Lili Elbe

Who was Lili Elbe?

Lili Elbe was an intersex person and one of the first identifiable recipients of sex reassignment surgery. Elbe was born in Denmark as Einar Mogens Wegener, presented as male, and was a successful artist under that name. She also presented as Lili, sometimes spelled Lily and publicly was introduced as Einar's sister. After transitioning, however, she made a legal name change and stopped painting.

Elbe's year of birth is sometimes stated as 1886. This appears to be from a book about her, which has some facts changed to protect the identities of the persons involved. Factual references to Gerda Gottlieb's life indicate that the 1882 date is correct as they clearly married while at college in 1904.