Farm Boy Becomes Trans Burlesque Star

Cassandra was raised as a farm boy by an overbearing father, and was disowned by her family when she revealed her desire to become a beautiful woman.

When she was just 18, Cassandra packed up her car and drove 1,500 miles from Iowa to Florida, where she stumbled across the burlesque scene and decided to unleash her own inner diva.

Her transition and subsequent plastic surgery cost over $250,000, and Cassandra has had almost every cosmetic procedure possible, including numerous breast augmentation surgeries and bum implants.

Now a successful Hollywood performer and actress, Cassandra is encouraging other people to stand up to discrimination and follow their dreams.

Cassandra said: “I have always known that I should be Cassandra - there is no question about that.

“I’ve been to hell and back but now I’m finally the fabulous woman I was born to be and I hope that now my story can inspire others.”

Cassandra says she knew she was a female from a very young age, and as a little boy she would long to play with dolls and dress up.

When she was a young child her mother left the family, leaving Cassandra with her ultra- masculine basketball coach father and three older brothers.

Her feminine behaviour was not tolerated, and when she was 16 her family disowned her after she came out to her father.

Cassandra said: “I was hyper feminine as a little boy. I mean it was just a no-brainer. People would say to my parents like, ‘Oh, you have a beautiful daughter.’

“So I told my dad. I said, ‘Dad I really feel like I want to be a woman, this is who I am’.

“My dad was reading and he lowered his paper and he looked up at me and he said, ‘Who is going to want you? Why would anybody want to be with something like that? And you are going to be the ugliest woman’ and it devastated me.

“It devastated me but it also made me angry and I set off on a journey where I was going to prove him wrong.”

Cassandra was put into care, and two years later she set off for Orlando to live as Cassandra permanently.

And she went to great lengths to become the woman she had always envisioned.

Cassandra, 33, said: “The woman who sits before you now has spent over $250,000 on her transition. We are talking many, many surgeries. 

“The only thing I haven’t had done is my heart. I have had my nose, my cheeks, my lips, my teeth, my jaw, my Adam’s apple, my boobs, my hips and my booty done, and I now have an ‘inny’ instead of an ‘outy’ or to make it more blunt - I have a vajayjay.

“I wanted to be pretty. For me I didn’t want to be an ugly woman. I didn’t want to be a basic, simple woman.

“I wanted to be type of girl who would walk in to room and people would notice.”

Although her transformation into a beautiful woman has boosted Cassandra’s self-esteem, she acknowledges that she has experienced negativity from others.

She said: “I think the hardest thing for me has been getting people just to accept me as me.

“When I say I am transgender, nine times out of ten it is not a positive reaction, but I don’t really believe in labels anyway.

“I believe labels are for products not for people and I don’t believe putting people in categories is healthy.

“People really have a lack of respect for people such as myself and think that it is okay to verbally or even physically abuse us or kill us, and the only thing I can say is, ‘Honey if you come for me, you better be prepared because I am not a pushover.’”

Now Cassandra lives in Hollywood and is making a name for herself as an actress – appearing on shows such as CSI.

And her burlesque shows are a major hit on Hollywood Boulevard.

Cassandra said: “I love the fantasy of burlesque. I can be anything I want to be. I can be a blonde, I can be a brunette, I can be Jessica Rabbit.

“You are on a stage and there is a level of glamour and an untouchability about it and it makes me happy.”

Now Cassandra is taking a stand against hate in the LGBT community, and has some sage advice for people who might be experiencing the same prejudice as she did.

Cassandra said: “The advice I would give to other trans people who are just starting out, is that you’ve got to be tough. It is a tough life. The best thing I can tell them is surround yourself with people who understand you for you.

"Don’t let other people decide your happiness and don’t ever let someone else take your sunshine. You can make your own."