Dawn Langley Simmons
Encyclopedia
Dawn Langley Pepita Simmons (15 October 1937 – 18 September 2000) was a prolific English
author
and biographer. Born "Gordon Langley Hall", Simmons lived her first decades as a male. As a young adult, she became close to British actress Margaret Rutherford
, whom she considered an adoptive mother and who was the subject of a biography
Simmons wrote in later years. After sex reassignment surgery
in 1968, Simmons wed in the first legal interracial marriage
in South Carolina
.
and his novelist wife, Vita Sackville-West
. Simmons was born in Sussex as "Gordon Langley Hall" to Jack Copper, Vita Sackville-West's chauffeur, and another servant, Marjorie Hall Ticehurst, before they were married.
As a child, Simmons was raised by her grandmother and at one point visited the castle and met Virginia Woolf
, Sackville-West's lover. Woolf made Sackville-West the subject of the novel Orlando: A Biography
, which bears a striking resemblance to Simmons' own life story.
while sitting in the visiting star's lap.
In 1953, aged sixteen, Simmons emigrated to Canada after the grandmother's death. Still living as a man, she crewcut her hair and became a teacher on the Ojibway native reservation on Lake Nipigon
, experiences from which were translated into the best-selling Me Papoose Sitter (1955)—the first of many published books.
After a stint as an editor for the Winnipeg Free Press
, Simmons moved back to England in 1957, to teach theatre at the Gregg School in Croydon. She moved to the United States in 1960, and became the society editor for the Nevada Daily Mail in Missouri before moving to New York to as the society editor of the Port Chester Daily Item. Shortly after moving to New York, Simmons met artist Isabel Whitney
, beginning a friendship that would last until her death in 1962.
During this time, Simmons began a prolific writing career, including a series of biographies which covered personalities such as Princess Margaret (1958), Jacqueline Kennedy (1964), Lady Bird Johnson
(1967), and Mary Todd Lincoln
(1970) among many more. While living in New York, Simmons was introduced to Margaret Rutherford and her husband Stringer Davis
, who treated her as adoptive parents. That same year, Simmons and Whitney purchased a house in Charleston, South Carolina
, though Whitney would die two weeks later, leaving Simmons the house and $2 million.
. Her pursuit of Chippendale pieces brought her into contact with Edward Ball
, a journalist who owned a Chippendale commode and who would later write a biography about her.
In her autobiographical books, Simmons said she was born intersex
with ambiguous genitalia, as well as an internal uterus
and ovaries, and was inappropriately assigned male at birth. Simmons underwent sex reassignment surgery
at Johns Hopkins Hospital
in 1968, carried out by Dr. Milton Edgerton in 1968. In Ball's Peninsula of Lies, he disputes Simmons claim that she was intersex, suggesting instead that Simmons had male genitalia and was unable to bear children.
in South Carolina, and the ceremony was carried out in their drawing room reportedly after threats to bomb the church. After a second ceremony in England, the crate containing their wedding gifts was firebombed in Charleston, and Simmons received a ticket the next day when the charred remains were obstructing a sidewalk.
On 17 October 1971, her daughter, Natasha Margienell Manigault Paul Simmons, was born, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After an intruder raped Simmons and broke her arm, the family moved to Catskill, New York
.
, she moved in with her daughter and three grandchildren, who had returned to Charleston. In 1985, while back in Charleston, Simmons was featured as an extra
in several scenes of ABC's
miniseries
North and South
. In 1996, author Jack Hitt
profiled Simmons in an episode of This American Life
titled "Dawn". Hitt, a native of Charleston, had grown up down the street from Simmons, and used an interview with her to discuss transsexuality, interracial marriages in the South, and the rumors that she had voodoo powers and had hosted a full fledged debut
for her chihuahua
.
In her final years, Simmons developed Parkinson's disease
, and died at her daughter's home on 18 September 2000.
It is Gordon Langley Hall to whom the character Marwood refers in the 1985 film Withnail and I
when he reads from the newspaper "I had to become a woman".
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and biographer. Born "Gordon Langley Hall", Simmons lived her first decades as a male. As a young adult, she became close to British actress Margaret Rutherford
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...
, whom she considered an adoptive mother and who was the subject of a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
Simmons wrote in later years. After 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...
in 1968, Simmons wed in the first legal interracial marriage
Interracial marriage
Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing racial groups marry. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation .-Legality of interracial marriage:In the Western world certain jurisdictions have had regulations...
in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Early life
Simmons' parents were servants at Sissinghurst Castle, the English estate of biographer Harold NicolsonHarold Nicolson
Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of...
and his novelist wife, Vita Sackville-West
Vita Sackville-West
The Hon Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, CH , best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author, poet and gardener. She won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927 and 1933...
. Simmons was born in Sussex as "Gordon Langley Hall" to Jack Copper, Vita Sackville-West's chauffeur, and another servant, Marjorie Hall Ticehurst, before they were married.
As a child, Simmons was raised by her grandmother and at one point visited the castle and met Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
, Sackville-West's lover. Woolf made Sackville-West the subject of the novel Orlando: A Biography
Orlando: A Biography
Orlando: A Biography is an influential novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928. A semi-biographical novel based in part on the life of Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West, it is generally considered one of Woolf's most accessible novels...
, which bears a striking resemblance to Simmons' own life story.
