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10 gender bending celebs

By Ami Angelowicz, The Frisky
John Travolta played Edna Turnblad in the remake of the cult film "Hairspray."
John Travolta played Edna Turnblad in the remake of the cult film "Hairspray."
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Johnny Depp put on some lingerie and heels as transvestite movie director Ed Wood
  • Cate Blanchett was a dead ringer for Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There"
  • Felicity Huffman earned an Oscar nom for her role as Bree in "Transamerica"
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(The Frisky) -- Looks like Gwyneth Paltrow might have just thrown away her chance for an Oscar nom next year.

She turned down the chance to play Nicole Kidman's wife in a new film, "The Danish Girl," about the first man to undergo a sex-change operation. Her reason? She wants to spend more time with her husband and kids.

About her decision to withdraw from the film, she told Harper's Bazaar magazine: "Some days I feel like everyone in my world has plugged themselves into my kidneys. I'm so tired." I think somebody's (oh, hello, Gwyneth) due for a major cleanse (again).

Here are 10 other celebs who have showed their acting chops with some gender-bending.

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1. We got to watch Johnny Depp put on some lingerie and heels as the infamous transvestite 50s and 60s movie director Ed Wood.

2. Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her work as Brandon Teena, a transgendered man who was sexually attacked and murdered in "Boys Don't Cry."

3. Gael Garcia Bernal sure made one good-looking, drug-addicted "woman" in Pedro Almodovar's "Bad Education."

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4. "Nip/Tuck" was never the same once actress Famke Janssen joined the cast as Ava, the evil transgender man who steals Matt's heart and ruins his life.

5. Liev Schreiber played Vilma, an openly gay cross dresser who doubles as a Woodstock security guard in Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock."

6. Who can forget Dustin Hoffman as cross-dressing "Tootsie?" It's a classic.

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7. Felicity Huffman earned an Oscar nom in "Transamerica," as Bree, a man about to have gender reassignment surgery when he discovers he fathered a son.

8. British actor Jaye Davidson was nominated for best supporting actor for his work as Dil, a transsexual, in "The Crying Game."

9. We never imagined Cate Blanchett could play Bob Dylan, but she was a dead ringer for the male icon in "I'm Not There."

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10. The remake of the cult film "Hairspray" would not have been complete without a little gender-bending. John Travolta obliged by playing Edna Turnblad. The late Divine would have been proud.

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