Pioneers: Coccinelle

Episode Summary

Title: Pioneers - Coccinelle Jacques-Charles de Fournois was born in Paris in 1931. She began performing as a transgender showgirl named Coccinelle in 1953. Coccinelle underwent gender confirmation surgery in 1958 and became a media sensation upon her return to France. She had a successful career as a stage and film actress and singer. In 1960, she legally married a man, making hers the first officially recognized marriage of a transgender person in France. She continued performing and advocating for transgender rights throughout her life. Coccinelle helped establish support organizations for transgender people seeking surgery and other resources. She wrote an autobiography and forged her own path, working to make the road easier for those who followed. Coccinelle was a pioneering performer and activist who advanced rights for transgender people in France.

Episode Show Notes

Today’s Pioneer is Coccinelle (1931 - 2006). A pioneering actress, entertainer, singer, and activist, Coccinelle left her mark on France and around the world.

Episode Transcript

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SPEAKER_04: My name is Diana Hock and I'm an operations manager at Morgan & Morgan. At Morgan & Morgan, we've made it really easy. Anything that we need from you, you're able to do from the comfort of your home. You can just dial pound law and you talk to someone like me. SPEAKER_06: If you or any one of your family has been injured, call Morgan & Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. We've collected over $15 billion for our clients. It's easy. Visit forthepeople.com for an office near you. SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome back. From Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. SPEAKER_05: Today, let's take a trip to post-World War II France to meet a pioneering actress, entertainer, singer, and activist known around the world as Coq Sienel. The first time I saw her, I was like, I'm going to be a singer. I'm going to be a singer. I'm going to be a singer. I'm going to be a singer. I'm going to be a singer. SPEAKER_09: And the fabric of the show. SPEAKER_05: Jacques-Charles de Fournois was born in Paris in 1931. She made her debut as a transgender showgirl in 1953 at Chez Madame Artour, where her mom was a flower seller. She chose to go by the stage name Coq Sienel, which, for my fellow non-French speakers, means ladybird or ladybug. She later performed regularly at a famous nightclub called Le Carousel de Paris, which also featured regular acts by other famous trans women. In 1958, Coq Sienel traveled to Casablanca to undergo a vaginoplasty by Georges Brou. She later said, Dr. Brou rectified the mistake nature had made, and I became a real woman on the inside as well as the outside. When she returned to France, Coq Sienel was a media sensation, with a stage act based on prominent sex symbols of the day. And her fame wasn't limited to France. Coq Sienel first moved from the stage to the screen in 1959 when she appeared in Europe De Note by director Alessandro Blassetti. That same year, Italian singer Giggo Agosti dedicated the song, Coq Sienela, to her. SPEAKER_06: In 1960, Coq Sienel married French journalist Francis Bonnet. SPEAKER_05: The couple were legally married by the French Roman Catholic Church after Jacques legally changed her name to Jacqueline Charlotte de Fournois and was rebaptized. The marriage was the first union of its kind officially acknowledged by the government of France, establishing the legal right of transgender people to marry. That said, that first marriage was a very long time ago. That said, that first marriage didn't last long. It was dissolved just two years later, in 1962. Coq Sienel then married Paraguayan dancer Mario Costa in 1973 and, after his death, married fellow trans activist Thierry Wilson in 1996. In honor of her 1963 musical revue entitled Cherchez la femme, or Look for the Woman, Bruno Cucatrix, the owner and manager of the Paris Olympia Music Hall, she splashed Coq Sienel's name in red letters on the front of the famous performance venue. The show ran for a whopping seven months. Coq Sienel continued performing on stage and in movies throughout her life. She wrote an autobiography, Coq Sienel par Coq Sienel, that was published in 1987. In addition to being an incredible performer and symbol, Jacqueline worked extensively as an activist on behalf of transgender people. She founded the organization Devenir Femme to become a woman, which was designed to provide emotional and practical support for people seeking sexual reassignment surgery. She also helped establish the Center for Aid, Research and Information for Transsexuality and Gender Identity. Coq Sienel was hospitalized in July 2006, following a stroke, and died that October. Jacqueline Charlotte de Fournois forged her own path and sought to make that road easier for those who followed. Tune in tomorrow for the story of another incredible pioneer. This time, we're heading to Hollywood. Special thanks to the one and only Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and the all-star researcher who pulled together this amazing collection of women. Talk to you tomorrow. SPEAKER_00: Coq Sienel! SPEAKER_10: How rude, Tanneritos! A Full House rewatch podcast is here. Join us as hosts Jodie Sweeten and Andrea Barber look back on their journey together as the iconic characters we all love, Stephanie Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler. Here's a quick preview, brought to you by the Hyundai Tucson. We spent our entire childhoods SPEAKER_00: on a little show called Full House, playing frenemies but becoming besties whenever the cameras weren't rolling. And now, 35 years later, it's our biggest adventure yet. 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