Dana international personal life now. Interview with Dana's family. Plastics Dana International

Dana's biography, like the biography of any transsexual, will be a little shocking to the average person, but, like any woman, she still has a lot of secrets in store, even from the most curious paparazzi.

On February 2, 1972 (according to other sources - at the end of 1970), a boy was born into a poor family living in a working-class suburb of Tel Aviv. They named him Yaron Cohen - in honor of his uncle who died a year ago during a terrorist attack. His father (Eliyahu) worked as a personal secretary for a judge, and his mother (Bat-Galim (Gali)) was a housewife. He was the youngest child in the family - his sister Limor was 4 years older, and his brother Nimrod was 3 years older. Often in various articles we can see a photo of a small dark boy with a doll in his hands. It seems to personify his attachment to women's things from early childhood. He liked to play in the same company with girls.

In 1979, he was greatly inspired by the victory of Ofra Haza (Israeli singer) at the Eurovision Song Contest. Yaron started playing music at the age of 8. From the age of ten he sang in the municipal choir, and at fourteen he took part in the real musical “Joseph and the Amazing Living Blanket of Dreams” for the first time. At school, he had to endure a great loss: his best friend Daniel died in a car accident. After finishing primary school, he continued his studies at Ironi Alef, where he met two brothers (Lior and Schmulick Sa’adia), who later began working as his backup dancers. My favorite subjects at school were “English” and “history”. He was a diligent student... but internal contradictions, fueled by puberty, became completely unbearable. His ratings went down, and his popularity in nightclubs went up. There he began performing at the age of 16, dressing in bright women's outfits and wigs. To his great happiness, the parents treated their child’s “oddities” with understanding.

One day, in 1988, in a nightclub, Yaron met Ofer Nissim, who was organizing a revue called Le La Lu and was having difficulty finding a lead singer. Soon a parody of Whitney Houston's song "My Name Is Not Susan" appeared. Nobody expected the song to become so popular!

First performed on the stage of the Opera club, the song spread throughout the dance floors of Israel. By the way, with this song a new name appeared - Dana! The next song “Dana International” has already managed to break into the American charts - they learned about it abroad.

Now that Yaron has not only popularity, but also money, he takes the next important step in his life - he goes to the UK for sex reassignment surgery (May 1993). And, fortunately, his parents were able to make this decision. Especially his sister Limor, with whom they always shared their secrets.

You can forget about Yaron, Sharon appeared instead. Having recovered from the operation, Dana releases her first album, “Danna International”. Dana wants people to react to the operation as if it were an insignificant detail in her biography, like a change in hair color or plastic surgery of the nose: “First of all, I am a singer, only then come other things - character, beauty and past.” But will they let you forget about this when you’re spinning at the top of the business show? Therefore, Dana does not turn away from her past. There is a lot of ambiguity in her songs and she does not hesitate to perform at festivals of sexual minorities.

So, her debut album went gold, and the next, “Umpatampa” (1994), went platinum. Also in 1994, she became the best performer of the year in Israel. Pirated copies of her songs are also a huge success abroad, especially in Egypt.

In 1995, Dana tries her hand at entering the Eurovision Song Contest. But participation in Kdam-Eurovision (Israeli preliminary competition) brought her only second place. She did not despair at all and released a new album, EPtampa, in which trance and house music were mixed with disco.

With her work, Dana has done a lot to ensure that the word “transsexual” does not evoke unpleasant emotions in people. She is not just a great singer who sings in several languages, but also a wonderful person with versatile talents. Besides, she is a very beautiful girl.

More information about Dana International, media files at http://danainternation.do.am

On February 2, 1972 (according to other sources - at the end of 1970), a boy was born into a poor family living in a working-class suburb of Tel Aviv. They named him Yaron Cohen - in honor of his uncle, ... Read all

Dana's biography, like the biography of any transsexual, will be a little shocking to the average person, but, like any woman, she still has a lot of secrets in store, even from the most curious paparazzi.

On February 2, 1972 (according to other sources - at the end of 1970), a boy was born into a poor family living in a working-class suburb of Tel Aviv. They named him Yaron Cohen - in honor of his uncle who died a year ago during a terrorist attack. His father (Eliyahu) worked as a personal secretary for a judge, and his mother (Bat-Galim (Gali)) was a housewife. He was the youngest child in the family - his sister Limor was 4 years older, and his brother Nimrod was 3 years older. Often in various articles we can see a photo of a small dark boy with a doll in his hands. It seems to personify his attachment to women's things from early childhood. He liked to play in the same company with girls.

