Jacqueline Dufresnoy was a French transgender actress and activist. She was born in Paris, France in 1931. She was the first widely publicized transwoman in Europe during the post-WWII era that had received a successful gender reassignment surgery.
In 1953 she debuted as a transgender stage girl, taking on the stage name Coccinelle ( the French word for ladybug). In 1958, she received her vaginoplasty from Dr. Georges Burou. She later stated in an interview that Dr. Burou had "rectified the mistake that nature made, now I am a woman on the inside and outside". She knew the procedure had been a success when she awoke and Dr. Burou simply said "Bonjour Mademoiselle!".
Dufresnoy became a very successful entertainer often being compared to various famous cisgender starlets during the same era. She built a modest discography (A collection I am currently scouring the internet for!) A few of her songs appeared in a variety of films from 1959-1968.
Coccinelle also worked intently to advocate for transgender women. She founded the Devenir Femme with the goal of providing support for those individuals seeking surgery. She also assisted in the creation of the Center for Aid, Research, and Information for Transsexuality and Gender Identity. Perhaps her most notable accomplishment was the first marriage being the first transsexual marriage recognized by the French government, establishing the policy that transgender people had the right to marry equally and setting in motion the beginning of the marriage equality movement in Europe.
Jacquline had a self-titled autobiography published in 1987. (Another of her works I am scouring the internet for!) She passed away in 2006 after complications from a stroke however her story and work will bring hope and inspiration for generations of transpeople in the future.
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