- The Stunning Aleshia Brevard
Often on these pages you’ll find I am inspired by the beautiful actresses of the Golden Years of Hollywood. However, my true style inspirations required a little more substance than simply looking great in a killer gown. Which is why when I came across the stunningly beautiful and pioneering Aleshia Brevard, I was quite bowled over.
Aleshia Brevard was born in Tennessee in 1937… as Alfred Brevard Crenshaw. With an artistic talent, Alfred dreamed of growing up to become just like his idol Veronica Lake. He would drape his head in a white towel, emulating her familiar peak-a-boo hair style. All this little boy wanted was to blossom into a stunning Hollywood bombshell…. in the 1940′s. Later, working as a female impersonator at Finnochio’s, Alfred played and partied with the likes of Lana Turner and Betty Davis, yet he still sought not just to impersonate, but to truly become a woman.
So strong was his commitment to becoming his true self, that in the absence of a willing surgeon, Alfred performed his own castration before subsequently undergoing gender re-assignment surgery in 1962. Now the Aleshia had finally released her true self, she continued making her mark of the entertainment world with vigor. Studying acting, appearing on film and television, even going on to become a Playboy Bunny. What a woman!
The strength of character and will it takes to become a success in Hollywood is one thing. To do it against all odds, and traditional gender roles, is quite another. While I have no real understanding of what life must have been like for Aleshia, I do understand her level of commitment. She new what she wanted and fought hard to achieve her goals, going on to be come on of the most remarkable women in entertainment history. There is so much to Aleshia’s story that fascinates me. You may not agree with her choices, but you have to admire her courage and strength of conviction. The point that stays with my most is her understanding of glamour’s power to transform, to make of you the YOU you truly are.
- All images courtesy of Aleshia Brevard.com
Here is some of Aleshia’s story for you. Amazing!
And I’m ALWAYS happy to be the...
What a story! Usually glamour girls don’t come with self-castration stories… Whoa!
Wendy B: I know! Even I winced hearing that line.
Rebecca: Some people are truly amazing.
Emily Kate: I don’t know.. I don’t think they show any credits on the clip.
Wanderlusting: I consider myself a fairly well educated buff too and didn’t discover her till recently. Her amazing story propelled her right up my style icon list.
Ruby: It is one of the keys to success that is often over looked. And a great number to have in your bag of tricks.
Violet: Isn’t she just, and those LEGS!!
Wow.. It’s good to learn new things everyday. Thanks, SKM!
BTW, I was trying to send an email through the website, but it’s not working. Anyone else have that problem?
Well that is commitment for you! how strangely inspirational, not a choice I’d make but you have to admire the determination and wil power nothing was going to stop this lady from attaining her goals!
…. wow!
Certainly not your average glamour-girl! Thankyou for sharing this, I had never heard of Aleshia before, and found that video really interesting.
btw, that was Dr Melfi doing the voiceover, right?
wow – I am a huge classic film buff and adore the classic actreses of The Golden Age, but I’ve never heard this story before. Very interesting!
I like what you say about glamour’s power to transform…
Wow that is such an inspiring story. She is beautiful!
LOVE the hair and kittenish look!!!
http://www.lacarmina.com
“plays pussy”…they sure don’t write headlines like they used to…them sure are some glamour pins!
I was reading about her a month or so back, I think she’s fabulous and to also be a Vegas Show Girl. That figure and those legs and the beauty.
smokin’!
Stunning lady with great gams, and amazing story too!!
WOW, she has amazing eyes, Stunning.
Wow …. extremely difficult at any time, but in 50s small-town America? Jeepers. What a woman!
WOW! Fabulous story and GORGEOUS pictures! The links on the pictures don’t work – looks like the code is off a bit – try http://www.aleshiabrevard.com
Jeez! How inspirational. That must have been so rough, growing up transgender in an era like that. And what a beauty!
Aleshia became a pen pal of mine after I read her book. (a christmas present to myself last year) She is all the wonderful things you see here, and more! She is kind hearted, gentle, helpful, and has helped pull me through some very difficult times. Let’s hear it for women who can hold their own in this world! You go, Aleshia!
Audie: WOW! I’ll bet you have some stories to tell. I am so in awe of what she has achieved, she has made it onto my actual wall of fame in the studio as a reminder of life’
s possibilities.
