Fallon Fox. (Noam Galai/WireImage
Venerable mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox, once hesitant to be openly trans, is set to have a biopic made about her life and career.
The 45-year-old, who picked up odd jobs as a truck driver to raise money for gender affirmation surgery, became the first openly trans MMA athlete after coming out in 2013.
She was, for a time, one of the most prominent people in professional sport to be openly trans.
Years later, and Fox is getting the big-screen treatment at a time where a corrosive and aggressive wave of anti-trans legislation is sweeping the US, many denying trans girls the right to compete in sports.
“I’ve had a great time so far working with the producers and writers bringing this story to life, and I hope this film sheds some light on the topic of trans athletes in sports,” the Ohio-born featherweight said in a statement.
“This story needs to be told now more than ever.”
Fallon Fox is a ‘universal, living icon of strength’, says producer
Mark Gordon Pictures will produce the film, while T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper attached as writers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Fox will serve as a consultant – and it’s safe to say producer Mark Gordon is a fan of the trailblazing star.
“Fallon Fox is a remarkable woman and athlete who has withstood and achieved so much in her life and whose story is far too little known,” he explained in a press release.
“She is a universal, living icon of strength and persistence. It is a true honour to work with her, and the indomitable writing team of T and Allison Cooper, to bring her experiences more to light and to share her with the world.”
A single phone call from an embittered journalist threatening to out her as trans rocked Fox. Leaving her shaken after soaring for years in the MMA cage.
Instead, she batted the reporter away and came out on her own terms in a profile for OutSports in 2013.
In offering the world her truth, she was met with hostility from a belligerent press and acrimony from her peers, who debated whether she, as a trans woman, should even be allowed to compete.
For Fox, she knew such hostility all too well. Even before entering MMA, she felt caged, forced to hide who she was from her family and friends.
“For the longest time, my mother didn’t want anything to do with me,” Fox said in the interview.
“I wasn’t even allowed to come into her house or show up at her door. But as the years went on, they both started coming around a little bit.”
Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee and Mississippi have all bulldozed reviled transphobic bills that ban trans girls from competing on interscholastic sports teams. Lawmakers mounting the case to ban trans folk from sporting events typically fumble when asked for actual, concrete evidence, instead opting to ignore medical experts and tout tired myths.
Fox faced similar baseless fears from her critics, but she often had one thing to say to them.
“I’m technically, legally, physically and mentally female,” Fox told OutSports. “Everything about me is female.”