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Australian model, activist, scientist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Estelle Asmodelle, formerly known as Estelle Maria Croot, is an Australian polymath.[1] She is a model, actress, belly dancer, musician, activist, abstract artist and physicist.[2][3] She became Australia's first legally recognised transgender person registered with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Department of New South Wales on 13 October 1987.[4][5] Shortly thereafter, she received a newly issued passport under her updated name, featuring the gender marker 'F' for female. This was the first instance of a passport being issued to a transgender individual in Australia with the revised gender designation.[6][7] In 1986, she was labelled "Australia’s First Sex-Change Pin-up Girl".[8] Asmodelle was a controversial figure in the 1980s and has been the subject of much media attention.[9][10][11][12]
Estelle Asmodelle | |
|---|---|
Modelling Photo taken in Los Angeles 1999, photo taken by Ute Ville. | |
| Born | 22 April 1964 Bowral, New South Wales, Australia |
| Other names | Estelle Maria Croot |
| Alma mater | University of Wollongong University of Central Lancashire University of Queensland |
| Spouse | Jasmine Cooper |
Estelle Asmodelle was the first-born child of Silvia and Barry Croot. Her father’s side of the family was Latvian and her mother’s side was English. Asmodelle has one sibling named Belinda. Asmodelle grew up in Berrima, New South Wales. She attended St Paul’s Primary School in Moss Vale and Chevalier College.[13] At school, Asmodelle was considered gifted in science and art and often won school prizes. At the end of year 9, Asmodelle contracted meningitis while on holiday in Narooma. She was in a coma for three weeks and used a wheelchair for three months, later spending nine months in a convalescent hospital. To the amazement of the doctors, she made a full recovery.
After working briefly in Sydney, Asmodelle moved to Wollongong to attend Wollongong University. There she studied towards two degrees, a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Mathematics, with the hope of becoming a research scientist. She also worked in music ensembles, such as N-lettes and Miscellaneous Music[14] composing and playing experimental avant-garde music.[15]
At university, she experienced transphobic discrimination from members of the academic staff.[16] It was a devastating time for Asmodelle, for the dream of study and perhaps a life in academia seemed broken. As a result, she left the university to focus on art and music.[17]
After leaving Wollongong University, Asmodelle worked briefly as an assistant photographer, while attending dance classes at Sydney Dance Company and with a private instructor. Six weeks after starting belly dance classes, she gained work as a dancer.[18]
Asmodelle worked in many shows throughout Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Japan. She was typically featured as the variety act in such shows as Esma Duo, Paris by Night, Las Vegas Under Lights and Les Girls.[19] During her time dancing, she also gained part-time work modelling as well. She later ended her touring career, returning to Australia to work as a solo belly dancer.
While touring in Singapore, Asmodelle was detained and placed under house arrest because her passport indicated that she was male.[20][21] Due to this incident and other travel difficulties, she became determined to change the laws in Australia.[22] At that time, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not issue female passports to transgender women.[23]
Asmodelle continually sent letters and requests to the Attorney-General's office.[24] During this period, others had been lobbying for the right to amend birth certificates to the New South Wales government. In 1987, Asmodelle was invited by the office of the Attorney-General of New South Wales to be the first transgender person to have her birth certificate amended. This amendment made her the first legally recognised trans woman in Australia.[25] Months later, her passport sex designation was allowed to be amended as well.[26] A year later Asmodelle lobbied for anti-discrimination laws to be amended and also for the state hospitals ethics boards to allow research into ectopic pregnancy for trans women.[27][28][29][30][31][32]
Asmodelle continues to advocate for the trans community and has spoken out against anti-transgender hate groups.[33][34][35] Asmodelle was featured in a large number of newspaper and magazine articles.[36]
Asmondelle worked as a model in Japan from 1988 to 1992.[37] While living in Japan, she played a small role in the 1989 film entitled "24 Hour Playboy (Ai to heisei no iro - Otoko)".[38] Upon leaving Japan, she appeared in several Australian films, including a belly dancing documentary entitled The Enchanted Dance.[39][40][41][42]
In 2000, Asmodelle lived and modelled in Los Angeles while completing studying at the Lena Harris Studio.[43]
Earlier on in her modelling career, she became "Australia's First Transsexual Pin-up"[44] by appearing nude in Australian Playgirl. It was the first time a trans woman had appeared nude in a mainstream magazine in Australia.[45] Asmodelle was the face of the Supermodel Agency in Australia; she was their spokesperson and main model during 1996–2000. Estelle has been photographed by hundreds of photographers in her career but most notable are: Guy Heritage, Jasmine Cooper, Ute Ville, Justice Howard and Daniel Linnet.
