Laura Jane Grace

Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel; November 8, 1980) is an American musician best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!. Starting as a solo act in 1997, Against Me! expanded into a quartet and released six studio albums, experiencing breakthrough success with 2007's New Wave and 2010's White Crosses. Grace also released a solo EP, Heart Burns, in 2008. In 2011, she founded the Total Treble recording studio and an accompanying record label, Total Treble Music.

Grace was married to visual artist Heather Hannoura from 2007 to 2014, when the two separated. Having dealt with gender dysphoria since childhood, Grace publicly came out as a transgender woman in 2012, ceasing to use her birth name and taking the name Laura Jane Grace.

Biography

1980–96: Early life

Grace was born Thomas James Gabel in Fort Benning, Georgia, the child of United States Army Major Thomas Gabel. The family moved frequently between military bases, living briefly in Fort Hood, Texas; Pennsylvania; Ohio; Germany; and at a NATO post in Italy during the Gulf War. While living in Italy, Grace bought her first guitar and took guitar lessons from an army officer. Grace experienced feelings of gender dysphoria from an early age, playing with Barbie dolls and fantasizing about being Madonna.