Coccinelle

Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy (23 August 1931 – 9 October 2006), better known by her stage name Coccinelle ("ladybird" in French), was a French cabaret entertainer, singer, actress, and transgender activist. A transgender woman, she was the first widely publicized celebrity to undergo gender reassignment in Europe. Coccinelle was an international celebrity and a renowned club singer, styled as a blonde bombshell and sex symbol.

Biography

Early life

Dufresnoy was born as Jacques-Charles in Paris in 1931 at rue Notre Dame de Nazareth No. 66 in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. She was given the nickname "Coccinelle" (French for "ladybird") after a red party dress with polka dots she wore, which she adopted as her stage name in show business.

Career

As "Coccinelle" she made her debut as a transgender showgirl in 1953 at Chez Madame Arthur where her mother was a flower seller. She later performed regularly at the famous nightclub Le Carrousel de Paris, which also featured regular acts by other famous transgender women such as April Ashley and Bambi.

Coccinelle travelled to Casablanca in 1958 to undergo a vaginoplasty by Georges Burou. She said later, "Dr Burou rectified the mistake nature had made and I became a real woman, on the inside as well as the outside. After the operation, the doctor just said, 'Bonjour, Mademoiselle', and I knew it had been a success."

Coccinelle became a media sensation, and performed the Cherchez la femme revue which ran for 7 months at the Olympia in Paris between 1963 and 1964. In 1987, her autobiography was published, titled Coccinelle par Coccinelle.