In 1979, he was greatly inspired by the victory of Ofra Haza (Israeli singer) at the Eurovision Song Contest. Yaron started playing music at the age of 8. From the age of ten he sang in the municipal choir, and at fourteen he took part in the real musical “Joseph and the Amazing Living Blanket of Dreams” for the first time. At school, he had to endure a great loss: his best friend Daniel died in a car accident. After finishing primary school, he continued his studies at Ironi Alef, where he met two brothers (Lior and Schmulick Sa’adia), who later began working as his backup dancers. My favorite subjects at school were “English” and “history”. He was a diligent student... but internal contradictions, fueled by puberty, became completely unbearable. His ratings went down, and his popularity in nightclubs went up. There he began performing at the age of 16, dressing in bright women's outfits and wigs. To his great happiness, the parents treated their child’s “oddities” with understanding.

One day, in 1988, in a nightclub, Yaron met Ofer Nissim, who was organizing a revue called Le La Lu and was having difficulty finding a lead singer. Soon a parody of Whitney Houston's song "My Name Is Not Susan" appeared. Nobody expected the song to become so popular!

First performed on the stage of the Opera club, the song spread throughout the dance floors of Israel. By the way, with this song a new name appeared - Dana! The next song “Dana International” has already managed to break into the American charts - they learned about it abroad.

Now that Yaron has not only popularity, but also money, he takes the next important step in his life - he goes to the UK for sex reassignment surgery (May 1993). And, fortunately, his parents were able to make this decision. Especially his sister Limor, with whom they always shared their secrets.

You can forget about Yaron, Sharon appeared instead. Having recovered from the operation, Dana releases her first album, “Danna International”. Dana wants people to react to the operation as if it were an insignificant detail in her biography, like a change in hair color or plastic surgery of the nose: “First of all, I am a singer, only then come other things - character, beauty and past.” But will they let you forget about this when you’re spinning at the top of the business show? Therefore, Dana does not turn away from her past. There is a lot of ambiguity in her songs and she does not hesitate to perform at festivals of sexual minorities.

So, her debut album went gold, and the next, “Umpatampa” (1994), went platinum. Also in 1994, she became the best performer of the year in Israel. Pirated copies of her songs are also a huge success abroad, especially in Egypt.

In 1995, Dana tries her hand at entering the Eurovision Song Contest. But participation in Kdam-Eurovision (Israeli preliminary competition) brought her only second place. She did not despair at all and released a new album, EPtampa, in which trance and house music were mixed with disco.

With her work, Dana has done a lot to ensure that the word “transsexual” does not evoke unpleasant emotions in people. She is not just a great singer who sings in several languages, but also a wonderful person with versatile talents. Besides, she is a very beautiful girl.

More information about Dana International, media files at

In 1998, a bright and very beautiful singer from Israel performed at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Diva. Both the song that won the competition and the singer instantly became very popular. For example, in Russia, Diva was sung by Philip Kirkorov, an old friend of the singer. Today, probably, everyone already knows that she was a man. After Eurovision, this information shocked many: it is difficult to imagine that such a beautiful woman was born in a male body. Nevertheless, it is true. This is what the Diva looked like (the name of the first hit became the singer’s second name) before the sex change operation.

Both photos show Dana International before surgery.

Dana International (birth name Yaron Cohen) has been mistaken for a girl since childhood. But only at the age of 15, after visiting a gay club, the young man finally realized his feminine essence. Interestingly, the youthful breakdown of his voice did not affect Yaron. Few transsexuals can boast of this. “New” women, as a rule, have rough, masculine voices. Dana International's voice sounds like a woman's, and with a beautiful sexy timbre. The young man underwent gender reassignment surgery at the age of 21. Moreover, Yaron’s family fully supported him in this difficult issue and do not remember that Dana International was a man before the operation, and this happens very rarely in such cases.

Dana is very upset that it was precisely the “surgical” facts of her biography that brought her world fame and interest. She still wanted to prove to everyone that she was a singer first and foremost. In 2011, Dana International tried to repeat its success at Eurovision, but this time the song did not even make it to the final. Today the sexy singer has been forgotten. Occasionally she gives small concerts and performs at private parties. An annual trans culture festival is held in St. Petersburg, which bears her name. And despite her beautiful voice and bright appearance, Dana International became famous only thanks to her unusual life story.

