Actresses Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow have both signed on to appear in a controversial film entitled The Danish Girl. The screenplay is based on the 2000 David Ebershoff novel, a true story, that delved into one of the first sex change operations in 1930.
Paltrow will play Kidman’s wife Gerda Wegener. Besides portraying a man who later becomes a woman, Kidman has taken on the additional task of producing the film. The project will see a 2010 release in Australia and New Zealand but won’t premiere in the U.S. until 2011.
The lead character, Einar Mogens Wegener, becomes Lili Elbe. She endured five surgeries over a period of two years, dying tragically just months after undergoing an operation that would have enabled her to have a baby.
Initially, actress Charlize Theron had signed on to play opposite Nicole but has since backed out. No word on why she withdrew from what is likely to be a riveting film.
Chaz Bono, daughter of Sonny Bono and Cher and formerly known as Chastity Bono, is currently going through a sex change. Check out her ongoing transition here.
Check out the original Wegener before and after photos.
More archive photos of the Wegener’s here.
Top Photos: WENN