Gerry Greenberg was raised by a Jewish family in Caerphilly, Wales. His mother died of polio when he was six, and he was then sent to boarding school until father remarried.
His first job at age 16 was with the Pontypridd Observer weekly newspaper, where he gave singer Tom Jones his first write-up. He married and they had two daughters.
Gerry worked for the Express newspapers until 1976 when he moved to Manchester to work for the Jewish Chronicle and the Manchester Jewish Gazette. He then became part of the team that launched the new tabloid paper, The Daily Star in 1978 (again an Express newspaper), which was designed to use spare capacity on the Manchester presses. Gerry became the Star's rugby correspondent.
In 1992 Gerry wrote England Rugby star Wade Dooley's autobiography.
In 1997 Gerry searched 'transgender' and 'Manchester' on the Internet and found a local group. Regular e-mail exchanges followed until Gerry's wife noticed, and when she realized what was going on, she gave him a spare lipstick. Together they attended meetings and socials for trans people.
![]()
Donna worked as a sub-editor for Metro, and the northern sports desk of The Sunday People. She had full sex affirmation in 2003. She also had electrolysis, breast augmentation, a facelift, her adam’s apple reduced and an eye lift in her quest to be a proper female. In all she paid £25,000.
In 2006 Donna and wife retired to Spain, although still doing work for papers in Manchester and Israel. They initially told the neighbours in Spain that they were cousins, but the kids visited and the neighbours asked which one was the mother to which and it became easier to tell the truth which was accepted.
She is working on her own autobiography.
His first job at age 16 was with the Pontypridd Observer weekly newspaper, where he gave singer Tom Jones his first write-up. He married and they had two daughters.
"I was in denial in public, but privately became a woman at any opportunity. I kept a bag of [women's] clothes in the garden shed that I took with me on assignment, and would dress up in the privacy of hotel rooms. Even though I knew there were many others like me out there, I was paranoid about being caught."One time in the 1970s, Gerry's wife dressed him up as a woman for fun, but realized that it turned him on. She went to the doctor, and said that he was gay. They did not talk about it again for many years.
Gerry worked for the Express newspapers until 1976 when he moved to Manchester to work for the Jewish Chronicle and the Manchester Jewish Gazette. He then became part of the team that launched the new tabloid paper, The Daily Star in 1978 (again an Express newspaper), which was designed to use spare capacity on the Manchester presses. Gerry became the Star's rugby correspondent.
In 1992 Gerry wrote England Rugby star Wade Dooley's autobiography.
In 1997 Gerry searched 'transgender' and 'Manchester' on the Internet and found a local group. Regular e-mail exchanges followed until Gerry's wife noticed, and when she realized what was going on, she gave him a spare lipstick. Together they attended meetings and socials for trans people.
"It was stressful being two people. In time, I realized that my ultimate dream was to become a woman".Greenberg's boss found out from an anonymous e-mail in 1999. A rumour went around that a sub-editor was changing. A betting book was opened on the identity.
"If only I’d known I was listed as a 40-1 outsider, my winnings could have paid for my surgery!"Gerry wrote to workmates while on holiday in Israel, and became Donna Gee. The daughters, now in their thirties were accepting as were the five grandchildren.
In 2006 Donna and wife retired to Spain, although still doing work for papers in Manchester and Israel. They initially told the neighbours in Spain that they were cousins, but the kids visited and the neighbours asked which one was the mother to which and it became easier to tell the truth which was accepted.
She is working on her own autobiography.
- Wade Dooley & Gerry Greenberg. The Tower and the Glory: The Wade Dooley Story. Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1992.
- Daniel Ban-Tal. "When Gerry met Donna". The Jerusalem Post, 03/16/2006. http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/When-Gerry-met-Donna.
- Donna Gee. "Just call me Donna". PressGazette, 24 April 2007. www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/37398.
- "Changing Sex – the story of Donna Gee". Poison Ivyyy, October 21, 2008. https://poisonivyyy.wordpress.com/tag/gerry-greenberg.
- "Ruby anniversary for sex change sports editor". Hold the Front Page, 16 Feb 2009. www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2009/news/ruby-anniversary-for-sex-change-sports-editor.
- Donna Gee. "Costa living". Gentleman Ranters, January 7, 2011. http://www.gentlemenranters.com/january_2011_283.html.
- Rachel Mainwaring. "True-life story of the macho sports editor who became a transsexual". Wales Online, 29 March 2013. www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/true-life-story-macho-sports-editor-2123859.
- Donna Gee. Why Is My Dad Not Answering Her Phone? CreateSpace, 2015. Preview