Kelly van der Veer
| Kelly van der Veer | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ferry van der Veer |
| Born |
6 May 1980 Hilversum, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop, children's music |
| Occupation(s) | Reality television personality, recording artist |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1997–present |
Kelly van der Veer (born 6 May 1980) is a Dutch television personality and singer. She is a trans woman, and is regarded the most prominent transsexual person in the Netherlands who rose to fame after competing in Big Brother - The Battle, a Dutch version of the Big Brother-format.
During her childhood, Van der Veer sang on several Kinderen voor Kinderen (a children's choir) albums. Van der Veer stated her teenage years were "the most difficult phase of her life". She was often mistaken for a girl and frequently had to face ridicule because of this. She saw an escape from her plight in gaining prominence as a media personality and therefore participated in "De Travestiet Show" (English: The Transvestite Show) in 1997, entering as the youngest contestant at time. She underwent sex reassignment surgery at age 19.
In 2001, Van der Veer became a contestant on Big Brother and thus arose as a national celebrity. She finished as a finalist and revived her music career shortly after dropping from the show. Later appearing in over six television shows. She established her own comedy item on Dutch talk show Jensen!, called "Just Kel". Van der Veer is a notable figure in Dutch television due to her transsexuality. As of 2009, Van der Veer has established a website providing webcam sex for payment.
After finishing her run as a Big Brother participant, Van der Veer released a single, "I Am What I Am". Simultaneously, she released the same-titled album I Am What I Am; the album performed poorly both critically and commercially. As of 2010, she has released three singles, "I Am What I Am" followed by "Proud Mary" (2006) and "Ik Doe Wat Ik Doe" (2010).
Van der Veer collaborated with Andries de Jong, one of her fellow contestants at Big Brother, on the autobiographical book Kelly, which appeared in a Dutch paperback edition in 2006 ().
In 2004, Kelly had a short cameo appearance as an unnamed lesbian in the Dutch movie Gay. The film, however, was not very successful at the box office as it did not appeal to the contemporary image of homosexuals in the Netherlands.
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