that only Einar did.

Gerda Wegener went on to marry an Italian military officer, aviator, and diplomat, Major Fernando "Nando" Porta, and move to Morocco, where she would learn of the death of Elbe, whom she described to a friend as "my poor little Lily [sic]" (by contrast, she described her second husband as "a magnificent, splendid and peerless hunk of man").^[12] After living for several years in Marrakech and Casablanca, the Portas divorced, and Gerda returned to Denmark, where she died in 1940.

After the dissolution of the Wegeners' marriage, Elbe accepted a proposal from an unknown man, which she intended to follow up as soon as she would be able to become a mother.^[10]

Death[link]

Elbe died in 1931, due to complications three months after her fifth and last operation. This operation was designed to carry a child, and entailed the transplantation of a uterus.^[11] Her cause of death is believed to have been transplant rejection. She is buried in Dresden, Germany.

In popular culture[link]

The Danish Girl, David Ebershoff's 2001 novel about Lili Elbe was an international bestseller and was translated into a dozen languages. The novel is being developed for the screen The Danish Girl by producers Gail Mutrux and Neil LaBute. It was announced that Nicole Kidman will be playing the role of Lili. Charlize Theron was originally slated to play the role of Gerda,^[13] but Gwyneth Paltrow took over for her^[14] only to later pull out for personal reasons.^[15] The new replacement is Rachel Weisz.^[16] Regardless of who plays the part of Lili, the transgender community frowns upon cisgender actors portraying transgender people.

In music, The Stripper Project released "Filthy Wonderful" in 2008, inspired by the story of Lili Elbe.^{[citation needed]}

MIX Copenhagen - LesbianGayBiTrans Film Festival gives every year four awards (best feature, best documentary, best short, audience's favorite) named Lili after Lili Elbe.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Man into Woman, a book about the life of Lili Elbe (edited by Ernst Ludwig Hathorn Jacobson using the pseudonym Niels Hoyer) was published in 1933. The book also uses pseudonyms for her friends. ISBN 0-9547072-0-6
• Schnittmuster des Geschlechts. Transvestitismus und Transsexualität in der frühen Sexualwissenschaft by Dr. Rainer Herrn (2005), pp. 204–211. ISBN 3-89806-463-8. German study containing a detailed account of the operations of Lili Elbe, their preparations and the role of Magnus Hirschfeld.

External links[link]

• Sabine Meyer: Mit dem Puppenwagen in die normative Weiblichkeit. Lili Elbe und die journalistische Inszenierung von Transsexualität in Dänemark. In: NORDEUROPAforum 20 (2010:1-2), 33-61. Article in German scholarly journal

Charlize Theron
Theron in March 2012
Born	(1975-08-07) 7 August 1975 (age 36) Benoni, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Nationality	South African and American from 2007
Occupation	Actress, producer, director, fashion model
Years active	1995–present
Partner	Stuart Townsend (2001–2010)
Children	1
Website
www.charlizetheron.com

Charlize Theron (American English pronunciation:  /ʃɑrˈliːs ˈθɛrən/; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ʃɐrˈlis tron];^[1] born 7 August 1975) is a South African actress and fashion model. She started her acting career in the United States and rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003), becoming the first African to win an Academy Award in a major acting category. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance in North Country (2005). Theron became a US citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship.

Early life[link]

Theron was born in Benoni, in the then Transvaal Province of South Africa, the only child of Gerda (née Maritz; who has also called herself Gerta)^[2][3] and Charles Theron (born 27 November 1947).^[3] Second Boer War figure Danie Theron was her great-great-uncle.^[4] Her ancestry includes French, German, and Dutch; her French forebears were early Huguenot settlers in South Africa.^[4] "Theron" is an Occitan surname (originally spelled Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as [tron], although she has said that the way she pronounces it in South Africa is [θron].^[5] She changed the pronunciation when she moved to the U.S. to give it a more "American" sound.

