Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy

A media frenzy ensued as JTís fans, mentors, and readers came to terms with the fact that the gay male ex-truck stop prostitute turned literary wunderkind was really a girl from San Francisco, whose middle-aged sister-in-law, Laura Albert, wrote the books.

Girl Boy Girl is the story of how Savannah led this bizarre double life for six years, trading a precarious existence as a college dropout for a life in which she was embraced by celebrities and artists ó Carrie Fisher, Courtney Love, Mary Ellen Mark, Winona Ryder, Asia Argento, Sharon Olds, Gus Van Sant, Mike Pitt, Calvin Klein, Shirley Manson, to name a few ó and traveled the world. Telling her side of the story for the first time, Savannah reveals how being perceived as a boy gave her a sense of confidence and entitlement she never had before. Her love affair with Asia Argento is particularly wrenching, as they embark on an intimate relationship that causes more alienation than closeness. As Savannah and Laura struggle over control of the JT character, Savannah realizes the limits of the game, and is relieved when itís over. Inadvertently, she finds herself through the adventure of being someone else.

"In 2001 I photographed JT Leroy for Vanity Fair. Five years later, we met again; this time Savannah Knoop was her true self. We immediately became friends. She gave me her book to read. Not only is it beautifully written, it's a fascinating and intimate story. I couldnít put it down." --Mary Ellen Mark

Savannah Knoop began to lead a double life in 1999, when her sister-in-law asked her to be the face of JT LeRoy, author of the internationally acclaimed novels Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. Their true identities were revealed in 2006. Born in 1981, Knoop began designing clothing six years ago. In 2003, she and a partner began a clothing company under the name of Tinc.