She later appeared in the 1968 film Días de Viejo Color. That same year, Italian singer Ghigo Agosti dedicated the song “Coccinella” to her, provoking widespread consternation and controversy.Ĭoccinelle appeared in the 1962 film Los Viciosos and was the first French transsexual woman to become a major star, when Bruno Coquatrix splashed her name in red letters on the front of Paris Olympia for her 1963 revue, 'Cherchez la Femme'. In 1959 she appeared in Europa di notte by director Alessandro Blasetti. Historian Joanne Meyerowitz wrote 'the more sexualized MTF showed up in the sensationalized press in the stories on Coccinelle, who worked at Le Carrousel in Paris'. She very quickly became a media sensation upon her return to France as a woman, with a look and stage act based on the prominent sex symbols of the day. She was born at rue Notre Dame de Nazareth Nr.66 in the 3e arrondissement. In 1958, she traveled to Casablanca to undergo a vaginoplasty by Doctor Georges Burou. She later performed regularly at the famous nightclub Le Carrousel de Paris, which also featured regular acts by other famous transsexuals such as April Ashley and Marie-Pier Ysser. Born in Paris under the name of Jacques Charles Dufresnoy, she took the stage name Coccinelle (French for 'Ladybug') - when she entered show business, making her debut as a transgender showgirl in 1953 at Chez Madame Arthur.

She was transsexual, and was the first widely publicized sexual reassignment case in Europe, where she was a national celebrity and a renowned club singer.

Coccinella ghigo