... International (singer)

. (Dana) James (1813-95) American geologist and mineralogist, gave a chemical classification of minerals

Female name: (Czech) given, received

Card issued by the ATM when tagged in Pharaoh

American naturalist

Tomato variety

Slavic goddess, daughter of Pereplut

TV presenter name Borisova

Goddess of water among the Slavs

Israeli pop star

TV presenter... Borisova

Borisova

Goddess, daughter of Pereplut

Car, Tavria model

American geologist

Scully from The X-Files

Scully, Mulder's partner (s/c)

Mulder's partner's name (s/c)

The name of the TV star Borisova

Borisova (Russian presenter)

TV star Borisova

Slavic goddess of rivers

Singer from Israel (name)

Borisova from TV presenters

Scully and... International

. "singers" ... International

International from Israel

Name Borisova

Actress Agisheva

Scully's name from the TV series

Card released by the ATM when tagged in Pharaoh

American geologist and mineralogist (1813-1895)

Dana International: The True Story

Star Kdam-Eurovision
Dana International

On Saturday afternoon, the Cohen family gathered around the dinner table for the last time before Kdam-Eurovision. Her mother is Bat-Galim (Gali), her father is Elyahu, her 29-year-old divorced older sister Limor with her three-year-old daughter Eliya, and her unmarried 28-year-old brother Nimrod. We eat "Gachnun" [*traditional dish of people from Yemen] prepared by Ghali. Uncle Shlomo and Aunt Esther also came with their children. Dana, who only woke up an hour ago, arrives in a simple dress and slippers, her hair tied up, and very little makeup on her face.

Not a single word about Kdam-Eurovision or about Dana's female performance. The fact that their Dana was most recently a guy named Yaron is of no concern to anyone here.

“What would you prefer,” says Sister Limor, “Yaron Cohen, who would not have the operation and would be depressed and sad every day and who would withdraw and isolate himself from society and family, just because he wanted to become a woman, and he weren't allowed? I approve of Dana's choice over Yaron Cohen's death."

And when they ask you how many brothers and sisters you have, what do you answer?
“I say that I have a brother and a sister. I always wanted to have a sister, and now I have one. She is my sister in every way. We are blood sisters."

This is the first interview with Dana's family. Until now, they have refused to talk to the press. After all, according to them, this is Dana’s career. Dana herself did not want them to be interviewed. She was afraid that they might mistakenly say something that would cause the media to sensationalize it.

Dana released two very successful albums, "Danna International" And "Umpatampa", and despite the media hype, Dana avoided family communication with the press. Just this week before Kdam-Eurovision and her performance with the song "Layla Tov, Eropa" she let her family talk. Perhaps this is due to the growing trust in her. For example, she will play the role of Queen Esther in a Purim special on the children's channel, and it is very likely that she will appear in the musical Flattery in the summer as Sandy.

“We don't want to do anything without Dana's permission,” Limor says. “It’s her career and she’s the only one who decides what happens.” Moreover, you must know that if Dana decides to do something, you will not stop her. She will always have the last word."

From hours of conversation with members of the Cohen family and other people we know, we learned that Dana was essentially already born with lipstick on her lips. Even though members of the Cohen family had a difficult time coming to terms with gender reassignment surgery, this week they are trying not to focus on it and smooth out all the rough edges. No one said a single bad word about her, no one was embarrassed or called her Yaroni during the interview. Everyone is rooting for Dana. They want her to become a star and win the Kdam-Eurovision, after which she would appear abroad in front of foreigners.

“It’s very important to us that Dana succeeds and climbs higher and higher in her career,” says Limor. - If you think about it, changing some features of your personal life is just a detail and it’s so insignificant. Beneath all this lies musical and acting talent. What difference does it make - a singer or a singer?

Dana was born 25 years ago in Tel Aviv as Yaron Cohen, the youngest child of Elyahu, a court clerk, and Bat-Galim, a housewife. The apartment was in a shabby building, very close to the Tel Aviv cemetery "Trumpeldor"in front of the synagogue. A lot of cats, mourning bands, a discarded seat for ritual ablutions. Broken mailboxes, on one of which “Cohen” is written in green marker. Dana spent her childhood here. Here she walked in her mother’s high-heeled shoes.

Dana: “My childhood was not ideal, but I consider it good. I was with good people who never talked to me about sexuality or gender, so I don't remember having any problems. I didn’t feel special or different from everyone else.”

