New Zealand performer, entrepreneur and activist Carmen Rupe was BOTD in 1936. Born in Taumarunui of Māori descent, she completed compulsory military training before relocating to Australia in the 1950s, where she lived as a woman, working as a cabaret performer and sex worker. She returned to New Zealand in the 1960s, establishing a series of gay-friendly coffee lounges and strip clubs. In 1966, she was arrested by police for dressing as a woman. The case was dismissed when the trial judge concluded Carmen’s dress was not a criminal offence. A tireless campaigner for gay and trans rights, she campaigned for decriminalisation of homosexuality and brothel-keeping, and ran unsuccessfully for the 1977 Wellington mayoralty. She became a role model and mentor for generations of queer and trans people, including politician Georgina Beyer and performance artist Mika Haka (who wrote and starred in a short film about Rupe). She died in 2011 aged 75.