She grew up on her parents' farm in Benoni, near Johannesburg.^[6] Her father died on 21 June 1991, after he was shot by Theron's mother. Theron's father, an alcoholic,^[6] physically attacked her mother and threatened both women while drunk. The shooting was legally adjudged to have been self-defense and her mother faced no charges.^[7]

Theron attended Putfontein Primary School (Laerskool Putfontein), a period she later characterised as not "fitting in".^[8] At 13, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg.^[6] Although Theron became fluent in English (which she speaks with a General American accent) around age nineteen, her first language is Afrikaans.^[9][10]

Career[link]

Though seeing herself as a dancer,^[11] Theron at 16 won a one-year modeling contract^[6] at a local competition in Salerno ^[12],^[11] and with her mother moved to Milan, Italy.^[13] After Theron spent a year modeling throughout Europe, she and her mother moved to New York City and Miami, Florida.^[13] In New York, she attended the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer until a knee injury closed this career path^[11] at 19.^[14] As Theron recalled in 2008,

I went to New York for three days to model, and then I spent a winter in New York in a friend's windowless basement apartment. I was broke, I was taking class at the Joffrey Ballet, and my knees gave out. I realized I couldn’t dance anymore, and I went into a major depression. My mom came over from South Africa and said, "Either you figure out what to do next or you come home, because you can sulk in South Africa."^[11]

Intending now to work in movies, Theron flew to Los Angeles, California, on a one-way ticket her mother bought her.^[11] During her early months there, she went to a Hollywood Boulevard bank to cash a cheque her mother had sent her to help with the rent.^[15] When the teller refused to cash it, Theron engaged in a shouting match with her.^[6] Upon seeing this, talent agent John Crosby,^[15] in line behind her, handed her his business card and subsequently introduced her to casting agents and also an acting school.^[15][16] She later fired him as her manager after he kept sending her scripts for films similar to Showgirls and Species.^[17] After several months in the city, she was cast in her first film part, a non-speaking role in the direct-to-video film Children of the Corn III (1995).^[6] Her first speaking role was a supporting but significant part in 2 Days in the Valley.^[6] Larger roles in widely released Hollywood films followed, and her career expanded in the late 1990s with box-office successes like The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999).^[6] She was on the cover of the January 1999 issue of Vanity Fair as the "White Hot Venus".^[18] AskMen named her the number one most desirable woman of 2003.^[19]

Theron at the premiere of North Country at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005

After appearing in other films, Theron starred as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003).^[6] Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema".^[20] For this role, Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004,^[21] as well as the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award.^[22] She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress.^[23] The Oscar win pushed her to The Hollywood Reporter's 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood; earning US$10 million for both her subsequent films, North Country and Æon Flux, she ranked seventh, behind Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Renée Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.^[24]

In 2005 Theron portrayed Rita, Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) love interest, on the third season of Fox's critically acclaimed television series Arrested Development.^[25] She also received Golden Globe and Emmy^[26] nominations for her role of Britt Ekland in the 2004 HBO film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. On 30 September, Theron received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[23] In the same year, she starred in the financially unsuccessful science fiction thriller Æon Flux. She also received the 2005 Spike Video Game Award for Best Performance by a Human Female for her voiceover work in the Æon Flux video game.^[27][28]

Theron received Best Actress Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her lead performance in the drama North Country.^[21][22] Ms. magazine also honoured her for this performance with a feature article in its Fall 2005 issue.^[29] She was supposed to star in the screen adaption of the short story The Ice at the Bottom of the World by Mark Richard, and it was to be directed by Kimberly Peirce^[30] and produced by Theron's company Denver and Delilah Films (Theron's two dog's names). Theron has owned the rights for many years.^[31] She was also supposed to star in a movie adaption of the graphic novel Jinx, but both projects have not been produced as of yet.^[30]

In 2008, Theron was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year.^[32] That year she also starred with Will Smith in the superhero film Hancock, and in late 2008 she was asked to be a UN Messenger of Peace by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.^[33]

In October 2009, Theron was cast to star in a sequel to the Mad Max films, titled Mad Max: Fury Road.^[34][35]

On 4 December 2009, Theron co-presented the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, accompanied by several other celebrities of South African origin. During rehearsals she drew an Ireland ball instead of France as a joke at the expense of FIFA, referring to Thierry Henry's handball controversy in the play off match between France and Ireland.^[36][37] The stunt alarmed FIFA enough for it to fear she might do it again in front of a live global audience.^[38]

Following a three-year hiatus from the big screen, Theron returned to the spotlight in 2011 with Young Adult. Directed by Jason Reitman, the film earned critical acclaim especially for Theron's performance. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and several other high profile awards.

