Andréa Colliaux is one of those remarkable women whose personal journey was also a pioneering struggle against
the limits society placed on transgender people. A French flight attendant and author, she grew up carrying a
profound sense that her body did not reflect who she was, while facing loneliness, misunderstanding and
discrimination at a time when transgender people in France were still widely treated as mentally ill. After
beginning her transition in her thirties, Andréa faced another battle when the airline where she worked
attempted to dismiss her. With determination, patience and legal support, she fought back and eventually
returned to her job as Andréa, becoming one of the first transgender women to work openly as a stewardess in
France. Her extraordinary story later became the subject of a documentary, and she also published her
autobiography in 2001, Carnet de bord d'un steward devenu hôtesse de l'air, to challenge the prejudice and
misinformation surrounding transgender lives. In this interview, Andréa speaks with striking honesty about a
childhood marked by tragedy, the long journey towards transition, her experiences as a transgender woman in the
aviation industry, love, surgery, fashion and activism. Above all, she shares the perspective of a woman who
refused to allow others to define her identity or her future. Her story is one of courage, resilience and
determination, but also of a simple and powerful conviction: she has always known who she was.
Monika: Today, I am honored to introduce Andréa Colliaux, a French stewardess and author of the
autobiographical book Carnet de bord d'un steward devenu hôtesse de l'air (Memories of a Steward Who
Became a Stewardess). Andréa is a pioneer in many ways, as she was featured in several documentaries, including
La méthode Cauet (2008) and Nous n'irons plus au bois (2008). Her journey is one of courage and resilience, as
she has become a trailblazer for transgender women, particularly in the aviation industry. Hello, Andréa!
Andréa: Dzień dobry, Monika!
Andréa: Dzień dobry, Monika!
Monika: What have you been up to these days?
Andréa: I’ve been flying a lot, and this has been quite difficult due to the snow we have in France. I was
supposed to go to Austria yesterday, and it took me 18 hours! I came back home after a very hard day!
Monika: What made you want to put your story into a book?
Andréa: Because I was so tired to hear or read about transgendered persons, things which were not the truth. It
was a huge amount of lies and “préjugés” about us. I wanted to tell the truth about our lives, the fact that in
France, we were considered psychotic persons. I wanted to help other people and give them the hope that doing a
transition in good conditions was possible, even if it is very difficult...
Monika: Does your flying take you to any exotic destinations?
Andréa: I fly in Europe and France most of the time. I don’t do long haul flights anymore, even because as a
transgender person, some countries would be very dangerous for me as I’ve been seen on TV, in magazines and in
the film
,
which was made about my story in 2001 “La vie comme un roman, Andréa née à 35 ans” by Philippe Baron. I often
fly to Italy because I do speak Italian, and sometimes to Warsaw. I love Poland...
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| Summertime in Mykonos. |
Monika: Being a stewardess sounds like a job of contrasts: hard work, difficult passengers, yet always the
smile, the perfect hair, the polished uniform. What's it really like?
Andréa: Yes, it’s true. But I do love my job. The difficulty comes most of the time with naughty persons! Of
course, it’s hard to work sometimes 18 hours on the same day, but the day after, I do not work, and this gives
me the opportunity to do so many other things... like shopping!!
No, I’m kidding. Of course, being impeccable, and wearing the uniform is something I love, BUT I’d say that sometimes when people are too mean, I can’t smile. Who would have ever thought that the company I’m working for would have admitted a TS person to be a part of the female team?
No, I’m kidding. Of course, being impeccable, and wearing the uniform is something I love, BUT I’d say that sometimes when people are too mean, I can’t smile. Who would have ever thought that the company I’m working for would have admitted a TS person to be a part of the female team?
Monika: Let's go back further. Where did you grow up?
Andréa: I grew up in the suburb of Paris, and in Brittany where my tutors had a holiday house.
Monika: Tell me about your childhood. When did you first feel that being a boy, or a man, wasn't who you were?
Andréa: My childhood was nothing but a nightmare! I felt that something wasn’t right when I was 6 or 7, at
school, when my little friends already considered me a little girl. My parents died in a car accident when I was
7. My tutors were my father’s parents. It was very hard. Then they never understood the difficulties I was going
through with my identity troubles.
At the age of 14, I was given many injections of masculine hormones. This was the beginning of a long nightmare; then my beard grew, I had hair on my chest, etc... From that time I was “androgynous”; afterward, it created a real confusion in my mind when I was looking at myself in a mirror, there was such a difference between what I was feeling inside and the cruelty of this body which was no longer mine.
