Carmen Rupe, born Trevor Rupe and often simply known as Carmen (10 October 1936 – 14 December 2011) was a New Zealand-Australian drag performer, brothel keeper, anti-discrimination activist, would-be politician, and HIV/AIDS activist. Carmen Rupe was New Zealand's first iconic drag queen. She was a transgender woman. Life Born in the small rural town of Taumarunui in the central North Island of New Zealand, Rupe had twelve siblings.  She relocated to the urban centres of Auckland and Wellington. After doing drag performances while doing compulsory military training and periods working as a nurse and waiter, Rupe moved to Sydney's Kings Cross in the late 1950s. In the 1970s, she became notorious for the sexually tolerant venues she established in Wellington. Category: New Zealand drag queens Category:LGBT rights activists from Australia Category: 1936 births Category:2011 deaths Category: New Zealand Māori people Category:LGBT rights activists from  New Zealand Category:New Zealand brothel owners and madams Category:New Zealand  Māori activists Category: Deaths from kidney failure Category:New Zealand  military personnel Category: Transgender and transsexual women Category: People from Taumarunui Category: New Zealand Māori women Category:Transgender and transsexual female models  Category:Transgender drag performer
Carmen Rupe, born Trevor Rupe and often simply known as Carmen (10 October 193614 December 2011) was a New Zealand-Australian drag performer, brothel keeper, anti-discrimination activist, would-be politician, and HIV/AIDS activist. Carmen Rupe was New Zealand's first iconic drag queen. She was a transgender woman. Life Born in the small rural town of Taumarunui in the central North Island of New Zealand, Rupe had twelve siblings. Her mother was of Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Heke-a-Wai descent, while her father was of Ngāti Maniapoto. She relocated to the urban centres of Auckland and Wellington. After doing drag performances while doing compulsory military training and periods working as a nurse and waiter, Rupe moved to Sydney's Kings Cross in the late 1950s. In the 1970s, she became notorious for the sexually tolerant venues she established in Wellington. Category: 1936 births Category:2011 deaths Category: Deaths from kidney failure Category:LGBT rights activists from Australia Category:LGBT rights activists from New Zealand Category:New Zealand brothel owners and madams Category:New Zealand drag queens Category:New Zealand Māori activists Category: New Zealand Māori people Category:New Zealand Māori women Category:New Zealand military personnel Category: Ngāti Hauā Category:Ngāti Maniapoto Category: People from Taumarunui Category: Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi Category:Transgender and transsexual female models Category:Transgender and transsexual women Category:Transgender drag performer
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1936 – 14
193614
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Her mother was of Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Heke-a-Wai descent, while her father was of Ngāti Maniapoto.
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New Zealand drag queens Category:LGBT rights activists from Australia Category:
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New Zealand Māori people
Deaths from kidney failure
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Australia Category:LGBT rights activists from
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drag queens Category:New Zealand
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Deaths from kidney failure
New Zealand Māori people
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Māori women Category:New Zealand
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Transgender and transsexual women Category:
Ngāti Hauā Category:Ngāti Maniapoto Category:
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New Zealand Māori women
Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi
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Category:Transgender and transsexual women