Asmodelle started painting abstract pieces from early childhood and while at Wollongong University, started creating large canvases. Her first solo exhibition was at Wollongong Regional Art Gallery, (now called the Wollongong City Gallery).[46] During her varied career, Asmodelle continued to paint and exhibit, and while living in Japan also exhibited at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum[47] as part of the UNESCO International Friendship Exhibition in 1991. Asmodelle also started the Tokyo Eki (train station) Exhibition, displaying and selling her work in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Tokyo.[48]
Asmodelle was also involved in group shows in Los Angeles, at the Los Angeles Center For Digital Art LACDA.[49] Since returning to Australia, Asmodelle has continued to exhibit in both solo exhibitions in Sydney and country NSW, as well as in group shows.[50] Her work has been exhibited in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Sydney and regional NSW.[51] Asmodelle has had numerous solo shows and participated in over 100 group shows.[52]
In 2010 Asmodelle published her first art book, entitled "Transience".[53]
Asmodelle has continued to paint during her varied career, while she usually gains considerable publicity in all her activities. The Art Blog, ran a piece on her in 2016 about her abstract art,.[54] Additionally, she has stated on her profile on Art Finder,[55] that she is to launch another book in 2021 about her abstract art, entitled, "Abstraction". She also has a profile on the Bluethumb art portal[56] She is in the top 10 best selling artists on Bluethumb.[57] Asmodelle is also represented by Art Lovers Australia and is also a top seller through that portal as well.[58] As time goes by Asmodelle's art continues to gain more attention with very many awards and articles being published about her work.[59][60][61] Asmodelle's artworks often appear in many publication around the world, here is an example in Vogue Germany.[62] Art Lovers Australia, who is one of the art portals in Australia that represent Asmodelle's art, did an interview with her in October 2022.[63]
Asmodelle has won dozens of art awards, in recent years a few of those are: Winner at Art Show International 2021 and also 2022,[64] highly commended at the 2020 Abstracts Art Exhibition at J. Mane Gallery.,[65] and winner at Artavita International in both 2020 and 2019.[66]
From 2021 Asmodelle's artistic reputation has grown internationally, as have her sales. Asmodelle is featured in New York Glamour magazine in August 2021 [67] and also her work appears on the Cover, as well as a feature article, in the French Arts Magazine Mozaïk No 3.[68] In November 2022 Louis Vuitton's newest store at Hanshin Dome in Taiwan purchased Asmodelle's artwork and highlight the work in their lavish store, while Vogue November 2022[69] in Taiwan and Marie Claire November 2022[70] both covered the story and mentioned Asmodelle art.
While modelling in Japan, Asmodelle also worked for several large Japanese technology companies as a technical consultant, these companies were: Hitachi, Nachi-Fujikoshi, and NSK. It was the start of a career change, returning to an academic life. During that time, she developed several new technology patents. In 1987, her designs of improved active magnetic bearing technology were funded by the Japanese companies,[71] but were never manufactured due to expensive costs of production, which used a laser guidance system. Asmodelle's designs[72][73] have been cited in the engineering field as a novel breakthrough in technological development. Asmodelle's patents in the Croot surname,[74] and in the Asmodelle surname.[75]
Upon returning to Australia Asmodelle continued her technical consultant work alongside her modelling and painting. Then in 1998 she formed her own internet company, Ellenet Pty. Ltd. Calling on background in computers. According to media reports, Asmodelle has become something of an internet entrepreneur[76] and continues to build a significant online presence.[77] In 2016 Ellenet Pty. Ltd. was sold to Sandgate Solutions in Australia for an undisclosed sum.
Since 2005 Asmodelle has also been recording composition of electronic music. Many music magazines feature her CDs and often write reviews such as a review in Evil Sponge.[78] Other publicity for her activity includes Vents Magazine[79] and Urban Mainstream Magazine.[80]
In 2008 Asmodelle returned to academia, studying at the University of Central Lancashire in the field of astronomy.[81]
Asmodelle has written two books:
She has also written four screenplays, which have not been optioned.