At the age of 14, I was given many injections of masculine hormones. This was the beginning of a long nightmare; then my beard grew, I had hair on my chest, etc... From that time I was “androgynous”; afterward, it created a real confusion in my mind when I was looking at myself in a mirror, there was such a difference between what I was feeling inside and the cruelty of this body which was no longer mine.
Monika: School, college, university, for many transgender girls that stretch is remembered as the hardest,
full of discrimination. Was it the same for you?
Andréa: Yes, definitely, and afterward at that age, you have to find a job... When I was a teenager, people
would consider me a “gay man”. Which I was not. I was so confused about my sexuality. I never did
cross-dressing, I did not feel the need to do it. But I was a woman, in a male body. On the telephone, I
remember, people would always call me “Miss”! When I was a teenager, in the ’80s, being “gay” was not as easy as
it is now...
So imagine being a TS person. At the age of 25, I knew that I had to do something about this fact, BUT, I had no money, no permanent job to go through my transformation. I had to wait until the age of 35 to go through with this. Even in the ’90s in France, it was not possible to be treated by doctors, and endocrinologists. There were no official teams for this. It was considered a mental disease.
So imagine being a TS person. At the age of 25, I knew that I had to do something about this fact, BUT, I had no money, no permanent job to go through my transformation. I had to wait until the age of 35 to go through with this. Even in the ’90s in France, it was not possible to be treated by doctors, and endocrinologists. There were no official teams for this. It was considered a mental disease.
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| Paris-Paris. |
Monika: So when did you actually transition? I'm curious how difficult the process was, whether you had
support from family or friends, and what it meant for your job.
Andréa: At the age of 32. It took me 3 years. I had my final surgery at the age of 35 in London by Dr. Royle.
Friends, family... what is this? ALONE, you are alone when you want to do such a thing that people would not
understand OR do not want to understand this fact. I was already working as a flight attendant. It was very
hard. The company I’m working for wanted to fire me: I was the first TS air hostess in France. But I had a very
good lawyer, money, and patience! Finally, after 18 months, I came back as “Andréa”, a stewardess.
Monika: Was passing as a woman ever a struggle for you? And did you turn to cosmetic surgery along the way?
Andréa: ... Oh, such a question, Monika! But yes, I admit! I had breast implants and facial surgery by the
wonderful Dr. Bui in Paris. I wanted something “simple”; I mean, I did not want to look like somebody else. I
wanted to be “me” and Dr. Bui did a good job. I also had some hair implants, 5000 hairs, and this was the most
painful thing I had! The sex change was something so “easy” and painless compared to my face surgery.
Monika: Your gender reassignment surgery took place in Brighton, in the UK. Why not in France?
Andréa: The surgeon in France had a very bad reputation, a “butcher”, some other girls said. At this time, I was
taking part in Camille Cabral’s PASTT association. I met a girl. She was just back from her surgery in Brighton.
We spoke a lot. I went to Brighton and met Dr. Royle two times before making a decision. He was nice and
handsome, and I loved his discourse. I decided that he would be the one!
Monika: Modern cosmetic surgery has made it possible to transition even in one's late 50s or 60s. Do you think
that's really feasible, and what advice would you give transgender women considering it at that age?
Andréa: NO! Too dangerous after the age of 40... Sorry girls, but considering the hormonal treatment you’ll be
given afterwards, and all the complications that you may have after such a surgery, my answer is NO. Keep your
“Willy” and live your life as a woman but this surgery is a real big one.
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| The Cyclades, Summer 2011. |
Monika: Back when you transitioned, did you have any transgender role models to look up to? And how much did
you actually know about transgenderism at the time?
Andréa: I had no transgender role models for the reason that I wanted to be “me”. Audrey Hepburn was a model of
life and “attitude” to me and she was not a TS woman!
At that time, I met many people working in show business. Coccinelle was already an old woman but as Henry-Jean
Servat was a friend of hers, he gave her my phone number. We spoke a lot on the telephone. Unfortunately, she
died a few months afterwards.
I had read Maud Marin’s books and other books, which were given to me, but most of the things I found out afterwards were things I discovered in my woman’s life.
I had read Maud Marin’s books and other books, which were given to me, but most of the things I found out afterwards were things I discovered in my woman’s life.
Monika: If you had to name one thing, what was hardest about coming out?
Andréa: My coming out was not hard, it was a second birth!
Monika: And once you'd arrived, so to speak, what did it actually feel like to be a woman?
Andréa: Well, this was done, so what? I’ve always been a woman, with a penis. I had plastic surgery and I
considered that this surgery gave me back what I was not given at birth.
Monika: Have you ever been married? I'd love to hear how you see the role of love in your life.
