Julian Eltinge conquered stage and screen a century ago, when gender play was normalized. But his biographer says Eltinge was ‘not an easy ally’

Over a hundred years ago, a cis man rose to superstardom as a female impersonator. His proto-drag persona was so popular – and accepted into the mainstream – that he ran his own ladies’ magazine, sold cold cream to female fans, and counted royals and celebrities as superfans.

In the new book Beautiful: The Story of Julian Eltinge, America’s Greatest Female Impersonator, the writer Andrew L Erdman documents the life of a turn-of-the-century performer whose career would still be considered radical more than 80 years after his death. The title refers to a common description of Eltinge, who was known for his elaborate costumes, tight corseting and highly illusionary makeup skills. “He was this perfect, beautiful woman,” Erdman said in an interview. “[Female impersonation] got very normalized in the 1920s...