“I don’t remember Dana playing ball. She only played with dolls, says Esther Cohen, her aunt. - She was always a girl in everything. Even when she was a boy, she was still a girl. She wore high heels and walked in the yard in short dresses, like a lady. She never had male friends. From a very early age, she was friends exclusively with girls. Tied to girls' company, like we are tied to the dollar. She had a feminine perspective on things. She liked to do makeup and different hairstyles. She always loved to stand in the kitchen and bake pies. Even now she cooks better than me.”

Dana went to elementary school Chernekhovsky. When she was 8 years old, she was noticed by Eilat Yongar, director of the municipal choir “Bells”. Dana says that when she answered the phone at home, people confused her with her sister. In the classroom, the teachers, hearing her voice, were also sure that it was a girl and not a boy. Yongar had little hesitation in casting Yaron Cohen for her top lineup.

“He came twice a week,” she says, “for four or five years. He was very diligent. A wonderful child, by nature.”

Children who were in the choir with Cohen remember the little Yemeni who sang the most beautifully of all. The connection between this skinny child and the beautiful Dana came as a surprise to them. In one of the drawers, Yongar keeps an article in which Dana talks about gender reassignment surgery and her childhood in “Bells.”

“Only then did I understand the connection between that little child and the famous singer,” she says. - He hasn't changed over time. Same movements. The same eyes. Interesting to see if he uses anything he learned in this choir. I don't care about the circumstances of his personal life. And these are not circumstances of personal life, but spiritual characteristics.”

Physically, Yaron became Dana in May 1993. He performed the operation in London and paid for it with money accumulated over several months of work in various fields. It was rumored to cost $14,000.

“We talked a lot before the operation, we had doubts about whether it was worth doing,” says Limor. “We understood that this was a responsible step and there would be no going back.” Dana sat and thought for a long time. She's not a stupid girl. In the end, she decided that she wanted this because she had no other choice. It is impossible to be both a man and a woman at the same time. I told her, 'If you really want it, do it.'"

Dana: “Limor helped me a lot in my life. She always supported me. She did my first makeup. The first dress I wore at age 11 belonged to her. Azure dress from Gotkes. I tried it on in the bathroom, and then she came home and I was running around the house trying to hide.”

Limor, were you the first person Dana told about this operation?
“I don’t remember, but I think I was the first one who felt that she could do it.”

“You see, you have to understand that in our house we communicate in a very modern way. We didn't grow up in a house where we couldn't talk about sex. So when Dana told us about this idea, it didn't blow our minds. She talked about it as something she wanted to do in the future only after she was completely sure about it.”

Before the surgery, did Dana ever ask you what it was like to be a girl?
“She didn't have to ask. Many women in this country do not know what this means. Dana knows. Dana can teach any girl how to do makeup, how to sit, how to behave in public, with men, how to set the table. She's better than all of us."

What was it like seeing her for the first time after surgery?
“She returned to Israel, to her parents' house, and she was exactly the same person. With the same smile on his lips and mischief. The operation did not change her. You should understand that the feminine essence in a man is something he is born with, and you have no control over it. Surgery can't change that."

Dana: “There is nothing special about turning from a girl to a boy. I was born the way I am. I don't know exactly what it means to be a woman, and I also don't know what it means to be a man. When I was a man, I loved chocolate ice cream, and I still love it. I remain the same in my soul.”

There is a rumor in Tel Aviv that Dana did not actually have any surgery, it is just a ploy to attract attention.

Limor: “Nothing like that. They can say whatever they want. This is envy. Dana would have had the operation even if she didn’t have a career.”

Despite Dana's permission, her parents were not interviewed for this article. They seem to have come to terms with what Dana did, but they see no reason to show off in the newspapers. Her father Elyahu is very ill and therefore cannot give an interview. The mother also refuses to talk to the media. “I don’t interfere in these matters. All questions to Dana,” says Bat-Galim.

Limor: “Our mother is a woman from the older generation. She’s a very nice woman, but she prefers Dana to do all the explaining.”

Was it difficult for her to accept how Dana had changed?
“It was difficult for both of them. They had a crisis. At first it was very difficult for them, but now they have come to terms with it. They realized that since they brought Dana into the world, they should not confront her, not perceive it as a problem. From their point of view, it is better to have a living child with certain sexual preferences than a dead child. Now I can say that my mother loves Dana very much. And I say this without any jealousy, she loves her more than me or my brother.”

What about your father?
“At first it was very difficult for my father. But now he is seeing results. They see numerous interviews and success. He likes her songs and thinks that she has great talent and that gender reassignment doesn't really mean anything. Just last week, when we were talking about Dana, he insisted that Dana inherited her voice from him, not from her mother. I told him: “Dad, Dana inherited her voice from her mother, and she inherited her dancing talent from you.” The main thing is to maintain peace in the family.”