The screenplay "Pleasure Girl" has done well at film festivals. Award winner in its category (Script (Science Fiction)) at the 2018 Los Angeles Film and Script Festival,[83] Award winner in its category (Script (Science Fiction)) at the Best Script Award London, England 2020 (24 November 2020),[84] Official Selection at The Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival 2020 (31 May 2020),[85] and also an Official Selection at Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival (MiSciFi) 2021 (26 February 2021).[86] Pleasure Girl, has won a total of thirteen awards in independent film festivals.
Working as a musician, Asmodelle simply goes by the name "Asmodelle".
Asmodelle has released seven albums, and all are available at online outlets, while her website also said they were released physically:
In early 2011, Asmodelle was signed to Blue Pie Records as a featured artist, for the worldwide distribution of her albums.[87] but during early 2013 she moved over to Mondotunes distribution.
She is a featured artist on Triple J's Unearthed as well.[88] In 2014 she released 5th Album Grooveatropolis, through Mondo Tunes worldwide: Asmodelle on Mondo Tunes.[89]
Asmodelle has won many awards for her music as well. Her music video won an award at the Australian Independent Music Video Awards, for a category: Best Instrumental Music Video – Australia 2012, for the track: Hybrid[90] from the Asmelectrix album.[91] In September 2015, Asmodelle became a Bronze Medal Winner, with Grooveatropolis Vol I[92] She has also won a Bronze medal for Improvera - Quite Moments, contemporary minimal piano improvisation as well.[93] In 2016 Asmodelle's music was nominated for the 2016 Australian Independent Music Awards.[94]
Asmodelle published several papers with the peer-reviewed Journal of the Institute of Science and Technology.[95][96][97][98][99][100] Between late 2010 to mid 2011 she joined the part-time staff of Cosmos as a science writer, in the field of physics/space, and published six articles.[101][102] In 2015 Asmodelle published two articles about Einstein in the Asian Journal of Physics 2015: An Einstein Anniversary Edition.[103][104] Other papers published by Asmodelle can be found on Google Scholar [105]
Asmodelle was an active student member of the Institute of Physics in the UK, a full member of the Newcastle Astronomical Society, a student member of the Australasian Society for General Relativity & Gravitation, and runs her own astronomy and cosmology blog, "Relative Cosmos".[106] In late 2011, as a result of Asmodelle's Cosmos magazine articles, several astronomical societies asked her to give presentations on astronomy and cosmology. She has given four presentations each since on areas such as "Cosmology and the role of the General Theory of Relativity", "GAIA: the Dawn of High Precision Micro-Arcsecond Astrometry", and "Water on the Moon". Some of the societies in question are Newcastle Astronomical Society (NAS), Sutherland Astronomical Society and Astronomical Society of New South Wales.
In June 2012, Asmodelle became a member of the Australasian Society for General Relativity and Gravitation (ASGRG). In May 2013 also became a member of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG). Author John Gribbin has acknowledged her efforts with validating Einstein's sources.[107] Other authors have cited her work as well.[108][109]
In early 2013 Asmodelle was invited to become a Fellow of the Institute of Science and Technology IST.[110] Additionally, in May 2013 the Express Advocate published an article about an introduction to cosmology[111] Asmodelle was running at the Central Coast Community College on the Ourimbah campus of Newcastle University, in the Central Coast of NSW.
In 2017, Asmodelle completed a degree with the University of Central Lancashire[112] through their Study Astronomy portal,[113] with a BSc astronomy [honors]. Asmodelle graduated in 2017 with a 1st class honours. During the 8 years of study, the university has acknowledged her efforts[114]
In January 2018, Asmodelle started a PhD, on a full scholarship, at the Centre for Quantum Computation & Communication Technology, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland,[115] working in the field of quantum mechanics and relativity. Asmodelle suspended her PhD with the University of Queensland in 2020. In that same year Asmodelle studied a Graduate Certificate in Mathematics at University of New England (Australia) (UNE). Although she has planned to begin a second PhD at Sydney University and the Centre for Time.[116]
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