I have repeatedly been asked this question, so I thought I'd set the record straight. Luckily, info on this question had already been compiled by others, so I quote them.
(portions of this FAQ courtesy of: Joanna L. Castillo
Answer: Not that it should matter one way or the other but...no.
Eileen Davidson has repeatedly denied the rumor (in print and on TV)
that she was once a man. In an appearance on PURE SOAP toward the end
of May, 1994 she said (in essence...this is not verbatim):
1. I've never been a man.
2. I don't know how this rumor got started.
3. Some people say I appeared on the Phil Donahue show to tell "my"
sex change story but I've never appeared on his show for any
reason...not even as a member of the studio audience.
She even joked about the rumor by appearing in a skit during her appearance on PURE SOAP that made fun of it.
In addition, when this rumor cropped up on the net in 1993, one of the netters called the Phil Donahue show to ask if Eileen Davidson had ever been on their show and they said she hadn't and they didn't have any idea how that rumor had started.
BTW, PURE SOAP used to be a daily show seen on the E! Entertainment cable channel.
As to where (or why) the rumor started...what difference does it make? It's false and that's all there is to it.
(Courtesy of Jean Reese
One of the most persistent is that Eileen Davidson is a man. Sources say that it started when Eric Braeden (Victor, YR) was said to have gone on DONAHUE and said that then co-star Davidson had undergone a sex change. "I called DONAHUE and pitched Eric Braeden, and the person who answered the phone said, 'Oh, he's our second most popular rumor.' And he had never even been on the show!" says a spokesperson for Braeden. "For the record, Eric went on DONAHUE years later and talked about how popular the show is, and his character. And that was all that was discussed," she says. "It's so strange how this rumor has persisted over the years. He has never said anything even remotely related to this."
Braeden's response to this particular rumor is somewhat stronger: "I would like to get my hands on the person who started this rumor. It's one of the most vicious rumors ever disseminated about an actress or actor. It's as vicious, mean and horrendous as it is untrue," says the angry Braeden. "It staggers the mind that someone would spread a rumor like this."
The
Donahue ConfusionThere is a model named Tula who was originally a man and then underwent a sex change. Tula appeared on Donahue many years ago. She is British and apparently had a successful modeling career. Someone found out that she was originally a man and threatened to go public with it. So Tula came out on her own. Tula said that she was born a male, but always felt that she was really a woman. She also claimed that genetic testing revealed that she is XXY which is neither male (XY) or female (XX), so she went ahead with the sex change operation. This model bears a strong resemblance to Eileen Davidson, hence the confusion.
Someone who knows Eileen's brother wrote me and confirms that all of this stuff is just a crazy rumor. She has a picture of Eileen at age 4 and assures me that the picture is of a little girl!