British model, actress and noted transgender woman, a.k.a. “Tula,” she played a Bond girl in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only. Following her appearance in the film, she was outed as transgender by British tabloid News of the World. In 1991, she became the first trans woman to pose for Playboy magazine. Cossey has since then fought for her right to legally marry and be legally recognised as a woman.
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.
At 17, Cossey began taking the first steps toward sex reassignment, hormone treatments, and she had the final surgery that completed her transformation on 31 December 1974.
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 11 June. 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. They live together in Kennesaw near Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Link to Wikipedia biography