Gerda Wegener

Gerda Marie Fredrikke Wegener (née Gottlieb; 15 March 1886 – 28 July 1940) was a Danish illustrator and painter, specialising in images of fashionable women in the style of Art Nouveau and later Art Deco. Her first spouse identified as a woman and became her favourite model under the name Lili Elbe, undergoing sex reassignment surgery, from which she died. Their story formed the basis for David Ebershoff's bestselling novel The Danish Girl, later adapted as a film.