A partial list of trans women (and one man) playing trans in the movies up to 2011

With much justification we complain that trans characters in the movies are usually played by cis actors.  Two recent films that (fortunately) failed to be made, films about Lili Elba and James Barry were both intended to have a cis woman actor playing the trans characters even though Elbe was a woman, and Barry a man. 

There are groups that have this worse than we do.   Apart from Christopher Reeve after his accident, how many disabled characters are played by disabled actors?

This is a short list where trans actors of different types have played trans characters.  I have not included professional gender impersonators here.   A much longer list from Vesta Tilly to Julian Eltinge to RuPaul could be created, but that is not what this list is about.  Nor, with one or two exceptions, does this list include documentaries, nor trans actors in cis roles.

It is no accident that is list is more World Cinema than Hollywood.

Kazuo Hasegaw in Yukinojo Henge (Actor’s Revenge), 1935
Ed Wood in Glen or Glenda, 1952.
Kazuo Hasegaw in Yukinojo Henge (Actor’s Revenge), 1963.
Rachel Harlow, Crystal LaBeija, Sabrina in The Queen, 1968.
Carlotta in The Naked Bunyip, 1970.
Bibiana Fernandez in Cambio de Sexo, 1977.
Jayne County in Jubilee, 1977.
Eva Robin’s in El Transexual, 1977
Angie Stardust in Die Alptraumfrau, 1981.
Angie Stardust, Jayne County, Tara O’Hara in Stadt der Verlorenen Seelen, 1983.
Georgina Beyer in Jewel’s Darl, 1985.
Shelley Mars in Die Jungfrauen-maschine, 1988
Eva Robin’s, Romy Haag in Mascara, 1989.
Alessandra di Sanzo in Mery per sempre, 1989.
Alexis Arquette in Last Exit to Brooklyn, 1989.
International Chrysis in Q & A, 1990.
Doris Fish in Vegas in Space, 1991.
Adele Anderson in Company Business, 1991.
Estelle Asmodelle in Secret Fantasies, 1992.
Ichgola Androgyn, Tima die Goettliche, Ovo Maltine in Ich Bin Meine Eigene Frau, 1992.
Eva Robin’s in Bella al Bar, 1995.
Lady Chablis in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, 1997.
Tima die Goettliche in Der Einstein des Sex, 1999
Antonia San Juan in Todo sobre mi madre, 1999.
Ingrid de Souza in Princesa, 2001.
Lauren Foster in Circuit, 2001.
Kokkorn Benjathikoon in Satree lek (Iron ladies), 2001.
Kokkorn Benjathikoon in Satree lek 2 (Iron ladies 2), 2001.
Florencia de la Vega in Los Roldan, 2004.
Stephanie Michelini in Wild Side, 2004
Alexis Arquette in Lords of Dogtown, 2005.
Bobby Darling in Navarasa, 2005
Raquela Rios in The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, 2008.
Lee Na-young in Lady Daddy, 2010.
Yasmin Lee in The Hangover II, 2011.
Harmony Santana in Gun Hill Road, 2011.

Trans persons acting in soap operas, telenovelas and other dramatic serials on television up to 2009

This is a first cut as such a list.   Feel free to add what is missing.


Guilda played Chevalier D’Eon in L'amour humain, 1970, Cinepix.
Carlotta played Robin Ross in Number 96, 1973, Network 10

Carlotta, then pre-op, was already a star in the Les Girls revue in Sydney.  She acted six episodes under the name Carolle Lea, and her identity was kept secret from cast and crew.  When Robin’s boyfriend asks her to marry him, she admits that she had previously been male.  The next day the switchboard at Channel 10 was jammed by viewers wanting to know whether the actor was male or female.

Christopher Morley played Sally Armitage in General Hospital, 1980, ABC

Morley played a friend of one of the main characters for three months, and attracted flirtatious interest of a male character.  This was played straight until she revealed that she was a “man”.  Some say that this was the inspiration for the movie Tootsie, two years later, where the Dustin Hoffman character impersonates a woman to get a job in the soap opera Southwest General Hospital.

Lily Savage played Roxanne in The Bill, 1988-90, Thames Television
Jahna Steele played Candace La Rue in NYPD Blue, 1995, Fox.
Karen Dior played Artiphys in Xena: Warrior Princess, 1997, Universal
Karen Dior played Monica/Dennis in Veronica’s Closet, 1998, NBC
Alexis Arquette played Cleo in The Strip, 1999, Warner Bros
Florencia De la Vega played Florencia de la Suciata in Amor Latino, 2000, Central Park
Alexis Arquette played Jim in Felicity, 2000, WB Television
Alexis Arquette played Caligula in Xena: Warrior Princess, 2001, Universal
Letitia Winter played herself in Emmerdale, 2001, Yorkshire Television
Alexandra Billings played Lois in Karen Sisco, 2003, ABC.

Alexandra’s Wikipedia page says “She is the first trans woman to have played a transgender character on television”.  Which is obviously not true.

Florencia De la Vega played Laisa Roldán in Los Roldán, 2004, Televisión Federal
Alexandra Billings played Ms Mitchell in ER, 2005, NBC
Alexandra Billings played Donna Gibson in Grey’s Anatomy, 2006, ABC
Candis Cayne played Carmelita Rainer in Dirty Sexy Money, 2007-8, ABC
Alexandra Billings played Joanna in Eli Stone, 2008, ABC
Alexis Arquette played lady in jail in Californication, 2008, Showtime
Pequeña P. in El ángel, 2009, Universidad Iberoamericana

This was terminated by Pequeña’s real-life suicide.