Carlotta (born 2 September 1943) is the stage name of Carol Byron , a transgender Australian cabaret performer and television personality. She began her career as an original cast member of the long-running Sydney-based male revue Les Girls (pronounced lay-girls) cabaret show, which had an international following, starting in 1962 in Sydney's Kings Cross. Carlotta performed spot-numbers as a singer and comedian, and eventually became the show's compere and lead attraction. Although best known as a cabaret performer, she appeared in the television series Number 96 in 1974 as Miss Robyn Ross, in a comedic storyline as the girlfriend of Arnold Feather (Jeff Kevin) who unbeknown to him, she reveals that she is transgender, her appearance in the show is the first time a transgender actress played a transgender TV character anywhere in the world, in the series she was credited as Carole Lee In 2021, she announced that she is retiring from the industry after 62 years. In a statement from the newspaper Sydney Morning Herald, they cited Carlotta as much as an Australian legend in the vein of Don Bradman and Cate Blanchett. Biography Early life and personal life Carlotta is the stage name of Carol Byron' in Balmain, New South Wales, in 1943. As a child, she was taught song-and-dance routines by her mother. Neither her mother nor her stepfather approved of her subsequent transgender performing career. She had sex reassignment surgery in 1971 which, though not the first such procedure in Australia, was the first to receive major publicity. In 2018, she revealed she had bladder cancer. She says it was discovered early and had the tumor surgically removed. Career Les Girls cabaret Her stage name was sourced from that of Empress Carlota of Mexico. Managed by impresario Lee Gordon, who had toured to Australia such stars as Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland, she began her career as an original cast member of the long-running stage male revue Les Girls (pronounced lay-girls) cabaret show, which started in 1962 in the purpose-built nightclub building owned by Abe Saffron in the heart of Sydney's Kings Cross. The revue was performed exclusively by males in drag costume, and Carlotta performed spot-numbers as a singer and comedian. She eventually became known as "The Queen of The Cross" as the show's compere and lead attraction, performing also in Leagues clubs while touring with the show. She also appeared in