Estelle Asmodelle

Estelle Asmodelle
Photo courtesy of Estelle Asmodelle.
Born	22 April 1964 (1964-04-22) (age 47) Bowral, New South Wales, Australia
Other names	Estelle Maria Croot
Website
www.asmodelle.com

Estelle Asmodelle (born 22 April 1964, Bowral, New South Wales, Australia), formerly known as Estelle Maria Croot, is an Australian model, belly dancer, writer, musician and actress. She is known as Australia's first legal transsexual with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Department of New South Wales.^[1]

Estelle is an Australian transsexual who was instrumental in gaining recognition for transsexual and transgender people through her solo campaign to gain rights for transsexuals.^[2] In 1986, she was labelled "Australia’s First Sex-Change Pin-up Girl".^[3] She is said to be the most photographed transsexual in Australia today.^[4]

Early life

Born in Bowral, and raised in Berrima, New South Wales, Estelle is the first child of Barry and Sylvia Croot. Her name at birth has not been disclosed. She has a sister, Belinda. She attended Chevalier College (then a boys-only school) and Moss Vale High School, where she frequently won first place in various subjects. When she was 16 years old she became seriously ill with spinal meningitis and spent almost one year in hospital. She used a wheelchair for some months and made a complete recovery.

After working briefly in Sydney, she moved to Wollongong and attended Wollongong University where she studied towards two degrees, a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Mathematics, with the hope of becoming a research scientist. As a student she also worked in music ensembles, such as N-lettes and Miscellaneous Music^[5] composing and playing experimental and sometimes avant-garde musical art.

During the university period she experienced discrimination by members of the academic staff because of her transsexuality.^[6] For this reason, she left the University to focus on art and music. She became a dancer, believing that dance was the true artistic synthesis of art and music.^[7]

Dance career

After working briefly in Sydney as an assistant photographer, she attended dance classes at Sydney Dance Company and also with an Authentic Egyptian Dance instructor. Six weeks after starting belly dance classes she gained work as a dancer.^[8]

As time passed she worked in many shows both in Australia and Asia. She was typically featured as the variety act for such shows as Esma Duo, Paris by Night, Las Vegas Under Lights and Les Girls.^[9] She returned to Australia and worked as a solo belly dancer.

Activism

During Estelle's dance career she travelled to Asian countries and experienced many legal difficulties, especially in Singapore where she was detained, because her passport denoted an M (for male). She suffered serious problems with various customs officials and became determined to change the laws in Australia so as she could live as a normal woman. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade policy was to issue passports bearing the gender designation F only to those transsexuals who could demonstrate that they had completed sex reassignment surgery.^[10]

Estelle continually sent letters and requests to the Attorney's General's Department of the Australian Government and eventually received confirmation that her requests were answered.^[11] Others had also been lobbying for changes to the New South Wales government, especially the Attorney-General of N.S.W., for the right to amend birth certificates. Estelle was asked to go to the NSW Department of Births Deaths and Marriages and have her birth certificate amended. It was the first such amendment, making Estelle Asmodelle the first Legal Transsexual by recognition of the new name in the new gender.^[12] Months later, as a result of this action, passport sex designation was allowed to be amended as well. A year later Estelle lobbied for anti-discrimination laws to be amended and also for the state hospitals ethics boards to allow research into ectopic pregnancy for sex-change women.^[13]

Career

After a media storm during that period she decided to focus on her career. However her appearances were very extensive including hundreds of newspapers articles, and hundreds of magazine articles, including:

• Cleo (May 1987)
• People (Nov 1985 & 1993)
• Post (Dec 1988 Sep 1992)
• Penthouse Forum (1986 & 1991)
• New Idea (March 1986)
• She (July 1996)
• New Woman (June 1992 & 1998)
• Naughty Sydney (Cover – November 1991)
• Tomadachi (June 1991)
• Wellbeing (May 1989 & 1993)
• Nature & Health (November 1997)

She made more than 100 radio interviews and dozens of television appearances in Australia and Japan as well, including:

• Where Are They Now? (Channel 7)
• Sex/Life (Channel 10 TEN)
• Midday Show with Kerri Anne (Channel 9)
• World View (NHK Japan)
• Beat Takeashi (NHK Japan)
• Good Morning Australia (Channel 10)
• Day by Day (Channel 9)
• Vox Populi (SBS)
• A Current Affair (Channel 10)
• Midday Show with Ray Martin (Channel 9)
• Terry Willisee|Terry Willisee Tonight (Channel 9).

Film Work

After the media attention she garnered considerable publicity in Australia, but decided to live in Japan for a couple of years.^[14] It was there that she made her film debut, a walk in and walk out part, in a film by Japanese director Yoshimitsu Morita. It was made for the local Japanese market and never made it out of Japan. On returning to Australia, her next film was The Enchanted Dance, a documentary film about authentic belly dancing. It went international on video but was not released on DVD.^[15]

Filmography

Previous films:

• 1989 – Ai to heisei no iro – Otoko
• 1992 – Secret Fantasies
• 1994 – The Enchanted Dance
• 2010 – Sleep Tight

Current Productions

• 2012 – The Edge of Fear
• 2013 – Pleasure Girl

IMBD has Estelle down for only the Japanese cinema title but also lists the actress as a composer and Cinematographer as well.IMDB listing

Modelling

Earlier on in her modelling career she became "Australia's First Transsexual Pin-up"^[16] by appearing nude in Australian Playgirl, unlike the US version of the magazine, the publication featured girls and not men, and it was the first time a transsexual had appeared in a mainstream magazine in Australia being nude.^[17] Estelle Asmodelle is also the face of the Supermodel Agency in Australia – she has been their spokesmodel and main model since 1996.

