Caroline Cossey
Encyclopedia
Caroline "Tula" Cossey is an English model
. She is one of the world's most well known transsexual women, having appeared in a James Bond
film and been the first to pose for Playboy
. Since being outed by British tabloid News of the World
, Cossey has fought for her right to legally marry and to be recognised by the law as a woman.
, and raised as male. Through puberty, Cossey was distinctly feminine in appearance due to an intersex condition known as Klinefelter's syndrome
, where, instead of having the XY male chromosome pattern, she possesses the genotype XXXY. In Cossey's autobiography My Story, she describes an unhappy childhood, where she suffered confusing feelings and bullying by peers due to her femininity. Growing up, Cossey's closest companion was her sister, Pam, with whom she played dress up in their mother's clothes. Cossey left formal schooling when she was fifteen, and found work in a clothing store and as a butcher's apprentice. At sixteen she moved to London and worked at a variety of low-wage jobs.
Cossey started transitioning after befriending a post-operative transsexual woman. By seventeen, Cossey was receiving hormone therapy
, living full-time in a female gender role
and had begun a career as a showgirl
at a London nightclub. Despite initial shock, Cossey's parents were eventually supportive. Following breast augmentation
surgery, Cossey worked as a showgirl in Paris and as a topless dancer in Rome to save up for sex reassignment surgery
(SRS). After years of hormonal and psychological treatment, and legally changing her name, Cossey had her final surgery on 31 December 1974 at Charing Cross Hospital
, London.
, though Lynam says he does not recall it. Cossey worked as a model under the name "Tula". She appeared in top magazines such as the Australian Vogue
and Harper's Bazaar
, and worked extensively as a glamour model. She was a Page Three Girl
for the British tabloid The Sun
and appeared in Playboy
in 1981.
In 1978, Cossey won a part on the British game show 3-2-1
. A tabloid journalist then contacted her, revealing he had discovered she was transsexual, and planned to write about it. Other journalists researched her past, attempting to interview her family members. Cossey dropped out of the show, convincing the producers to release her from her contract. After this incident, Cossey maintained a lower profile, accepting only smaller assignments.
Cossey was cast as an extra
in the 1981 James Bond
film For Your Eyes Only
. Shortly after the film’s release, the tabloid News of the World
came out with a front page headline that read "James Bond Girl Was a Boy." By her own accounts, Cossey was so upset she contemplated suicide. However, she continued her modelling career. Cossey responded by releasing I Am a Woman, her first autobiography
.
.
In 1985, Cossey appeared extensively in the video for The Power Station
's "Some Like It Hot
". After breaking up with Lasinio, Cossey met Elias Fattal, a Jewish businessman, who was unaware of her history until he proposed marriage on Valentine's Day 1988. When she told him, rather than rejecting her, he merely asked if she would convert to Judaism. She agreed. They were married on 21 May 1989, just weeks after the European Court of Human Rights decided legally to recognize Cossey as a woman. They returned from their honeymoon to find that The News of the World had published a story on their wedding. Fattal's family was angry and persuaded him to have the marriage annulled
.
On 27 September 1990, the European Court overturned their decision on a British government appeal. (Later, the Gender Recognition Act 2004
was passed, giving transgender people in the United Kingdom means to change their legal sex.) Cossey returned to modelling, which she had given up for four years.
In 1991, Cossey released My Story, her second autobiography. In it she gave details of her transition and her unsuccessful battle with the European Commission. She was featured in the September 1991 issue of Playboy
, in a pictorial, "The Transformation Of Tula", as an acknowledged transsexual.
Cossey married Canadian David Finch in 1992. They live together in Kennesaw near Atlanta.
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. She is one of the world's most well known transsexual women, having appeared in a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film and been the first to pose for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. Since being outed by British tabloid News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, Cossey has fought for her right to legally marry and to be recognised by the law as a woman.
Early life and transition
Cossey was born Barry Kenneth Cossey in Brooke, NorfolkBrooke, Norfolk
Brooke is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, about 7 miles south of Norwich and roughly equidistant from Norwich and Bungay...
, and raised as male. Through puberty, Cossey was distinctly feminine in appearance due to an intersex condition known as Klinefelter's syndrome
Klinefelter's syndrome
Klinefelter syndrome, 46/47, XXY, or XXY syndrome is a condition in which human males have an extra X chromosome. While females have an XX chromosomal makeup, and males an XY, affected individuals have at least two X chromosomes and at least one Y chromosome...
, where, instead of having the XY male chromosome pattern, she possesses the genotype XXXY. In Cossey's autobiography My Story, she describes an unhappy childhood, where she suffered confusing feelings and bullying by peers due to her femininity. Growing up, Cossey's closest companion was her sister, Pam, with whom she played dress up in their mother's clothes. Cossey left formal schooling when she was fifteen, and found work in a clothing store and as a butcher's apprentice. At sixteen she moved to London and worked at a variety of low-wage jobs.
