Caroline Tula Cossey

Personal

Passions

Vocation

Family

British transsexual, male-to-female model and actress, a.k.a. "Tula." An autobiographer, heterosexual, transgender rights activist, she has married twice. After a career as a model, Caroline Cossey, under her stage name "Tula," played a Bond beauty in the film, "For Your Eyes Only," 1981. Raised in a close and loving family, Barry was nonetheless an unhappy child. He felt a misfit; he loathed the pursuits of boys and wanted to play with the girls. More than that, he wanted to be a girl. By age 13, he was having dizzy spells, fainting fits and hot flushes. At 17, he began taking the first steps toward sexual reassignment, hormone treatments and at 21, had the surgery that completed the transformation from Barry to Caroline, 1976. As a teenager, Caroline was already working as a female dancer in cabarets and shows. She kept men at arm's distance and was not interested in the gay scene. In 1984, she met Greek shipping tycoon, Elias Fattal, and he proposed 18 months later. This presented two problems as she would have to convert to Judaism and she would have to reveal that legally she was a man. In the following two years she took instructions for the religious conversion. With a wedding date set for 21 May 1989, she won her battle to be declared legally a woman. At her Jamaica honeymoon, Caroline felt herself the happiest woman alive. The newlyweds returned to London on June 11. They were met by Caroline's mother and sister who handed them the Sunday tabloids. In brutal journalism, Caroline was portrayed as a gay gold-digger and Elias as warped. Elias had never told his parents the whole story and his family now closed ranks. The marriage was annulled and Caroline was legally forbidden to ever speak to or contact Elias again. On 27 September 1990, Caroline lost her case to be legally considered a woman, setting a precedent for transsexuals who may hope to be married in the future. In 1991, Caroline published her autobiography, "My Story." In 1992, she married Canadian architect, David Finch, having announced her engagement on the "Shirley" show. She became very active in the transsexual community in England and around the world, and was the first post-operative transsexual to pose nude in Playboy magazine. Link to Wikipedia biography