Biography of the Day - Candis Cayne

Candis Cayne (born Brendan McDaniel in Maui, Hawaii) is an American actor and transsexual performer best known for her appearances in the New York City club scene. Nationally, she appeared in the independent films Wigstock: The Movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and Stonewall. She now has a recurring regular on the American television series Dirty Sexy Money.

Cayne won the 2001 Miss Continental pageant.

Early life

When he was young, Cayne's parents moved from California to Maui to teach at a Waldorf school and the family lived on campus. After high school she moved to Los Angeles and got a job on a cruise ship for a few months to raise money for a move to New York.

In New York, Cayne started performing as "Candis Cayne" at Boy Bar (a gay bar in New York City) and participating in Wigstock, the annual drag festival in New York City's East Village. Her participation in Wigstock led to her being asked to do choreography for To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar starring Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes and led to a role in the movie Stonewall.

Transition

Cayne began transitioning from male to female in 1996 which led to her acting roles mostly drying up, however she did land a lead role in the 1998 independent film Mob Queen.

Present day

Cayne has regular work as a performer at various bars and clubs around New York City. She has also appeared in several film and TV roles as well as a number of plays and musical theatre projects. She does occasional glamour modelling and is attempting to develop a dance music career. In 2007 Cayne plays Carmelita, a transsexual who is having a affair with married New York Attorney General Patrick Darling (played by William Baldwin), who believes that this relationship with Carmelita could hurt his chances of becoming the next United States Senator from New York in the serial drama Dirty Sexy Money.