Lili Elbe
Lili Ilse Elvenes (28 December 1882 – 13 September 1931), better known as Lili Elbe, was a Danish painter, transgender woman, and among the early recipients of gender-affirming surgery.
Lili Elbe | |
|---|---|
Elbe in 1926 | |
| Born | Einar Wegener 28 December 1882 Vejle, Denmark |
| Died | 13 September 1931 (aged 48) |
| Other names | Lili Ilse Elvenes (legal name) |
| Spouse | |
She was a painter under her birth name Einar Wegener. After transitioning in 1930, she changed her legal name to Lili Ilse Elvenes, stopped painting, and later adopted the surname Elbe. She was the first known recipient of a uterus transplant in attempt to achieve pregnancy, but died due to the subsequent complications.
The UK and US versions of her semi-autobiographical narrative were published posthumously in 1933 under the title Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. A film inspired by her life, The Danish Girl, was released in 2015. An opera based on her life, Lili Elbe, composed by Tobias Picker, premiered in 2023.