38 Facts About Christine Jorgensen

Christine Jorgensen, born George William Jorgensen Jr.

In 1944, Jorgensen was drafted into the US Army during World War II.

Christine Jorgensen became an instant celebrity, known for her directness and polished wit, and used the platform to advocate for transgender people.

Christine Jorgensen was the second child of carpenter and contractor George William Christine Jorgensen and his wife, Florence Davis Hansen.

Christine Jorgensen was named George William, after her father, when she was born.

Christine Jorgensen was raised in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, and baptized a Lutheran.

Christine Jorgensen described herself as a "frail, blond, introverted little boy who ran from fistfights and rough-and-tumble games".

Christine Jorgensen graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in 1945 and was drafted into the US Army at 19.

Christine Jorgensen began taking estrogen in the form of ethinylestradiol.

Christine Jorgensen started researching the surgery with the help of Joseph Angelo, the husband of a classmate at the Manhattan Medical and Dental Assistant School.

Christine Jorgensen intended to go to Sweden, where the only doctors worldwide who performed the surgery were located.

Christine Jorgensen stayed in Denmark and underwent hormone replacement therapy under Hamburger's direction.

Christine Jorgensen chose the name Christine in honor of Hamburger.

Christine Jorgensen's parents were from Denmark, so her trip for reassignment surgery was easy to disguise as a trip to visit family.

Christine Jorgensen did not relay her plan for procedures on the trip to anyone due to her concern that she would not be supported.

Christine Jorgensen obtained special permission from the Danish Minister of Justice Helga Pedersen to receive funding to undergo a series of operations in Denmark.

Christine Jorgensen returned to the United States and eventually obtained a vaginoplasty when the procedure became available.

Christine Jorgensen was publicly outed when her letter to her parents in New York leaked to the press.

Christine Jorgensen had planned to keep her transition a secret but she was forcefully outed by the New York Daily News.

Christine Jorgensen was an instant celebrity when she returned to New York in February 1953.

Nothing that Christine Jorgensen said explicitly supported this theory, but various professionals adopted it anyway.

Christine Jorgensen was a tireless lecturer on the subject of transsexuality, pleading for understanding from a public that all too often wanted to see transsexuals as freaks or perverts.

Christine Jorgensen left behind the ranch home built by her father in Massapequa and settled at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

Christine Jorgensen explained how her mental health deteriorated and led her to contemplate suicide but did not act on it.

Christine Jorgensen was known for her directness and polished wit.

Christine Jorgensen worked as an actress and nightclub entertainer and recorded several songs.

Christine Jorgensen did so, using instead a new character, Superwoman, who was marked by the inclusion of a large letter S on her cape; apparently DC Comics, which trademarked the character in 1947, was either unaware of, or unconcerned by this use.

Christine Jorgensen continued her act, performing at Freddy's Supper Club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan until at least 1982 when she performed twice in the Hollywood area: once at the Backlot Theatre, adjacent to the discotheque Studio One, and later at The Frog Pond restaurant.

In 1984, Christine Jorgensen returned to Copenhagen to perform her show and was featured in Teit Ritzau's Danish transgender documentary film Paradiset er ikke til salg.

Christine Jorgensen was the first and only known trans woman to perform at Oscar's Delmonico Restaurant in downtown New York, for which owners Oscar and Mario Tucci received criticism.

Christine Jorgensen died of bladder and lung cancer on May 3,1989, at age 62.

Christine Jorgensen's highly publicized transition helped bring to light gender identity and shaped a new culture of more inclusive ideas about the subject.

In 2012, Christine Jorgensen was inducted into Chicago's Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display celebrating LGBTQ history and people.

In 2014, Christine Jorgensen was one of the inaugural honorees in the Rainbow Honor Walk, a walk of fame in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, noting LGBTQ people who have "made significant contributions in their fields".

In June 2019, Christine Jorgensen was one of the inaugural 50 American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" included on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument in New York City's Stonewall Inn.

Christine Jorgensen is mentioned in connection with Glen or Glenda in Tim Burton's biopic Ed Wood, but Christine Jorgensen is not depicted as a character.

In Christine Jorgensen Reveals, a stage performance at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Jorgensen was portrayed by Bradford Louryk.

Journalist Claudia Kalb's 2016 book Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History's Great Personalities devotes a chapter to Christine Jorgensen's story, using her as an example of gender dysphoria and the process of gender transition in the 20th century.