The director of The Matrix and the highly-anticipated film Cloud Atlas, Larry Wachowski, now Lana Wachowski, has become the first major Hollywood director to publicly come out as transgender.

After a years of rumours and speculations, the reborn director Lana Wachowski last week outed herself in a promotional video talking about Cloud Atlas, her forthcoming film based on a Booker-nominated novel by British author David Mitchell.

Appearing with younger sibling and co-director Andy Wachowski, 47-year-old Lana Wachowski had fuchsia dreadlocks, a diaphanous grey dress and a breathy, slightly Germanic accent. How far the sex change has gone remains uncertain, but employees at William Morris, the talent agency that looks after her, now refer to the director as female Lana Wachowski.

Matrix director reveals sex change while promoting her new film Cloud Atlas / Larry Wachowski turned into Lana Wachowski

Ten years ago, Larry (Lana) Wachowski was going through a bitter divorce from wife Thea Bloom. One year later Larry Wachowski took to the Cannes Film Festival told the British tabloids that the director was a cross-dresser.

That same year the Gothamist reported on a column written by movie journalist Dave Poland, alleging that Larry Wachowski was in the process of undergoing a sex change.

The director’s Larry Wachowski sex change is being embraced by her fans around the world. Lana is currently undergoing hormone therapy as part of her ten-year gender transition.

Director of the Matrix trilogy Lana Wachowski has undergone a sex change

Most reviews of the 6-minute trailer for Cloud Atlas have focused on the ambitious scope of the film rather than the equally striking appearance of the co-director Lana Wachowski.

Described as the next Inception – the acclaimed Christopher Nolan blockbuster from 2010 – the film boasts dazzling special effects as well as a line-up of British thespians : in this case, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw.

The 2 leads, played by Halle Berry and Tom Hanks, swap names and genders in a story of redemption across two centuries.

Lana Wachowski, who introduces herself in the promotional film with the words ‘ Hi, I’m Lana ‘, has been transitioning for many years. Cloud Atlas will be her first directing credit under her new identity.

Larry Wachowski transgender / Cloud Atlas Film promotion video :

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