Dana: “We believe in fate and morality. Yemenis say: "Ma she-maktub - maktub"(“It is impossible to change what is destined from above”). My parents are over 55 years old and at heart they are not like us. But I think that if a parent loves his child well, he will put up with everything. It comes from God, you are born with it. Besides, my parents enjoy all the honors, so they have no reason to be angry. I dedicate all my success to them. I will never do anything to hurt them. They hear compliments from people. My success helped them accept me."

Dana in her youth

Yaron Cohen went to high school Ironi Alef, and last year I studied at Ankori. Israel Perech, current school director Ankori, was then Yaron's teacher. Perech says: “He was a talented boy with an unusual way of thinking and a sharp mind. He had a problem with passes. He was very naughty, but he had excellent grades and it was fun when he was in class. He could easily say, "Master, let's have some fun." He could take out a cassette in the middle of class, turn on some disco, get up on the table and start dancing while all the other students stood behind him.”

Yaron came to school in tight trousers and long flowing hair decorated with bows. Despite his feminine mannerisms that he had then, he was treated normally. “His mother fought like a lioness for him,” Pereh recalls. “She always understood and accepted him for who he is.”

For many years, Yaron cut and dyed his aunts' hair. His parents dreamed that when he grew up, he would open a hairdresser and perhaps become a famous hairdresser. But he had other plans. He received an exemption from military service due to unfitness, worked for some time in boutiques in Tel Aviv and began performing concerts in clubs.

Four years ago, Offer Nissim, a DJ and musician, and since then also a spiritual father, invited him to take part in his entertainment shows, in which the participants were men dressed as women. It was the first drag show in Israel and Yaron was the star. There he portrayed singers such as Zehava Ben and Rita, as well as Whitney Houston with the song "My Name Is Now Susan", where Susan became Saida. Then he took the stage name Dana.

Were you surprised when Yaron started calling himself Dana?
"No. From my point of view, Dana has always been a woman in everything. Her gestures, the way she moves, talks to people, the way she looks at you. You see a woman looking at you. More feminine than me. She has a feminine soul. I call her Yaron, but I always perceived her as a woman. Even when we were little, I always asked Dana what I should wear and how the colors of the clothes would go with my makeup.”

Do you also feel Dana's commercial success?
“Dana helps us a lot. She's a wonderful person. She always buys us everything and doesn’t wait for us to ask her. She never arrives empty-handed. She is a very caring person."

At home, Galya's mother still calls Dana Yaroni. Limor says that when Eliya, Dana's three-year-old niece, saw her on TV, she jumped and shouted: “It's Yaroni, it's Yaroni.” “It's very difficult for her,” says Limor. - All this confusion - Dana, Yaroni. Of course, when she grows up, I will tell her the whole story. At the end of the day, this is something we can't hide, and I'm not ashamed of it. We also have photos of Dana when she was Yaron, and Dana and I look at them sometimes.”

Two weeks ago, Elyahu Cohen (58), Dana's retired father, was arrested. This arrest made all the headlines. Police say he was drunk and out of control. “The police want to put me in prison because my son is Dana International,” Elyahu shouted at the police station. “Because my son is the best singer in Israel and I don’t have a lot of money.”

Limor: “We've talked a lot about this and we know that the media is susceptible to such things. Dana told me: "We can't do anything about it. This is our father, he is part of our family. There are worse things. You don't choose your parents."

Elyahu Cohen's problem with alcohol is nothing new. “Our father is a very poor man. He has had problems with alcohol for a long time. He successfully managed to cope with them, but then he returned to alcohol again. He is a sick person and if he offends us, it is only because of problems with alcohol. He stopped drinking for the last two years, but after liver surgery he became depressed and went back to drinking."

Did Dana visit him in the hospital?
"Certainly. Even now, she calls every day and asks how he is doing and if he needs anything. In fact, Dana is the only one who forces us to help him and treat him. We decided to take this issue very seriously. And we are currently working on this. Dana promised to do everything to help him improve.”

The Cohen family dreams of Dana going to America and performing there with Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson and possibly starring in several films with Kevin Costner.

Limor: “I feel like her mother. I am very attached to her. If I could, I would take a stick and whip her on the bottom and say: “Keep moving forward, on and on!”

If your son had sex reassignment surgery, would you be okay with it?
"Certainly! Moreover. Suppressing the feminine causes loneliness and sadness, which is bad. I definitely don't want this to happen to anyone close to me. And certainly not with my son. I will help him and support his decision.”

