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Who Was Lili Elbe?
Lili Elbe, born Einar Wegener on December 28, 1882, in Vejle, Denmark, was a pioneering figure in the history of transgender identity and surgery. A talented artist, Elbe studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen as a teenager, where she met and married fellow artist Gerda Gottlieb. Over time, Elbe discovered her true gender identity and began living as a woman, undergoing a series of groundbreaking surgeries to transform her body. Despite facing significant challenges, Elbe’s journey became a symbol of courage and self-discovery. She passed away in 1931 from complications related to her final surgery, just short of her 49th birthday. Her life and transformation were immortalized in two books, Man into Woman and the international bestseller The Danish Girl, as well as the 2015 film adaptation starring Eddie Redmayne.
Early Life, Marriage, and Career
Einar Mogens Wegener, later known as Lili Elbe, was born in the small town of Vejle, Denmark. From a young age, she displayed a natural talent for art, leading her to pursue studies at the prestigious Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. It was there that she met Gerda Gottlieb, a fellow artist who would become her wife in 1904.
Gerda and Einar shared a creative partnership, with Einar often painting landscapes while Gerda gained recognition for her work as a book and fashion magazine illustrator. Their relationship deepened, and Gerda occasionally asked Einar to model for her, donning women’s clothing for her art-deco portraits of fashionable women. These moments sparked a sense of self-realization in Einar, who began to contemplate her true gender identity.
Transition and Life as Lili Elbe
In 1912, the couple moved to Paris, where Einar began transitioning into Lili, living openly as a woman for the final two decades of her life. She chose the surname “Elbe” in reference to the river that flows through Dresden, Germany, the city where she would undergo the final phase of her transformative surgeries.
Pioneering Sex Reassignment Surgery
In the 1920s, Lili Elbe became one of the first individuals to undergo sex reassignment surgery, following her discovery of the German Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin. Founded by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, the clinic had a profound impact on transgender healthcare. Lili underwent her first procedure, a surgical castration, in 1930, followed by three additional surgeries, including a penectomy and the transplantation of ovarian tissue. These surgeries allowed her to legally change her name and sex, marking a monumental achievement for transgender rights.
Final Transformation and Legacy
Elbe’s transformation was deeply affirming, allowing her to live authentically as Lili. However, her legal transition led to the dissolution of her marriage to Gerda, as the King of Denmark annulled their union in 1930. The two remained close, and Lili’s life took a hopeful turn when she became engaged to an old friend. She dreamed of undergoing a final surgery to have a uterus transplant and create an artificial vagina, allowing her to marry and possibly have children. Tragically, Lili passed away from heart failure shortly after this final operation, leaving her dream unfulfilled.
Lili Elbe’s life story continues to inspire, not only through her courageous journey to live as her true self but also as a testament to the evolving understanding of gender and identity.
Book: ‘Man Into Woman’
Man Into Woman is the poignant autobiography of Lili Elbe, a pioneering figure in transgender history. Published posthumously by Ernst Ludwig Harthern-Jacobson, under the pseudonym Niels Hoyer, the book was compiled from Elbe’s personal diaries according to her final wishes. The original Danish and German editions were released in 1933, with English versions following soon after, including reissues in 1953 and 2004.
As one of the first widely accessible accounts of a transgender individual’s life, Man Into Woman became a seminal work in both the transgender community and the broader public. Its powerful narrative inspired many, including Jan Morris, who documented her own gender transition and sex reassignment surgery in her 1975 book Conundrum. Morris credits Elbe’s story as a catalyst for her own decision to undergo gender-affirming surgery.
Elbe’s legacy continues to resonate, with her life story serving as the inspiration for The Danish Girl (2000), a bestselling novel by David Ebershoff. The book was later adapted into a major motion picture in 2015, starring Eddie Redmayne, further cementing Elbe’s impact on both literature and film.