[Portrait of Christine Jorgensen]

Christine Jorgensen (1926-1989) was an American transgender woman who became internationally famous for undergoing gender-affirming surgery in Denmark. Born George William Jorgensen Jr. in the Bronx, she served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Having struggled with her gender identity for years, she traveled to Copenhagen in 1951 for a series of hormone treatments and surgical procedures that were not available in the U.S. at the time. News of her transition broke in December 1952 with the New York Daily News Headline, "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty," creating a worldwide media sensation.

When Jorgensen returned to New York in February 1953, hundreds of reporters and photographers greeted her flight at Idlewild (now JFK) Airport. These oversized press prints were published in William Randolph Hearst’s morning tabloid, the New York Daily Mirror, accompanied by a news story and pull-quotes such as, "I’m happy to be home…what American woman wouldn’t be?"

Rather than retreating from the spotlight, Jorgensen embraced her newfound celebrity status with remarkable poise. She became a successful nightclub entertainer, toured extensively as a lecturer, and published an autobiography in 1967. Her willingness to live openly and discuss her transition with grace, humor, and dignity helped pioneer transgender visibility in mid-century America.