Limor will soon marry her lover again. “At my wedding,” says Limor, “Dana will come in an unforgettable dress, he will sing, and it will be a great performance. She must do this. She's my sister!

Dana International: The True Story

The star of the Kdam-Eurovision
Dana International

It is Saturday noon and the Cohen family is gathered for one last family meal before the Kdam-Eurovision. Her mother Bat-Galim (Gali), the father Eliyahu, her big sister Limor, a divorcée (29), with her three year-old daughter Eliya, and her brother Nimrod, single (28). We eat "gachnun" made by Gali. Uncle Shlomo and aunt Ester are coming with their children too. Dana, who woke up only an hour before, comes in a simple dress and slippers, her hair is put up, and on her face she wears a very thin layer of make-up.

Not even one word about the Kdam-Eurovision or about Dana's feminine performance. The fact that their Dana until not too long ago was a boy named Yaron, doesn't excited anyone in here. “What would you prefer,” says the sister Limor, “a Yaron Cohen who hadn’t had any surgery, and who would feel sadness and sorrow every day, and who would have been withdrawn and shut himself off from society and his family, only because he wanted to be a woman and we wouldn't "t let him? I prefer what Dana did, to a dead Yaron Cohen."

And when you are asked how many brothers and sisters you have, what is your answer?
"I say I have a brother and a sister. I always wanted a sister, and now I have one. She is my sister in everything. We are sisters in blood."

This is the first interview with Dana International"s family. Until today they have refused to be exposed. The career, they always said, belongs to Dana. Dana herself also didn"t want them to be interviewed. She was afraid that they would mistakenly say something that the media will feast on.

Dana has released two very successful albums, "Danna International" and "Umpatampa", and despite that the interest of the media was stirred, Dana avoided familial exposure. Only this week, towards the Kdam-Eurovision and her show there with "Layla Tov, Eropa", she lets her family speak. Probably also because of the increasing authority she is getting. In the special Purim show of the children's channel, for example, she will perform disguised as Queen Ester, and there are big chances that she will star in the musical "Grease" this summer as Sandy.

"We didn't want to do anything without Dana's permission," said Limor. "It"s her career and she is the one who determines what will happen. Moreover, you should know that if Dana decides something, then you can"t budge her. She is always the one to have the last word."

Many hours of conversation with the members of the Cohen family and other familiar people teach us that Dana was actually born with a lipstick on her lips. Even if the Cohen family had difficulties accepting the sex change, this week they are trying not to emphasize it, they are trying to cut corners. No-one says a bad word about her, no-one is confused and call her "Yaroni" during the interview. Everyone crosses their fingers for Dana. They want her to be a star and win the Kdam-Eurovision, and then show the Gentiles abroad.

"It"s very important for us that Dana will succeed and ascend the ladder, up and up," says Limor. "If you think about it, a change of your private parts is a detail - so tiny. Under all the change there is a talent for music and acting. What "s the difference between a male singer and a female singer?"

Dana was born as Yaron Cohen 25 years ago in Tel Aviv, the youngest child to Eliyahu, a court clerk, and Bat-Galim, a housewife. An apartment in a neglected building, very close to the Trumpeldor cemetery in Tel-Aviv, in front of a big synagogue. Lots of cats, weeds, a discarded lavatory seat. Battered mail boxes, on one of them it says "Cohen" written in green pencil. Here Dana spent her childhood. Here she walked in her mother's high heel shoes.

Dana: "There is no perfect childhood, but it was good for me. I was with good people who have never spoken about sex or gender identity, so I don"t remember any problems. I didn't feel exceptional or different."

"I don"t remember even one time that Dana played with balls. Only with dolls," says Ester Cohen, her aunt. "She was always a girl in everything. Even when she was a boy, she was a girl. She wore high heel shoes and walked in the yard with little dresses, like a lady. She never had male friends. From a very young age she was always a friend of girls. Attached to girls like we are attached to a dollar (?). She had a sense of feminine things. She liked to put make-up, to do hair. She always loved to stand in the kitchen and to bake cakes. Even today she is better at baking than I am."

Dana went to school in the elementary school Chernekhovsky. When she was 8 years old, Eilat Yongar, then the conductor of the municipal choir "The Bells", discovered her. Dana says that when she picked up the telephone at home, people thought she was her sister. In class too, when the teachers heard her voice, they were sure it was a girl and not a boy. Yongar, almost naturally, chose Yaron Cohen to be in her best team.