Andréa: I had been married for 7 years and I divorced 18 months ago. My husband was violent, even in his words
and his acts. I brought up his two boys, they are 14 and 16 years old now. It was an experience but I’ll never
marry again. Being a TS woman and being a bride are not compatible... the family, friends, business contacts,
neighborhood, too difficult to deal with.
Monika: What's your favorite part of being a woman?
Andréa: Ask this question to a biological woman! Is there any answer to this? I enjoy being a woman with
everything this means!
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| One day I'll fly away. |
Monika: Zooming out, how would you describe the situation of transgender women in French society today?
Andréa: Better now since French ex-minister Roselyne Bachelot changed the law so that transgenderism has not
been considered anymore as a psychological illness. The problem is that we still don’t have good surgeons in
France. Girls go to Belgium, Switzerland, or Thailand.
Monika: In the USA, more and more transgender women have reached real celebrity status, think of Lana
Wachowski in film-directing, Jenna Talackova in modeling,
Kate Bornstein
in academic life, Laura Jane Grace in music, or Candis Cayne in acting. Do you see the same happening in
France?
Andréa: No, we don’t. Most of our celebrities come from cabarets as Madame Arthur, The Carrousel or La Grande
Eugène. They used to be female impersonators or entertainers. Being a TS person in France is not something you
can use if you want to be “famous”. The only ones we have are Marie-France,
Bambi
, and Coccinelle.
Monika: And yet we still hear horrifying news about transgender women being beaten or killed. What do you
think it would take to stop that?
Andréa: Is there anything you can do with this? Most of the people who are injured are prostitutes or call
girls. Sometimes words can be very painful, and I can say a lot about this.
Monika: Here's a bold one: could you picture a transgender woman becoming President of the French Republic in
our lifetime?
Andréa: Come on, Monika! They don’t want a TS flight attendant, so imagine a French President, a deputy, a
minister! France is too narrow-minded for this, much more than other countries in Europe, like Italy, Spain or
Portugal which are very catholic countries.
Monika: What's your take on transgender beauty pageants? Could the label “transgender” ever disappear, with
just one pageant open to both transgender and non-transgender women?
Andréa: What do you wanna be? A woman? Or do you consider yourself as a TS person for the rest of your life?
It’s funny, most of them had A LOT of plastic surgery. It’s easy to be gorgeous and look like a top model when
you had so much plastic surgery. I DO consider myself a woman, I’d never go and say “Hello, My name is Andréa
Colliaux and I’m a transgender person”. You are a woman or a man... What is the use?
The most important thing to me is to feel adequate in your mind and your body. Biological women are nice, beautiful, fat, ugly, tiny, tall... I’m one of them and I do not consider myself a TS person. I was a transgender person, I mean I had a TS past, but now I’m a woman. Do you want to see my passport or my birth certificate?
The most important thing to me is to feel adequate in your mind and your body. Biological women are nice, beautiful, fat, ugly, tiny, tall... I’m one of them and I do not consider myself a TS person. I was a transgender person, I mean I had a TS past, but now I’m a woman. Do you want to see my passport or my birth certificate?
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| Me, just me. |
Monika: No, of course not. Let's shift gears, then, do you follow fashion? What kind of outfits do you usually
reach for,
and is there a color or trend you love?
Andréa: A lot. Most of the time, I wear my Christian Lacroix uniform. I like casual things, discreet. Hermès is
my favorite. My goal: a nice jacket, a pair of jeans and nice stilettos shoes. Black is never a mistake, and
orange is my favorite.
Monika: Shifting to the present, how connected are you to your local LGBT community?
Andréa: Of course, I’m a reference. I receive a lot of mails, letters of girls telling me about their suffering,
asking for help. I took part in the discussions about the fact that transgenderism was no more a psychological
disease with the Inter LGBT in France and my friend Axel Leotard. This is also the reason why I decided to write
my autobiography. As long as I’m able to do it, I’ll continue doing it.
Monika: Would you say you're a happy woman today?
Andréa: Y E S definitely! My choice was a good one! If I ever had to do it again, I would do it!
Monika: Andréa, thank you for the interview!
Andréa:
Thank you, Monika, and one more thing... my new boyfriend is from Poland, his name is Dariusz... Lots of love to
all the girls in Poland!
I often fly to Warsaw and would be very pleased to have new friends in Poland!
Dziękuję Moniko, gorące pozdrowienia dla moich znajomych w Polsce. Często odwiedzam Warszawę i chętnie poznam nowych przyjaciół.
All the photos: courtesy of
Andréa Colliaux.
© 2013 - Monika Kowalska
© 2013 - Monika Kowalska
