Quick Facts

April Ashley, a British model, actress, and writer, was really born George Jamieson as a boy. She is renowned for being among the first people in Britain to undergo gender reassignment surgery. The Sunday People newspaper revealed her identity as a transgender woman in 1961. Duncan Fallowell’s biography “April Ashley’s Odyssey” was released in 1982. In 2006, he published her memoirs, “The First Lady.” She had been on BBC News, This Morning, and Channel Five News.

How much was the Net worth of April Ashley?

April Ashley, a Model, actress, and author, has a projected $1 million net worth as of 2022. Her specific earnings and compensation have not yet been made public. In 1970, she even started a restaurant after experimenting with several different business endeavors. April and Desmonds was the name of the eatery she opened. The entertainment sector was her main source of riches.

Early Years and Bio

On April 29, 1935, April Ashley was born as George Jamieson at 126 Smithdown Road (formerly Sefton General Hospital) in Liverpool, England. She was one of the six children that survived. She was conceived by her parents, Frederick Jamieson and Ada Brown. Also, She is British-White by ethnicity and possesses British nationality. She struggled as a kid due to her calcium shortage, bedwetting, and requirement for weekly calcium injections. As a result, at the age of two, when the family moved, she was given her own box room. In 2021, she finally celebrated her 86th birthday.

How did April Ashley pass away?

April Ashley’s terrible health was what ultimately caused her death. On December 27, 2021, she passed away at home. She was 86 years old. The Museum of Liverpool featured a video interview with Ms. Ashley as part of a year-long exhibition on her life that first opened in 2013, and Tim Brunsden, a filmmaker, later confirmed that she had passed away. He claimed that she had been ill for some time.

She suffered a severe heart attack back then in London, which caused her to retire for a while to the Welsh border town of Hay-on-Wye. Artist Daniel Lismore referred to Ashley as “a pioneer, hero, and idol” after hearing the news of her passing, and ITV broadcaster Lorraine Kelly called her “one heck of a charming lady.”

What was the Professional Career of April Ashley?

At the age of 16, April enlisted in the Merchant Navy in 1951. She made an attempt at suicide, for which she was discharged dishonorably. She was 17 years old when, for the second attempt, she was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Ormskirk District General Hospital. Also, She writes about the rape she experienced prior to transitioning in her book The First Lady. She was severely hurt when her roommate sexually assaulted her. Her biography, published in 1982 under the title April Ashley’s Odyssey, came before this one. According to April Ashley’s Odyssey, Amanda Lear was given the gender of a man at birth, and the two of them had previously worked at Le Carousel, where Lear had gone by the drag name Peki d’Oslo.

She started going by the name April Ashley after having sex reassignment surgery and became a prominent fashion model. She also made an appearance in British Vogue, where David Bailey took her portrait, and she was given a small part in the 1962 movie The Road to Hong Kong, which also starred Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. In 1961, Ashley was revealed to be a trans woman by The Sunday People when a friend sold her story to the media.

She worked for Greenpeace in the early 1990s before accepting a position in an art gallery. She discussed her life on November 15, 2008, at St. George’s Hall in Liverpool as part of the Homotopia Festival, and on February 18, 2009, at the Southbank Center.

Awards and Achievements

• Ashley was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to transgender equality.
• The exhibition ‘April Ashley: Portrait of a lady’ was held at the Museum of Liverpool from 27 September 2013 to 1 March 2015.
• Ashley was awarded a Lifetime Achievement honor at the European Diversity Awards 2014.
• In December 2016, Ashley was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Liverpool.

Who was the husband of April Ashley?

April Ashley was wed to Arthur Corbett, her first husband. She first met Arthur in 1960, and three years later they were wed. Their marriage was annulled in 1970 on the grounds that Ashley had previously been a guy. Her husband was aware that she was a man earlier, and this incident gave rise to the illustrious Corbett v. Corbett case.

Corbett received a letter from Ashley’s attorneys in 1966 requesting maintenance payments; in response, Corbett filed a lawsuit to have the marriage dissolved in 1967. Ashley wed Jeffrey West, her second husband, in the 1980s on board the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. The marriage came to an end in the 1990s and the ceremony was held in Long Beach, California. They broke up but kept their friendship. When she passed away, she was by herself.

Body Measurement: what was April Ashley’s height?

April Ashley was a stunning model who stood 5 feet 10 inches tall and had an average body type. Her hair was grey, and she had blue eyes.

Trivia

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