"He arrived twice a week," she says, "for three or four years. He was very assiduous, A fine child, not artificial."

Children who were together with Cohen in the choir remember a small Yemenite child who sang most beautifully. The connection between that thin child and the lass Dana International surprised them. In one of her drawers, Yongar has kept until now an article where Dana speaks about the sex change and her childhood in "The Bells".

"Only then I made the connection between the small child and the famous singer," she says. "Eventually, he didn't change. It"s the same movements. The eyes are the same. It"s interesting to know if he uses something from what we taught in the choir. I don"t care what private parts he has. It"s not the private parts, it"s the soul that matters."

Yaron became Dana physically almost two years ago, in May "93. He did the surgery in London, and financed it from money he saved from different areas of works for many months. Rumors says it cost 14,000 dollars.

"We spoke a lot before the surgery, we had doubts if it would be worthwhile," Limor says. "We knew that this is a big matter, and that there is no coming back. Dana sat and thought for a long time. She is not a stupid girl. Eventually she decided that this was what she wanted, because there would be no other way. To be like this and also like this, a man and a woman, is impossible. I told her: "This is what you really want, go for it."

Dana: "Limor really helped me in life. She always supported me. My first make-up came from her. The first dress I wore, at 11, belonged to her. An azure dress of "Gotkes". I tried it on in the bathroom, then she came home and I started to run around the house trying to hide."

Limor, were you the first person Dana told about the surgery?
"I can"t remember, but I think I was the first who felt that was what she would do. You see, you should understand that in our house we speak in a very modern way. We didn't grow up in a house where we could not speak about sex. That's why when Dana came with that idea of ​​hers, it didn't fall on us like a bomb. She spoke about it as something she wanted to do in the future, only after she would feel sure of herself."

Did Dana ask you once, before she did the surgery, what is it like to be a girl?
"She doesn't have to ask." Lots of women in this country don"t know what it is. Dana knows. Dana can teach any girl how to do make-up, how to sit, how to behave with other people, with men, how to arrange a table. She is better than all of us."

How did it feel to see her for the first time after the surgery?
"She came back to Israel to her parents house, and she was exactly the same person. With the same smile on the lips and the naughtiness. She didn"t change because of the surgery. You should understand that feminine character in a man is something that you are born with, that you can"t control it. The surgery doesn"t change a thing."

Dana: "There is no such thing, to become a girl from a boy. I was born the way I am. I don"t know completely what it is like to be a woman, nor what it is like to be man. If I liked chocolate ice-cream as a man, now I still like chocolate ice-cream. The soul is the same soul."

There is a rumour in Tel Aviv that Dana actually didn't have surgery, that it's only a gimmick.
Limor: "No way. They can say everything. It"s jealousy. Dana would have done the surgery regardless of her career."

Despite Dana's permission, her parents were not interviewed for this article. It seems that they have accepted what Dana did, but they don"t find any reason to flaunt it in the pages of newspapers. Her father Eliyahu is very sick and can"t be interviewed. The mother also refuses to speak with the media. "I don"t interfere in these matters. Those are Dana"s matters," said Bat-Galim.

Limor: "Our mother is a woman of the old generation. She is very nice woman, but she prefers to give all the sage to Dana."

It was hard for her to accept the change that Dana had?
"For both of them - yes. They had a crisis. It was really hard for them at the beginning, but now they accept it. They understood that they brought Dana into life, and they have to confront it, not see it as a problem. From their point of view, it "s better with a living child with a certain sexual choice, than a dead child. Today I can say that my mother loves Dana very much. I say it with no measure of jealousy, she loves her more than she loves me or my brother."

And your father?
"To my father it was really hard at the beginning. But now he sees the results. He sees all the interviews, and the success. He loves her songs and he sees that she has a great talent and that the sex change is actually nothing . Only last week when we spoke about Dana he insisted upon the fact that Dana inherited her voice from him - and not from her mother. I told him: "Father, Dana inherited her voice from mother, and from you she got her dance talent ". The point is to keep peace in the family."

Dana: "We believe in fate and morale. Yemenites say "Ma she-maktub - maktub" (you cannot change what is written from above - ZG). My parents are over 55, with a mentality unlike ours. But I think that when a parent loves his child in a good way, he accepts everything. It"s a thing that came from God, a thing that you are born with. Except that, my parents always got all the honor, so they don"t have any reason to create any arguments. I devote all my success to them. I will never do anything to hurt them. They get compliments from society. My success helps to make them accept me."

