April Ashley

While there may be some people who will try to stop us right where we stand, challenges can also be seen as opportunities for us to become stronger and better. Well, such was the case with April Ashley, MBE. She made history when she was publicly outed as a transgender woman in the 1960s.

Born in Liverpool, Ashley had quite a rocky journey in the earlier years of her life. To her credit, though, she overcame all the hurdles that came her way. With that said, her earlier stints under the spotlight were as a model. Throughout that period, Ashley also landed a small part in the Bing Crosby-led 1962 flick The Road to Hong Kong. Besides appearing on TV and film, she has also tried her hand in writing, releasing her autobiography The First Lady in 2006. To top it off, with the fame she’s garnered through the years, it was announced in 2012 that a film was set to be made about Ashley’s life.