Copyright 2000 MGN Ltd.
The Mirror
May 8, 2000, Monday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 18
LENGTH: 349 words
HEADLINE: SHOWBIZ LOVES THE GIRL WHO WAS A GUY
BYLINE: Claire Collins
BODY:
TALENTED Lisa-Lee Dark is on the brink of becoming one of Wales’ biggest female stars - even though she spent her childhood as a boy.
The 23-year-old, who stars alongside Sigourney Weaver in a spoof sci-fi movie, suffered from a rare disorder that led doctors and her parents to believe she was a lad.
It was only in her late teens that nature corrected its mistake.
Lisa-Lee had a condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia which led to overdoses of the male hormone testosterone while still in the womb.
She said yesterday: "I am a woman but the increased male hormones left me with what could be confused with male genitalia.
"I am not a hermaphrodite because I’ve got a complete set of working female reproductive organs.
"But I grew up as a boy and never questioned my sex.
"I went to a tough boys’ school and it was horrendous.
"I was spat at, punched, called all sorts of names because I was effeminate.
"I coped with the bullying and it has made me a stronger person but life was hell.
"People thought I was gay but I knew it wasn’t as simple as that. And endless visits to doctors didn’t come up with answers. I was given hormone after hormone, steroid after steroid and yet I was no closer to finding out exactly what was wrong."
As Lisa-Lee’s teens went on she became more and more feminine.
"I tried to fight it because I was brought up as a man but I am thoroughly XX female.
"This should have been discovered at birth," she added
But life for the unhappy "boy" called Lee improved dramatically when she was discovered singing in a Swansea park and began to find fame.
She finally started living as a woman at the age of 20.
Although she may need corrective surgery eventually, Lisa-Lee’s future now is golden.
As well as the making the film Galaxy Quest, she has just signed an pounds 8million record deal.
And her current album is racing up the dance charts in Britain and America. She said: "Life couldn’t be better. I still get some abuse but I put up with it because I’m going to have a fantastic career."
GRAPHIC: BRAVE: Lisa-Lee was bullied daily
LOAD-DATE: May 8, 2000