From being treated as someone not fit enough to be a part of the society, to being accepted and acknowledged for their choice and being provided the same rights similar to any other individual, the journey for the transgender community has not been a very easy one. Luckily, their sincere efforts are proving fruitful as their talent is being recognized and now many of them see themselves holding a celebrity status and enjoying a respectable position in the society. Today, we take a look at the lives of some famous transgender celebrities and the hardships they had to go through to reach where they are now.

Candis Cayne

trans- candiceCandis Cayne performed in Dirty Sexy Money, an ABC’s drama which made her famous in the LGBTQ community. After undergoing an official transition in the year 1996, she went to become the first transgender character on primetime television. Before her transition, she performed in New York City drag shows during the 90s.

Amanda Lepore

trans- amandaThis woman is famous for more reasons than one. In order to attain the doll-like figure which you can see in the picture, she underwent many surgeries including rib breakage, hormones, and plastic surgery. She is a very versatile woman as she is an American model, socialite, and singer at the same time. Her unique look attracts her to a lot of media attention.

Chaz Bono

trans- chaz bonoThis man has starred in a documentary named ‘Becoming Chaz’. Chaz underwent the surgery which changed him from a woman to a man in between 2008 to 2010. His story is very famous and his documentary was even broadcasted on Oprah’s Own Network.

Laverne Cox

trans- laverneShe has become immensely popular after being cast in the role of a hairdresser in the popular Netflix show, Orange Is The New Black. She is very bold and vocal when it comes to speaking about the issues related to the LGBTQ community. She even has the unique achievement of being the first transgender to be on the Time Magazine’s cover.

Thomas Beatie

trans- thomas beatieThis man underwent successful artificial insemination in the year 2002 after his wife was declared incapable of giving birth to a child. It was in the year that 2007 that he became the first transgender to be pregnant. Since then he has established himself as an icon in the LGBTQ community. He has been very active to raise his voice on matters related to the transgender community and is a public speaker, author, and advocate.

Alicia Liu

trans- aliciaThis woman from Taiwan underwent reassignment surgery when she was just 18. Since then Alicia Liu has appeared in a television show and has become very popular among the people of Taiwan. She defended herself boldly and said that she was very happy after her transformation when her school friend mocked her for undergoing surgery.