Wednesday 24 February 2010

The LGBT History Series (24) - Candis Cayne

And now to inject a bit more Hollywood Glamour into the Series.
Candis Cayne is a transgender actress and performing artist. Up until the 1990s, Cayne (then known as Brendan McDaniel) worked as a choreographer and drag artist, until she moved to New York, where she first heard the term 'transsexual' and realised that it corresponded with how she felt about herself.

Author: © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com,
Permission: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

After years of electrolysis, hormone therapy and surgery (more of which can be read about in the link below), Brendan McDaniel had become Candis Cayne.

Cayne's profile shot into the New York celebrity elite in 2007 when she played 'Carmelita' in the hit show 'Dirty Sexy Money.' This role makes her the first transgender actor to play a transgender role in a hit show.

Cayne has stated that she's 'not trying to be a spokesperson for the transgender community ... [she] just wants to be looked at as a living, breathing, happy human being'. Which in my opinion is a thoroughly healthy standpoint.

A more detailed story can be found here