Nicole Kidman and Other Actresses in Transsexual Roles

Actresses will do anything to win an Oscar, even if they have one already. Nicole Kidman changed her nose to win an Oscar for 'The Hours', and for her upcoming role in 'The Danish Girl', she's going to change her gender, sort of. She will play the first post-op male-to-female transsexual in the film (based on a true story). Another actress who is not afraid to change herself to win an Academy Award, Charlize Theron, will play her wife. (If you'd like to have a look at what the real woman Nicole is playing looked like, check out Lili Elbe's picture and her famous portrait.) But while this role may be shocking, Nicole Kidman isn't the first actress to play a woman who used to be a man. Here's a look at some of the other actresses who have bravely taken this role on:

Felicity Huffman

Transamerica

Felicity got close to seeing Oscar gold with her role as a transsexual woman who goes on a very bizarre journey of self-discovery with a son who doesn't even know who she is at first. It's a great portrait of the many difficulties transsexuals can face in our society and the dark places they have to go to try and fit in, deal with their families, and ultimately make themselves happy.

Raquel Welch

Myra Breckenridge

This, however, has to be the most bizarre film about a transsexual woman ever made. It's very hard to imagine that Raquel Welch's character could have ever been a man, but that's what this movie tries to claim. It has become a cult classic and been called one of the worst films ever made, and it's worth a watch due to all of its weirdness and campiness. The film's one big claim to fame is that it's the first mainstream movie to feature a female raping a male.

Rebecca Romijn

Ugly Betty