Nicole Kidman Undergoes Sex-Change…But Only in the Movies

Photo from 'Rita Molnar' via Wikimedia

Nicole Kidman has been cast to star in an upcoming movie, ‘The Danish Girl.’ Based on the real-life transformation of painter, Einar Wegener, the film is about the first person to undergo a sex change operation. The film has been adapted from David Ebershoff’s bestselling novel also titled ‘The Danish Girl.’

Einar Wegener was born a male and married Greta, an artist, in 1904. Einar first began his transformation when Greta needed a female model to pose for one of her paintings and Einar stepped in. The success of the painting made Greta encourage Einar to continue posing as a woman for her paintings.

In 1930, Einar decided to change his outer appearance to match his inner persona and underwent several operations to become a female. He was thought to be intersexual, born with both male and female organs. This was confirmed during his surgeries.

After his initial surgeries were a success, Einar Wegener changed his name to Lili Elbe and had hopes of becoming a mother. In 1931 she underwent a fifth operation in which doctors attempted to transplant a uterus into her body. The operation proved to be fatal, however, and Lili Elbe died three months later at age 49.

Director Tomas Alfredson will have a tough time ‘butching’ Nicole Kidman up. Kidman’s slender physique and feminine features will be a great challenge to overcome when trying to portray her as a man.  Charlize Theron was originally set to play the role of Einar Wegener’s wife Greta, but dropped out of the project. Nevertheless, director Alfredson remains excited and focused, saying “We have been in talks for close to a year, and we are soon going into production.”