Overview

• The documentary debuted on June 24 on HBO Max and retraces Ashley’s rise to fame as a Vogue model and her 1961 outing followed by a 1970 divorce case that legally classified trans people by their birth sex until 2004.
• Amanda Lear appears in archival interviews denying her transgender identity and her connection to Ashley while showcasing how she leveraged public curiosity into a celebrated music and performance career.
• Director Zackary Drucker interweaves interviews with trans figures across generations, including former Le Carrousel stars Marie-Pierre Pruvot and Carla Follis along with burlesque artist Allanah Starr and historian Morgan M. Page.
• Le Carrousel’s role as a 1950s Paris nightclub safe space for transgender performers is spotlighted, noting visits by cultural icons such as Salvador Dali and Edith Piaf.
• The film underscores how the UK’s Gender Recognition Act of 2004 overturned the precedent from Ashley’s divorce, finally allowing trans people to update their legal gender on birth certificates.