Thanks to a thoughtful reader of your site and her supportive e-mail to me, I was able to read your generous and much appreciated article on me. I’m grateful. Now that I’ve read the comments of your readers, all lovely, perhaps I should pack my bags and move “down under”. On second thought, after seeing the smashing fashions you feature, maybe I should leave my bags at home, move to Australia and start over from scratch.
Thanks again for your support,
Aleshia
Hi Aleshia! I’m so please you found us here. You’d be very welcome here anytime and I’d be happy to take you on an amazing shopping odyssey.
You truly are an inspiration and more women should take a leaf from your book of glamour!
I was so moved by this story you posted, so i went to the library and got her book. Wow what a great read! The book is so well written, so emotional, so honest and moving! If she could find glamour against all odds, then I can do it too, because at least I was born a female. So it just puts me so much close to the goal and never giving it up! No excuses!!
Maria: I’ve been trying to find a copy of the book myself to read it in its entirety. Your sentiments sum up exactly how I feel about it too.
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Meet Aleshia Brevard. A Vintage Style Icon you’ll never forget! [...]
I remember seeing Aleshia on BOTH the Dean Martin show AND on the soap opera she starred in as ‘Tex’ (Days of Our Lives?) many years ago. There are rumors floating around in the Tri-Cities (TN) area that she was born a boy but with NO male ‘regalia’ and had female surgery to correct the situation.
I enjoy watching her videos on YouTube and would like to meet her in person, here in East Tennessee, at some point in time.
She’s a BEAUTIFUL WOMAN…ALL THE WAY AROUND!
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Meet Aleshia Brevard. A Vintage Style Icon you’ll never forget! [...]
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Meet Aleshia Brevard. A Vintage Style Icon you’ll never forget! [...]
Dear Super Kawaii Mama,
You and your readers have been so kind and supportive concerning my 2001 memoir, that I wanted to reach out, expressing thanks and letting you know that a sequel, “The Woman I WAS Born To Be”, has recently been released.
In case you (or your readers0 need a reminder, my gender reassignment surgery was in 1962. I’m one of America’s maiden transsexuals. I chronicled those early years in the original memoir, “The Woman I Was NOT Born To Be”, Temple University Press. That book is now in its fourth printing. My hope is that the memoir of a so-called “pioneer” underscores for sisters and brothers now in transition, as well as their families, that all things are possible.
Now my second book, “The Woman I WAS Born To Be”, Blue Feather Books, picks up where the original memoir left off.
Sometimes seeing is easier than reading. Here is a video, an extended family moment between Gina Graham and me :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKNTBt_ejwA
Sincerely,
Aleshia Brevard
http://www.Aleshia@AleshiaBrevard.com
Description
Hi all,
Aleshia’s new memoir, The Woman I was Born to Be, has just been released. Please tell your friends!
A print version of the book is available from the publisher’s site: http://www.bluefeatherbooks.com/, http://www.BellaBooks.com, and now with http://www.Amazon.com
Here’s what her publisher has to say about the book:
Aleshia Brevard’s perceptive, entertaining memoir is here!
We’re pleased to announce that The Woman I Was Born to Be, Aleshia Brevard’s second memoir about her life as one of America’s first male-to-female transgendered individuals, is now available.
For nearly 50 years, Aleshia Brevard hid the fact that she was not born female from her friends, stepchildren, fellow actors and actresses, film producers, students and university administrators, and even from her four husbands.
The Woman I Was Born to Be is a sequel to Ms. Brevard’s earlier book, The Woman I Was NOT Born to Be. This book covers the second half of her life, describing the many challenges she encountered and triumphs she achieved after the fulfillment of her boyhood dream to change genders and become accepted as a woman.
The Woman I Was Born to Be is not merely a transsexual tale. It is a story of personal evolution, of coming of age, and realizing that to deny one’s history is to deny oneself. In this memoir, Ms. Brevard addresses present-day gender issues in counterpoint with flashbacks from her own personal story, which includes her professional success in the theater, television, and in academia.
The Woman I Was Born to Be is both an autobiographical account of one woman’s life and a retrospective on the ever-changing landscape of the gender community. With wit, candor, and insight, Ms. Brevard entertains, educates, and enlightens as she tells her unique saga. Find a comfortable seat and turn the first page. By book’s end, you’ll agree Aleshia Brevard is living life to the fullest as the woman she was born to be.
BLUE FEATHER BOOKS
http://www.bluefeatherbooks.com
[...] Super Kawaii Mama – Meet Aleshia Brevard. A Vintage Style Icon you’ll never forget! [...]