14 Facts About Aleshia Brevard

Aleshia Brevard worked as an entertainer, actress, model, Playboy bunny, professor of theater, and author.

Aleshia Brevard was born in Erwin, Tennessee on December 9,1937, growing up in a religious family in a rural part of central Tennessee.

Aleshia Brevard always felt different from other children, like a girl inside, and prayed nightly to wake up a girl.

Aleshia Brevard began her transition at 21 under the care of famed gender specialist Harry Benjamin in the late 1950s.

At Benjamin's recommendation, Aleshia Brevard underwent the surgical reassignment procedure in Los Angeles's Westlake Clinic under the care of surgeon Elmer Belt.

Aleshia Brevard later worked as a stripper in Reno and as a Playboy bunny.

Aleshia Brevard gained membership in Hollywood unions, and ultimately got her master's degree in Theater from Middle Tennessee State.

Aleshia Brevard's was one of the early medical transitions, and occurred before the term transgender had been coined and before there was a transgender community in San Francisco.

Aleshia Brevard did not identify as trans early in her life and often deflected questions.

Aleshia Brevard's husbands were not aware that she had transitioned.

In 2005, Aleshia Brevard was featured in Susan Stryker's documentary Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria.

Aleshia Brevard met her first husband in Tennessee and had other marriages, which, according to her sister, did not work out.

Aleshia Brevard returned to California in the late 1990s, settling outside of Santa Cruz, California with an old friend, finding work as a substitute teacher, and doing community theater.

Aleshia Brevard died at home in Scotts Valley, California on July 1,2017, at the age of 79.