As the world continues to learn about the complexities of human identity and learns to embrace them, it is important to underscore the normalcy that, regardless of their minority status, non-regular identity people are only people. One of these identities is the queer and transgender community that has led the fight for the world’s understanding and tolerance of the LGTBTQ community. By showing the possibility that transgender people can lead fulfilling lives, some of them have become famous people in the world. There are fewer ways to achieve this normalcy than to nurture those who have found a way to lead a fulfilling life, regardless of who they are. In this list,
1. Carmen Carrera – Famous Transgender People
Very few people watching Carmen Carrera would see a woman who was a man. Carman Carrera, who is famous for a number of things including his appearance on the popular show RuPaul’s Drag Race, has been in the entertainment industry since 2011, identifying as a gay man. She, however, began to transition into a female after finishing her appearance on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She is an actress, show girl and model who is signed to Wilhelmina Models. She is an AIDS awareness activist and has participated in several events and organizations in the area of promoting gender equality and LGBTQ acceptance.
2. Janet Mock
In the transgender community, there are few names that are as well known and respected as that of Janet Mock. The Hawaii native began her transition from male to female in high school, using her earnings from a short career as a sex worker. At the age of 18, she underwent surgery and completed her transition into a woman. She was an editor at People’s magazine, and for years throughout her working life, her identity as a transgender woman was unknown until she came out in 2011.
Since then, she has used her platform to promote tolerance, racial representation and LGBT rights. As a woman who studied journalism, she wrote several articles on the subject and she also published a bestselling book, Redefining Reality. She may have been born and proclaimed male, but she’s one of the most beautiful women in the media industry and has earned her spot on our list of famous transgender people you barely recognize.
3. Laverne Cox – Famous Transgender People
The only reason Laverne Cox is recognizable as transgender is because she proudly identifies with the identity. She is one of Hollywood’s openly transgender people and becomes the first transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award as an actress. It’s one of the few ways Laverne promotes acceptance of transgender people in Hollywood and around the world. Laverne earned her Emmy nomination as the star of the Netflix show, Orange is the New Black, and if she didn’t wear her transgender badge so proudly, her beauty and elegance would make it very hard to think she was a man. This easily makes her one of the many famous transgender people you should know about.
4. Jenna Talackova
If there’s one thing that really proves how unrecognizable transgender can be, it’s a look at Jenna Talackova. The Canadian model began her transition at the age of 14 and completed it with sex reassignment surgery at the age of 19. Some have engaged in activism while others have been summoned to it. Jenna was summoned when she fought a legal battle that allowed her to compete in Miss Universe Canada in 2012.
The contest had sought to disqualify her from the field, she was transgender but she won the battle and entered the competition, placing in the top 12 and winning Miss Congeniality. Unsurprisingly, Jenna Talackova is a model, because after all, she is beautiful. She is now a recognizable name and a famous transgender person all over the world.
5. Chaz Bono
So far in this list, there have been many women who were men. Chaz Bono is a worthy break from that train. Chaz is the son of Bono and Cher. Back when being gay was considered scandalous news, Chaz was discovered by a tabloid as a lesbian when he was still a woman. Chaz, at the time, admitted and came out to the public. Although he was born in 1969 and met his parents when he was 18, he didn’t become a man until he was 41. He is a writer, musician and actor, with several creative projects like Bar Girls, where are the bears and Dirty. His solitary album with the band –Ceremony, Drag Your Poetry, was released in 1993.
6. Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
Once Laurence and Andrew Paul Wachowski, the famous Wachowski brothers who produced iconic movies like V for Vendetta, Cloud Atlas, The Matrix franchise and Sense8, completely transformed in 2008 but only made their first public appearance in 2012. As you might expect , their nickname “The Wachowski Brothers” evolved into “The Wachowski Sisters”. The duo are still part of the fabric of excellence that runs through Hollywood.
The sisters’ general reluctance to public appearances has made them some of the least recognizable public figures on the planet. Lana and Lilly, however, can be seen looking great at the Brazil Pride Parade after coming out for a string of recent public appearances to celebrate their ensemble show – Sens8
7. Chelsea Manning – Famous Transgender People
Perhaps a rather twisted way of proving just how ordinary transgender people can be as people would want to look at Chelsea Manning, an American activist and notable whistleblower who has released public documents on US military and diplomatic communications. She was found guilty and sent to prison for seven years. Chelsea, who was born Bradley Edward Manning, came out as transgender in 2013. Today, she symbolizes both the transgender community and government secrets. She also contested for the United States Senate under the Democratic Party. Today, we barely acknowledge or acknowledge the fact that she was a man.
8. Ian Harvie – Famous Transgender People
Another transgender woman on our list of Ten Famous Transgender People, Ian Harvie, who, like the majority of transgender people, developed gender dysphoria as children. He came out as a transgender man at the age of thirty-two after coming out as gay at the age of nineteen. The Portland-born comedian has appeared in several movies and TV shows, including the popular transgender-themed show, Transparent.
His comedy career saw him perform alongside comedy legend, Margaret Cho. He also toured several times alongside her and alone in service of her comedy show, The Ian Harvie Show. As a transgender man, he regularly lends his voice to the LGBTQ fight, especially in Hollywood, notably joining other famous transgender actors and actresses in a letter written to Hollywood by Jen Richards.
9. Leandra Medeiros Cerezo
She’s popularly known as Lea T and especially as a model for one of America’s biggest cosmetics brands, Redken, and that doesn’t seem like too impressive an achievement until you learn she’s the first transgender. to be the face of an American company with global reach. The Brazilian-born model, born to a man born in 2012, has transitioned and if she weren’t so proud of her transgender identity, she would be unrecognizable as a former man.
As a model, she has been featured in several magazines and shoots for different brands, including Vogue Paris, Love, Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour. Forbes described in 2015 changing the face of Italian fashion, comparing its influence to that of legendary names in the industry like Miuccia Prada and Franca Sozzani.
Although she is not an outright activist, it is through her professional accomplishments and accomplishments that she pushes for normalization and acceptance of transgender people. She was also the first famous and open transgender person to participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. She led the Brazilian Olympic team to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
10. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan – Famous Transgender People
We’ve mentioned famous transgender people in media, entertainment, the military, and now one of the notable and famous transgender figures in politics, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan. As a transgender rights advocate since college, she gained her popularity by becoming the first transgender person to work in the White House. She got the job during President Obama’s administration.
She has held various positions at the highest level of governance, serving as an LGBT liaison from 2015 to 2017 and a member of the board of directors of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. The Honduran-born activist became American after being adopted by a Jewish-American couple. One of her earliest accomplishments was helping the Massachusetts State House pass the Transgender Civil Rights Bill in November 2011. She has also served as a policy advisor for the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Hopefully one day the works of RaffiFreedman-Gurspan and other transgender activists, using their profession to create a peaceful and safe society, will create a world where transgender people and all other minority groups can live in peaceful harmony with the rest of the world.