Early career
Simmons exhibited an early talent for writing—with the first poem published at the age of four. At nine Simmons wrote a column for the Sussex Express, once interviewing Mae WestMae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
while sitting in the visiting star's lap.
In 1953, aged sixteen, Simmons emigrated to Canada after the grandmother's death. Still living as a man, she crewcut her hair and became a teacher on the Ojibway native reservation on Lake Nipigon
Lake Nipigon
Lake Nipigon is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the Canadian province of Ontario . It is sometimes described as the sixth Great Lake. Lying 260 metres above sea level, the lake drains into the Nipigon River and thence into Nipigon Bay of Lake Superior...
, experiences from which were translated into the best-selling Me Papoose Sitter (1955)—the first of many published books.
After a stint as an editor for the Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
, Simmons moved back to England in 1957, to teach theatre at the Gregg School in Croydon. She moved to the United States in 1960, and became the society editor for the Nevada Daily Mail in Missouri before moving to New York to as the society editor of the Port Chester Daily Item. Shortly after moving to New York, Simmons met artist Isabel Whitney
Isabel Whitney
Isabel Lydia Whitney was an American painter and muralist. She was a student of fellow artists Arthur Wesley Dow and Howard Pyle, having studied at the Pratt Institute...
, beginning a friendship that would last until her death in 1962.
During this time, Simmons began a prolific writing career, including a series of biographies which covered personalities such as Princess Margaret (1958), Jacqueline Kennedy (1964), Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
(1967), and Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
(1970) among many more. While living in New York, Simmons was introduced to Margaret Rutherford and her husband Stringer Davis
Stringer Davis
James Buckley Stringer Davis, generally known as Stringer Davis , was an English character actor. He was married to actress Dame Margaret Rutherford.-Background and marriage:Davis was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England....
, who treated her as adoptive parents. That same year, Simmons and Whitney purchased a house in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, though Whitney would die two weeks later, leaving Simmons the house and $2 million.
Move to South Carolina
The mansion Simmons purchased with Whitney, was located in the Ansonborough neighborhood of Charleston, a neighborhood known for housing the city's queer elite. Simmons began restoring the house, and designed the interior with early American antiques and furniture by Thomas ChippendaleThomas Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale was a London cabinet-maker and furniture designer in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs, titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director...
. Her pursuit of Chippendale pieces brought her into contact with Edward Ball
Edward Ball (American author)
Edward Ball is an American writer of non-fiction, best known for his book Slaves in the Family . The book tells the story of the author's family, slave-owners in South Carolina for 200 years, and recounts his search for and meetings with descendants of his family's slaves...
, a journalist who owned a Chippendale commode and who would later write a biography about her.
In her autobiographical books, Simmons said she was born intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
with ambiguous genitalia, as well as an internal uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
and ovaries, and was inappropriately assigned male at birth. Simmons underwent 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...
at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
in 1968, carried out by Dr. Milton Edgerton in 1968. In Ball's Peninsula of Lies, he disputes Simmons claim that she was intersex, suggesting instead that Simmons had male genitalia and was unable to bear children.
Marriage
Simmons legally changed her name to Dawn Pepita Langley Hall, and became engaged to John-Paul Simmons, then a young black motor mechanic with dreams of becoming a sculptor. Their marriage on 21 January 1969 was the first legal interracial marriageInterracial marriage
Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing racial groups marry. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation .-Legality of interracial marriage:In the Western world certain jurisdictions have had regulations...
in South Carolina, and the ceremony was carried out in their drawing room reportedly after threats to bomb the church. After a second ceremony in England, the crate containing their wedding gifts was firebombed in Charleston, and Simmons received a ticket the next day when the charred remains were obstructing a sidewalk.
On 17 October 1971, her daughter, Natasha Margienell Manigault Paul Simmons, was born, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
After an intruder raped Simmons and broke her arm, the family moved to Catskill, New York
Catskill (town), New York
Catskill is a town in the southeast part of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,775 at the 2010 census. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park....
.
Later years and death
In 1982, she divorced John-Paul Simmons, who had been abusive and suffered from schizophrenia. After spending several years in Hudson, New YorkHudson, New York
Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
, she moved in with her daughter and three grandchildren, who had returned to Charleston. In 1985, while back in Charleston, Simmons was featured 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 several scenes of ABC's
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
North and South
North and South (TV miniseries)
North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North...
. In 1996, author Jack Hitt
Jack Hitt
Jack Hitt is an American author. He is a contributing editor to The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, and This American Life. He served previously as a contributing editor to the now-defunct magazine Lingua Franca. He also frequently appears in places like Rolling Stone, Wired, and Outside Magazine...
profiled Simmons in an episode of This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
titled "Dawn". Hitt, a native of Charleston, had grown up down the street from Simmons, and used an interview with her to discuss transsexuality, interracial marriages in the South, and the rumors that she had voodoo powers and had hosted a full fledged debut
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
for her chihuahua
Chihuahua (dog)
The ' is the smallest breed of dog and is so named for the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. Chihuahuas come in a wide variety of sizes, head shapes, colors and coat lengths.-History:...
.
In her final years, Simmons developed Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, and died at her daughter's home on 18 September 2000.
It is Gordon Langley Hall to whom the character Marwood refers in the 1985 film Withnail and I
Withnail and I
Withnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...
when he reads from the newspaper "I had to become a woman".