Alexandra Scott Billings (born March 28, 1962, Los Angeles, California, as Scott William Billings) is an American transsexual actress. She is the first transsexual to have played a transsexual character on television. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This article is about the U.S state. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... A transsexual (sometimes transexual) person establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to their assigned (usually at birth) sex. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ...

Her father, Robert Billings, was a music teacher at Los Angeles Harbor College and the musical director for the L. A. Civic Light Opera House, which influenced her interest in theater. She assisted, working backstage in the shadow of such stars as Carol Burnett (Once Upon a Mattress), Yul Brynner and (The King and I). She also appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar and The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd. For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC) is one of two community colleges serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed... Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933 in San Antonio, Texas) is an Emmy Award-winning actress, comedian, singer, dancer, and writer. ... Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy that opened off-Broadway on May 11, 1959, and then moved to Broadway. ... Yul Brynner (July 11, 1920[1] – October 10, 1985) was a Russian-born Broadway and Academy Award-winning Hollywood actor. ... The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Its script is based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. ... This article is about the rock opera. ... The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd was a follow up musical play to Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newleys Stop the World - I Want to Get Off. ...

In the early 1980’s, Billings worked as a female impersonator under the stage name Chante at the famed Baton Show Lounge in Chicago Illinois; winning a series of beauty contests, she was named Miss Wisconsin, Miss New York, Miss Chicago, Miss Illinois, and Miss Florida. She also served as a judge of the Miss Continental pageant in 2000, and 2001. Drag queens are performers - usually gay men, sometimes transgendered women - who dress in drag, clothing associated with the female gender, usually highly exaggerated versions thereof. ... A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition between people, based largely, though not always entirely, on the beauty of their physical appearance. ... Miss Continental is an annual transgender beauty pageant founded in 1980. ...

Most of Billings' professional work has been in Chicago theaters, most notably The Bailiwick Theater, Light Opera Works, Court Theatre, and the Tony Award winning Steppenwolf Theatre. She has collaborated on plays with such notable authors as Larry Kramer, Tina Landau, and Jamie Pachino. She has received one Joseph Jefferson Award, and 5 After Dark Awards for her work in Chicago Theater. For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ...

Her one woman autobiographical show has toured to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and off Broadway.

She has appeared in the 2003 made-for-TV movie Romy and Michelle: A New Beginning on ABC and in an episode of the ABC show Karen Sisco, which has been aired in reruns on TBS. She has also played transsexual characters in episodes of ER and Grey's Anatomy. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American television network. ... Karen Sisco is a television series about a fictional United States Marshal created by novelist Elmore Leonard. ... This article is about the U.S. television network. ... ER is an Emmy-winning American serial medical drama created by novelist Michael Crichton and set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. ... This article is about the television series. ...

Billings is also a professional singer who performs in theaters and nightclubs throughout the United States. She recorded her second CD, The Story Goes On, in 2003, which was produced by Lampkin Music and directed by Russ Long. Her first CD "Being Alive" was up for Grammy consideration. She was a recipient of the New York MAC Hanson Award for Cabaret Artist of the Year in 2004.

She has taught Viewpoints at the Steppenwolf Summer School since 2002, as well as Louis University, The University of Chicago, Illinois University, for the Illinois Theatre Convention, at Act One Studios, and various Master classes and workshops around the Chicago area. Currently, she teaches alongside Steppenwolf company members Tom Irwin and Jeff Perry at the Steppenwolf School West in Los Angeles California. The University of Chicago is a private co-educational university located in Chicago, Illinois. ...

Billings lives in Hollywood California with her wife Chrisanne. They were married in a commitment ceremony in Chicago in December of 1996. It is thought that every role played by Alexandra has been the first time they've been played by a transsexual in the history of theater.

External links

• Alexandra Billings at the Internet Movie Database
• Alexandra Billings website
• Alexandra Billings via Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame