Caroline Cossey, also known as Tula (born 1954), is a British model and actress.

Born Barry Kenneth Cossey, she is one of the world's most famous transsexual people and the first to ever pose for Playboy.

Since being "outed" by a British tabloid, she has fought for her right to legally marry a man and to be recognized by the law as a woman.

She told her side of the story in the 1992 autobiography My Story (ISBN 0571129099). Though she was born biologically male, she was said to pass so flawlessly because she was always extremely feminine. Tall and thin, she was often taken as female even before her transition beginning at the age of 16. Both prior to and following breast augmentation surgery, she performed as a showgirl in Paris, France. However, after the surgery, she danced topless, which helped her to earn money for her sexual reassignment surgery. She eventually had the surgery at London's Charing Cross Hospital .

Once through with transition, the six-foot-tall brunette achieved moderate success as an up-and-coming model. She was also cast in a small part in the 1981 Bond movie For Your Eyes Only and she was featured in the music video "Some Like it Hot" by Power Station.

She married Elias Fattal on May 21, 1989, but the union only lasted until June 11, 1989, when they divorced. Her second wedding was to David Finch in 1992. As recently as 1998, the two were still married and living in the US.

She has been confused with American actress Eileen Davidson since the 1980s, although Davidson is not transsexual.

External link

• http://tgmedia.enacre.net/lorna_lynne/tula.html