Currently

These days Asmodelle runs her network of modelling websites and now owns her own internet company, Ellenet Pty. Ltd. She has also acquired Night Star Pictures, an Australian film production company. According to media reports Estelle has become something of an internet entrepreneur^[18] and continues to build a significant online presence.^[19]

However it seems, although Estelle has modelled for some magazines, some of her work of late is with recording of electronic music. Many music magazines feature her CDs and often write reviews such as an review in Evil Sponge.^[20] Perhaps her fame has assisted Estelle's music career - in any case - there is continuing publicity about her activity, two examples are: Vents Magazine^[21] and Urban Mainstream Magazine.^[22]

Music and writing

Estelle has worked on her film career and hopes to launch her new cinema feature early 2012 as well a the proposed publishing of her Autobiographical novel, Anaesthetic Dream.

To date Estelle has written two books – which are still seeking publication:

• 2010 – Anaesthetic Dream
• 2009 – Sex Business

She has also written two screenplays, which have not been optioned at this time:

• Edge of Fear
• Pleasure Girl

Estelle is a member of Australian Society of Authors [1]

Estelle has a blog on one of her websites, namely; Asmodelle's Blog for updates on her activities. There is also an electronic music website that offers her electronic compositions as well (Asmodelle's Music).

To date Estelle has released 4 albums, which are available at iTunes, Amazon and most other online outlets, while her website also said they were released physically:

• 2009 – Electronic Mischief
• 2010 – Transelectric
• 2010 – Dark Universe
• 2011 – Asmelectrix
• 2011 – Electronic Mischief II
• 2011 – Near Earth Landscape

In early 2011 Estelle was signed to a major music distribution label: Blue Pie Records as a featured artist, for world wide distribution of her albums. It seems Estelle is working full time on her music and is getting some press in the US with electronic sounds she makes. According her albums seem to be available in some record stores but extensively online. An example is part of the catalogue on iTunes. iTunes listing

Australian radio has started to pick up her music and she is a featured artist on Triple J's Unearthed as well. Triple J UnEarthed

Academia

It appears that Estelle has returned to academia, and is undergoing study at the University of Central Lancashire UCLAN in the field of astrophysics Academia and has published 3 papers with the Journal of the Institute of Science and Technology IST. Furthermore she has joined the part time staff of COSMOS magazine as a science writer, in the field of Physics/Space, and has published a couple of related articles: Neptune^[23] and Milky way^[24]

Three academic papers published by Estelle during 2010-2011 are:

• Australian Telescopes: a Retrospective.^[25]
• Origins: The Special Theory of Relativity.^[26]
• 10 Vital Questions to 10 Notable Physicists - Part 1: An interview with Professor Lawrence M. Krauss.^[27]

Estelle is also an active member of the Institute of Physics in the UK [2], and also runs her own Astronomy & Cosmology blog [3].

References

1. ^ The Daily Mirror (Australia) Newspaper 13 October 1987
2. ^ Highlands Post Newspaper 10 January 1986
3. ^ Australian Playgirl Magazine for men, May 1986
4. ^ The Sunday Times May 1986
5. ^ Australian Illawarra Mercury Newspaper, 15 May 1982
6. ^ Highlands Post (Australia) Newspaper Friday, 21 October 1987
7. ^ Nature & Health Magazine (Australia) November Issue 1997
8. ^ Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Newspaper May 1986
9. ^ Australian Post Magazine, 3 December 1988
10. ^ Polare Magazine, Issue 82, 2005
11. ^ Australian Illawarra Mercury Newspaper, 14 October 1987
12. ^ Australian Highlands Post Newspaper 21 October 1987
13. ^ Australian Daily Mirror Newspaper 9 October 1987
14. ^ Penthouse Forum (magazine)|Forum Vol:2, No:1, 1991
15. ^ Star Observer newspaper (Australia), 12 July 1996
16. ^ Australian Truth Newspaper, 30 November 1991
17. ^ She magazine (Australia), 13 June 1996
18. ^ Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Newspaper 26 February 2008
19. ^ Brisbane Times article
20. ^ Evil Sponge 2010 review
21. ^ Vents Magazine 2010 article
22. ^ Urban Mainstream February Issue 54 2010 article
23. ^ Neptune 4 July 2011
24. ^ Milky way a Galactic Cannibal 18 July 2011
25. ^ Australian Telescopes: a Retrospective 2010
26. ^ Origins: The Special Theory of Relativity 2011
27. ^ An interview with Professor Lawrence M. Krauss. 2010

External links

• Official Site of Estelle Asmodelle
• Music portal with Estelle's Music
• Anaesthetic Dream (Autobiographical Novel)
• Sex-Business (Semi-autobiographical Novel)
• The Official website of The Enchanted Dance (Belly Dance film with Estelle)
• Estelle's Art Website
• Corporate website of her Ellenet company
• Estelle's listing on IMDB

Persondata
Name	Asmodelle, Estelle
Alternative names	Croot, Estelle Maria
Short description
Date of birth	22 April 1964
Place of birth	Bowral, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death
Place of death