Cossey started transitioning after befriending a post-operative transsexual woman. By seventeen, Cossey was receiving hormone therapy
Hormone replacement therapy (male-to-female)
Hormone replacement therapy for transgender and transsexual people changes the balance of sex hormones in their bodies. Some intersex people also receive HRT, either starting in childhood to confirm the sex to which they were assigned, or later, if this assignment has proven to be incorrect...
, living full-time in a female gender role
Gender role
Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time...
and had begun a career as a showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
at a London nightclub. Despite initial shock, Cossey's parents were eventually supportive. Following breast augmentation
Breast augmentation
Breast augmentation denotes the breast implant and fat-graft mammoplasty procedures for correcting the defects, and for enhancing the size, form, and feel of a woman’s breasts...
surgery, Cossey worked as a showgirl in Paris and as a topless dancer in Rome to save up for sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
(SRS). After years of hormonal and psychological treatment, and legally changing her name, Cossey had her final surgery on 31 December 1974 at Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
, London.
Modelling career and outing by the tabloid press
Cossey now began an active social life as a woman, concealing her past as a male. Asked about her dating life, Cossey replied, "I'm afraid I went a little wild". She told tabloids she had a romance with Des LynamDes Lynam
Desmond Michael "Des" Lynam, OBE is an Irish television and radio presenter based in the UK.He has hosted television coverage of high profile events for many years...
, though Lynam says he does not recall it. Cossey worked as a model under the name "Tula". She appeared in top magazines such as the Australian Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, and worked extensively as a glamour model. She was a Page Three Girl
Page Three girl
Page Three is a tabloid newspaper feature consisting of a topless photograph of a female glamour model, usually printed on the paper's third page...
for the British tabloid The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
and appeared in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
in 1981.
In 1978, Cossey won a part on the British game show 3-2-1
3-2-1
3–2–1 was a popular British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, between 29 July 1978 and 24 December 1988. Throughout its run, the show was hosted by former Butlins Redcoat Ted Rogers. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres.....
. A tabloid journalist then contacted her, revealing he had discovered she was transsexual, and planned to write about it. Other journalists researched her past, attempting to interview her family members. Cossey dropped out of the show, convincing the producers to release her from her contract. After this incident, Cossey maintained a lower profile, accepting only smaller assignments.
Cossey was cast as an extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
in the 1981 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only (film)
For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...
. Shortly after the film’s release, the tabloid News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
came out with a front page headline that read "James Bond Girl Was a Boy." By her own accounts, Cossey was so upset she contemplated suicide. However, she continued her modelling career. Cossey responded by releasing I Am a Woman, her first autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
.
Later years
Cossey became engaged to Count Glauco Lasinio, an Italian advertising executive, who was the first man to date her knowing of her past. He encouraged her to petition for changes in the British law concerning transsexuals. The engagement ended, but her legal efforts continued for seven years, eventually reaching the European Court of Human RightsEuropean Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
.
In 1985, Cossey appeared extensively in the video for The Power Station
Power Station (band)
Power Station was a 1980s supergroup made up of singer Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran members John Taylor and Andy Taylor . Bernard Edwards, also of Chic, was involved on the studio side as recording producer. For a short time he also functioned as Power...
's "Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot (song)
"Some Like It Hot" is a song recorded by Power Station. It was the first single released from the group's 1985 eponymous debut album. Released by Parlophone Records in 1985, the song features heavy drum beats from Tony Thompson and vocals from Robert Palmer. It was the band's biggest hit, peaking...
". After breaking up with Lasinio, Cossey met Elias Fattal, a Jewish businessman, who was unaware of her history until he proposed marriage on Valentine's Day 1988. When she told him, rather than rejecting her, he merely asked if she would convert to Judaism. She agreed. They were married on 21 May 1989, just weeks after the European Court of Human Rights decided legally to recognize Cossey as a woman. They returned from their honeymoon to find that The News of the World had published a story on their wedding. Fattal's family was angry and persuaded him to have the marriage annulled
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
.
On 27 September 1990, the European Court overturned their decision on a British government appeal. (Later, the Gender Recognition Act 2004
Gender Recognition Act 2004
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows transsexual people to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005.-Operation of the law:...
was passed, giving transgender people in the United Kingdom means to change their legal sex.) Cossey returned to modelling, which she had given up for four years.
In 1991, Cossey released My Story, her second autobiography. In it she gave details of her transition and her unsuccessful battle with the European Commission. She was featured in the September 1991 issue of Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, in a pictorial, "The Transformation Of Tula", as an acknowledged transsexual.
Cossey married Canadian David Finch in 1992. They live together in Kennesaw near Atlanta.
External links
- For Your Eyes Only Snopes.com, 11 August 2007
- Tula: The Transexual Bond Girl Universal Exports