December 27th

12-28-1882 – 09-13-1931 Lili Elbe – Born in Vejle, Denmark. She was a Danish transgender woman and one of the first recipients of sex reassignment surgery. Elbe was born Einer Magnus Andreas Wegener and was a successful artist under that name. In 1904 Elbe married artist Gerda Gottlieb. The two of them worked as illustrators, Elbe specializing in landscapes, while Gottlieb illustrated books and fashion magazines. In 1912 they settled in Paris, where Elbe could live openly as a woman and Gottlieb could be actively lesbian. In 1930, Elbe went to Germany for sex reassignment surgery. Four operations were carried out over a two year period. At the time of Elbe’s last surgery, her case was already a sensation in newspapers of Denmark and Germany. In June 1931, she had her fourth surgery. She died three months later. In 2000, David Ebershoff wrote The Danish Girl, a fictionalized account of Elbe’s life. In 2015, it was made into a film by the same name.

12-28-1956 Birgitt “Biggi” Bender – Born in Düsseldorf, Germany. She is a German politician and member of Alliance ’90/The Greens in the Bundestag. She studied law in Cologne, Geneva, and in Freiburg. Bender was a member of Parliament from 2002 to 2013. She is an out lesbian.

12-28-1963 Malcolm Gets – Born in Waukegan, Illinois. He is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Richard in the American TV sitcom Caroline in the City. Gets is also a dancer, singer, classically trained pianist, vocal director, and choreographer. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 2003 and was awarded the Obie Award in 1995. He is openly gay.

12-28-1972 Katarzyna Adamik – Born in Warsaw, Poland. She is a Polish film director, visual arts artist, and storyboard artist. Her parents are the Polish film director Agnieszka Holland and Laco Adamik, a Polish opera director of Slovak origin. She graduated in graphics from the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. She debuted in the film industry in 1993. Adamik has worked as a storyboard artist on many films, including In Darkness, Copying Beethoven, Catwoman, Wicked, and Total Eclipse.  She came out as a lesbian in 2012.