Trans Activist and Actress Erika Ervin Speaks Out at SAC

Erika Ervin believes that there are two things you need to study in life: Law and kung fu.

At least that’s what the model, actress, lawyer, martial arts enthusiast and personal fitness trainer, better known as Amazon Eve, did. And it’s landed her a lucrative career that includes international acclaim as the world’s tallest professional model and credits in TV shows like American Horror Story: Freak Show and Hemlock Grove.

Ervin — who underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2004 and publicly came out as transgender in 2014 — will be giving a talk at Santa Ana College on March 21 in room A-210 at 7 p.m..

“I have been fortunate and gifted and privileged enough to have an acting career and to be able to share my courage, strength, and history, [as well as] my history of advocacy,” she says.

Her talk will focus on her own experiences and will cover narratives throughout trans history, from World War II as well as the messaging challenges currently facing the trans community today.

“I’ve never really talked about myself directly. I’ve obfuscated my history within Amazon Eve’s history,” Ervin says. “It will be empowering. The empowerment part will be the innocent person who struggles against impossible odds imposed on them. It’s the hero’s journey.”