In April 1990, a 6-year-old boy went to an Easter egg hunt with his parents in the small town in Indiana where he was born. The rules were, if you found the golden egg, you would be able to choose any prize you wanted from either the red “boys” section or the pink “girls” section. The stakes were high; this family was very poor, and there was a bike in the prize section that Billie Lee had his eye on that his parents (dad was a roofer and mom stayed home with the kids) probably couldn’t afford. As luck would have it, he found the golden egg. Brimming with excitement, Lee made his way to claim his prize, but he was quickly ushered past the pink tent where the pink bike was and told he had to pick a “boy” toy. The devastation set in, and that is when he knew he didn’t see the world the way most others do.
Today, Billie Lee—who kept her original birth name—is no longer being ushered past what she wants in life. She bravely began to transition from male to female about a decade ago and undertook a full sex change operation to become the woman she is today: an activist shedding light on the issue of prejudice toward transgender men and women, a former celebrity stylist and makeup artist, and now the newest cast member of Vanderpump Rules. Lee is just getting started, and she is ready to make some noise.
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