Theron played the Wicked Queen in the film Snow White and the Huntsman, which began production in 2011 and was released in 2012.^[39]

In 2011, she described her process for becoming the characters in her film:

When I'm figuring out a character, for me it's easy, since once I say yes to something, I become super-obsessed about it – and I have an obsessive nature in general. How I want to play it starts at that moment. It's a very lonely, internal experience. I think about [the character] all the time – I observe things, I see things and file things [in my head], everything geared to what I'm going to do. I'm obsessed with the human condition. You read the script and become obsessed with [a character's] nature, her habits. When the camera rolls, it's time to do my job, to do the honest truth. You can't do that part of the [character-creation] work when you're [in the middle of] making the film. At least I can't.^[40]

Personal life[link]

Theron at the Meteor Awards in 2008

Theron has a son, Jackson, whose adoption was announced in March 2012.^[41] She lives in Los Angeles, California.^[42] Theron became a naturalised citizen of the United States in May 2007,^[43] while retaining her South African citizenship.^[44]

In the mid-1990s, Theron had a two-year relationship with actor Craig Bierko.^[45][46] From 1997 to 2001, she dated Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins.^[47] Theron then began a relationship with Irish actor Stuart Townsend, with whom she starred in Trapped (2002) and Head in the Clouds (2004).^[47] Theron and Townsend separated in January 2010 after nearly nine years together.^[48]

Health concerns[link]

While filming Æon Flux in Berlin, Germany, Theron suffered a herniated disc in her neck, which occurred as a result of her suffering a fall while filming a series of back handsprings. This required her to wear a neck collar for a month.^[49] In July 2009, Theron was diagnosed with a serious stomach virus, thought to be contracted while travelling outside the United States.^[50] She was hospitalised at Cedars-Sinai Hospital and she finished convalescing in her own home.^[51] When filming The Road, Theron injured her vocal cords during the labor screaming scenes.^[52]

Promotional deals[link]

Having signed a deal with John Galliano in 2004, Theron replaced Estonian model Tiiu Kuik as the spokeswoman in the "J'adore" advertisements by Christian Dior.^[53]

From October 2005 to December 2006, Theron earned US$3 million for the use of her image in a worldwide print media advertising campaign for Raymond Weil watches.^[54] In February 2006, she and her loan-out corporation were sued by Weil for breach of contract.^[54][55] The lawsuit was settled on 4 November 2008.^[56]

Activism[link]

Theron is involved in women's rights organisations, and has marched in pro-choice rallies.^[57]

Theron also is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. She appeared in a PETA ad for its anti-fur campaign.^[58] She is a supporter of marriage equality and attended a march to support that in Fresno, California, on 30 May 2009.

In July 2009, Theron's Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) announced a coalition with LAFC Soccer Club to give soccer fields to rural areas in South Africa. The US youth soccer club LAFC Chelsea made a three-year commitment to help build a community-wide soccer program for the schools in the Umkhanyakude district, encompassing uniforms, equipment, professional training for local coaches, referees and administrators, and health education.^[59]

In December 2009, CTAOP and TOMS Shoes partnered to create a limited edition unisex shoe. The shoe was made from vegan materials and inspired by the African baobab tree, the silhouette of which was embroidered on blue and orange canvas. Ten-thousand pairs were given to destitute children, and a portion of the proceeds went to CTAOP.^[60]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

List of awards and nominations received by Charlize Theron:

Won[link]

[edit] Monster

• Academy Award for Best Actress
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
• Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
• Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
• Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
• National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress*National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
• National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
• San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
• Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
• Silver Bear for Best Actress (tied with Catalina Sandino Moreno for Maria full of Grace)
• Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress

Nominated[link]

[edit] The Cider House Rules

• Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Movie
• Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

[edit] The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
• Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie

[edit] North Country

Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
• Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
• Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
• Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
• Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
• Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

References[link]

External links[link]

	South Africa portal
	Biography portal
	Film portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Charlize Theron

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Charlize Theron

• Official website
• Charlize Theron at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlize Theron at AllRovi
• Charlize Theron at Who's Who Southern Africa
• Charlize Theron at AskMen
• Charlize Theron at Yahoo! Movies
• Charlize Theron at People.com
• Charlize Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP)
• Charlize Theron at Emmys.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Children on Stun is the name of a gothic rock band from England. Formed in 1991, the original line-up consisted of Neil Ash, Simon Manning, Simon Treen and Pete Finnemore.