they learned that the model who had inspired her depictions of petite femmes fatales was in fact her husband. As Elbe adopted her female identity, Gerda Wegener commonly introduced her as Einar Wegener's cousin when she was dressed in female attire. In 1930 Elbe underwent one of the first sex reassignment surgeries. As Danish law at the time did not recognize marriage between two women, their marriage was annulled in October 1930 by King Christian X. Elbe died in 1931 from complications of the surgery. Later life and death In 1931, Wegener married Italian officer, aviator, and diplomat Major Fernando Porta and moved with him to Morocco. She divorced him in 1936 and returned to Denmark in 1938 for unknown reasons. Wegener held her last exhibition in 1939, but by this time, her artwork was out of style as the simpler Functionalism had become more popular in the 1930s. She had no children, lived by herself in relative obscurity, and began to drink heavily. She faced financial instability and kept an income by selling hand-painted postcards. She died on 28 July 1940, in Frederiksberg, Denmark, shortly after Nazi Germany invaded the country. Her small estate was auctioned, and there was only a small obituary printed in the local paper. Book and film Over the years, beginning with the literary success of a book about her and Elbe's life together, and further with the release of a movie based on the book, the story of the couple gained a cult following in Denmark and around the world. Their artwork has been rediscovered, and exhibited and auctioned with success. A special exhibition of Gerda Wegener's work was on display at the Arken Museum of Modern Art until January 2017, followed by a travelling exhibit of her art shown around the world. The Danish Girl, David Ebershoff's 2000 novel about them was an international best-seller and was translated into a dozen languages. Gerda Wegener is portrayed by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander in the 2015 film The Danish Girl, also starring British actor Eddie Redmayne as Lili Elbe. The film received some criticism for obscuring the actual story of a historical trans person and omitting certain facts and for being based on a fictional book that does not tell the true story of the couple. The topic of Gerda Wegener's own sexuality, which she never talked about publicly, is not mentioned in the film