Lili Elbe was a Danish transgender woman and among the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
She was born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener and was a successful painter using that name. During this time of success, she also presented as Lili and was introduced publicly as Einar’s sister.
In 1930, Elbe went to Germany for gender reassignment surgery, which was highly experimental at the time. Four operations were carried out over two years. After transitioning, she changed her legal name to Lili Ilse Elvenes, the name Lili Elbe was given to her by a Copenhagen journalist. She stopped painting altogether.
Lili began a relationship with a French art dealer named Claude Lejeune. She started to look forward to the future which included marriage and children.
Her final surgery involving a uterus transplant failed. Sadly, her immune system rejected the transplant, and she developed an infection. She died in 1931 at the age of 48 after suffering a cardiac arrest brought on by the infection.
Lili’s life was brought to the big screen in the film The Danish Girl starring Eddie Redmayne, with the story inspiring thousands.