American activist and broadcaster Connie Norman was born in 1949 and died on this day in 1996. Born in Texas, she was assigned male at birth, and identified as trans from early childhood. She ran away from home at 14, moving to Los Angeles where she presented as female and supported herself with sex work. She began gender reassignment treatment in the 1970s, identifying publicly as Connie. During the HIV/AIDS crisis of the early 1980s, she became heavily involved with the Los Angeles chapter of activist group ACT-UP, advocating for improved healthcare for HIV/AIDS patients and needle exchange programmes for IV drug users. Nicknamed “The AIDS Diva” for her fearless and confrontational persona, she also campaigned for law change to prohibit workplace discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. During the 1990s, she co-hosted the Los Angeles-based radio talk show The Connie Norman Show and a weekly cable television show, becoming one of the first gay rights activists to host a media programme focusing on LGBTQ issues. Diagnosed HIV-positive in 1987, she died of an AIDS-related illness in 1996, aged 46 or 47. After Norman’s death, her ACT-UP colleagues held a vigil in her honour outside the White House in Washington, D.C, scattering her ashes on the White House front lawn. Her life and work was profiled in the 2021 documentary AIDS DIVA: The Legend of Connie Norman.