Dana in her youth

Yaron Cohen went to the Ironi Alef high school, and in the last year he switched to Ankori. Israel Perech, today the headmaster of Ankori, was Yaron"s teacher then. Perech: "He was a brilliant boy, with an unusual way of thinking, a sharp mind. He had a problem with absences. He was very naughty, but he had great grades and it was fun to have lessons with him. It was no problem for him to say: "Teacher, let"s have some fun." He would take out his tape in the middle of the lesson, put on some disco music, go up to the table and start to dance, while all the other students were standing around him."

Yaron arrived in school with tight pants and long loose hair adorned with ribbons. Despite the feminine manners he had even then, he was accepted. He was told off many times because of his absences. "His mother fought for him like a lioness," Perech recalls. "She always understood and accepted him the way he was.

For many years Yaron used to cut his aunts" hair and dye it. His parents dreamed that he would grow up and open a barber shop - maybe he would become a famous hairdresser. But he had another plans. He got an exemption from the military service because of incompatibility, worked a little bit in boutiques in Tel Aviv and started to do shows in clubs.

Four years ago Offer Nissim, a DJ and a musician, and from then also a spiritual father, offered him the part in an entertainment show he produced, where the participants were men disguised as women. It was the first drag show in Israel, and Yaron Cohen was the star. There he imitated the singers Zehava Ben and Rita, and also Whitney Houston with the song "My name is not Susan", where Susan becomes Sa"ida. At that point he also took the stage name Dana.

Were you surprised when Yaron started to call himself Dana?
Limor: "No. From my point of view, Dana was always a woman in everything. Her movements, the way she moves, discusses with people, the way she looks at you. You see that a woman is looking at you. More a woman than me. She has the soul of a woman. I called her Yaron, but I always saw her as a woman. Even when we were small I always asked Dana what to wear and how to match the colors of clothes and make-up "

Do you also feel Dana's economic success?
"Dana helps us a lot. She is a very grand type of person. She always buys things for us and never waits for us to ask. She never arrives with empty hands. She is a very concerned person."

At home, mother Gali still calls Dana "Yaroni". When Eliya, Dana"s niece aged three sees Dana on television, Limor says, she jumps saying "Here is Yaroni, here is Yaroni." "It"s very confusing for her," says Limor, "All this Dana and Yaroni. It's obvious that when she grows up I will tell her the whole story. it"s not a thing that we can eventually hide, and I"m not ashamed of it. We also have pictures of Dana when she was Yaron, and sometimes me and Dana look at them together.

Two weeks ago, Eliyahu Cohen (58), Dana"s father and a pensioner, was arrested. The arrest carried headlines. The police say he was drunk and became unruly. "The police wants to put me in a fix because my son is Dana International." Eliyahu screamed in the police station. "My son is the number one singer in Israel and because of him I have money like sand."

Limor: "We spoke about this a lot, and we knew that the media would have a feast on a thing like that. Dana said to me: "There is nothing we can do. This is our father - like this is me. There are much worse cases." We cannot choose our parents."

Eliyahu Cohen's drinking problem is not a new thing. "Our father is a very poor person. He has had a drinking problem for a long time. He succeeds to overpower it but then he comes back to the alcohol. He is a sick man, and if he hurts us it"s only because of the drinking problem. In the last two years he stopped, but after he had liver surgery he got a depression again, and he went back to the alcohol."

Did Dana visit him when he was in the hospital?
"Sure. Even today she calls every day and asks how he is and if he wants something. Dana is actually the one who presses on us to help him and to give him the treatment. We decided to take this matter in very seriously. And these days we are working on it. Dana promised to do everything in order to help him to be reformed."

The dream of the Cohen family is that their Dana will go to America and do shows there with Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, and maybe star in a few movies with Kevin Costner.

Limor: "I feel like her mother. I"m very attached to her. If I could, I would have taken a stick and strike her in the buttocks, to say to her "Keep on progressing, further, further!"

If your son had performed sex change surgery, would you have accepted it?
"Sure! Even more. To suppress feminine feelings, it"s a thing that brings solitude and sorrow, and that"s too bad. I sure don"t want it to happen to someone close to me. Sure not to my son. I will help him and support his decision."

Soon, Limor will be married again to her love. "For my marriage," says Limor, "Dana will have to arrive in an unforgettable dress, to sing and to give a great performance. She owes me that. After all, she is my sister!"

Yedi"ot Aharonot - 090395. Translation from Hebrew: Ziv Geri.