In 2019, we got word that a biopic covering the life of transgender icon Candy Darling was in the works. Attached to this project is writer Stephanie Kornick, who previously served as a writer for the queer comedy-drama Transparent.
In the lead role of Candy is Hari Nef, who, like Kornick, previously served on the production for Transparent, in which she played Gittel, a trans family member of the Pfeffermans who died in the Holocaust. Among her many accomplishments, she is also the first openly transgender woman to appear on the cover of Elle magazine in Britain.
Related
“I felt like a weird, gross, cut-open, circus freak, wounded human being that had my guts spilling out,” Allen shared in a new TikTok.
Hari Nef recently discussed this project in an episode of the fashion podcast The Run-Through With Vogue. In this episode, she revealed that she is not only starring in the biopic but also taking over as its lead writer.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
Nef hails Candy as her “hero” and proclaims she was revolutionary in creating a space for transgender people in mainstream fashion, film, and entertainment. Candy Darling, the former Andy Warhol superstar, starred in films such as Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971) before her early death in 1974.
“She’s an icon. She’s a legend. I’ve wanted to play her and tell her stories since I started acting.” Nef stated.
This biopic will be Nef’s first starring role as an actress, and she is determined to portray the beloved late actress in a way that does her character justice.
Although a script had already been written, Nef said producers were trying to “access something different” and volunteered to write a version that she believes captures Candy’s life and spirit.
“I kind of just proposed an alternate version of it. My vision for the longest time has been to write for myself, to act. You don’t always feel like the parts that are available to you are the parts that you want to play,” she explained.
To help with writing the script and getting into her role, it was important for her to get the blessing of her best friend and the executor of her estate, the now-late Jerimiah Newton. Nef explains that before Newton died in late 2023, she visited him in his tiny Alphabet City apartment, where, according to Nef, he gave his blessing, telling her that she is beautiful like Candy and smart like Candy. During that afternoon, they also went through boxes of Candy’s belongings that Newton had saved over the years, reminiscing about the old days when she was still alive.
While Candy’s story is truly inspiring, it is also quite tragic as the actress died rather young—at age 29—from lymphoma. Nef touches upon this in the podcast, describing how finishing the script plunged her into a really deep depression. Nef also talks about how there is a lot of misconception around Candy’s death from transphobes who claim that her hormonal therapy caused her cancer, despite no scientific evidence supporting that theory and how it relates to modern issues of misinformation being spread about transgender people.
In reality, Candy’s cancer was something that developed years before she died, as it was reported in the late 60s that she had a visible tumor in her stomach. Because of the heightened pressure of her being transgender in her pursuit of stardom in a highly cutthroat industry, especially during the social climate of that era, she ultimately didn’t have the time to take a moment to address it.
Thankfully, things have changed, and we are living in a time where we are starting to see more opportunities and representation of transgender people in Hollywood despite how bleak things look in our geopolitical landscape. None of it would have been possible without people like Candy.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
