Gila Goldstein

Gila Goldstein was born in 1947 in Turin

Gila Goldstein was born in Turin in 1947 to Matilda and Binyamin. She came to Israel as a child and grew up in Haifa. She came out as transgender in 1960, and her family did not accept her, so she left home and supported herself through sex work in Haifa and later Tel Aviv.

In 1965 she had gender affirming surgery in Belgium. In the early 1970s she lived in Europe and worked as a dancer and stripper. Back in Israel she performed in nightclubs, including Bar 51, and inspired a character in the film Bar 51 by Amos Guttman.

In the 1990s she recorded original songs and performed them at Allenby 58. In 1998 she co-hosted a night program on radio. She won a supporting actress award in Miami in 2005 for the film Good Boys, and a documentary about her life came out in 2010.

She advised and supported transgender women through their transitions. In 2015 she led the Tel Aviv pride parade as guest of honor. She died after a stroke in 2017 and was buried in Yarkon Cemetery under the name Gila Goldstein.