Dr. Carrie Soloway, the Chicago psychiatrist whose gender journey was the inspiration for the Amazon show “Transparent,” has died.
Dr. Soloway counseled patients in private practice for more than four decades as Dr. Harry J. Soloway.
Dr. Soloway died from natural causes at their Gold Coast home Nov. 21.
The Amazon show, which debuted in 2014 and ran for five seasons, was based on Dr. Soloway’s transition and how it affected the life of their entire family.
The award-winning show turned Dr. Soloway into a trans icon, even though they didn’t seek the spotlight.
Dr. Soloway’s children are Joey Soloway, creator of the show, and Faith Soloway, composer and lyricist of a musical version of the show.
Dr. Soloway was married to author Elaine Soloway for 30 years before they divorced in 1990.
Dr. Soloway came out as trans in 2012 at the age of 70 to family and friends.
“What? You’re what?” Joey Soloway recalled thinking at the time. “We had to come to terms learning about the world she’d been in probably for the last 30 years. Who was she when she wasn’t being Dr. Harry J. Soloway? Where was Carrie throughout our lives? We felt her there, but there were no words for this.”
Dr. Soloway went to red carpet events related to the show, but was a “reluctant icon.”
“She was very humble in terms of publicity, she wasn’t interested in it” said Joey Soloway. “She loved the show and us and the character, but sometimes she wasn’t in the mood to be everyone’s favorite trailblazer.”
Jeffrey Tambor played the main character that was based on Dr. Soloway until he was dismissed from the show prior to the last season following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Dr. Soloway accompanied the show’s cast and crew to the White House when Barack Obama was president.
“I think a lot of people didn’t realize there was a real family behind this,” Faith Soloway said.
Precious Brady-Davis, a commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and the first Black trans woman ever elected to public office in Cook County, was friends with Dr. Soloway.
“She was such a beautiful light,” said Brady-Davis, who met Dr. Soloway at an Equality Illinois gala shortly after they came out. “We’d go shopping at Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue and I’d help her pick out outfits. I was kind of her window to the community of trans events and people and places to go to feel comfortable.”
Dr. Soloway wasn’t hung up on pronouns or names, they used any that fit the two worlds they lived in.
“A lot of trans people don’t like using their old names, but our father loved using all names, Harry, Carrie, and all pronouns,” Joey Soloway said. “She really didn’t even understand and was like ‘I don’t know what all these ‘they/them ‘ pronouns are’ and Faith and I were like ‘Dad! It’s so easy. You don’t have to go back and forth from she to he, just be ‘they.’ She was just too old to get it.”
Dr. Soloway was born in London, England, on May 16, 1937, to Bella and Morris Soloway, a barber and a homemaker. Dr. Soloway had one sister, Ruth, who since passed away. The family survived Nazi bombing raids during World War II and in 1953, seeking safety, stability, and new opportunities, immigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago near Rogers Park.
Dr. Soloway attended Senn High School and studied medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago before serving as an anesthesiologist in the United States Army stationed at a base in Massachusetts.
The Soloway family settled in South Commons, a mixed race and mixed income urban renewal housing development on the Near South Side. For a period of time, life there was like a communal dream, Joey Soloway said. Dr. Soloway starred South Commons Community Theatre plays produced by their wife.
Dr. Soloway returned to school and became a psychiatrist with an office at 333 N. Michigan Ave. where they helped patients suffering a range of psychological issues.
Dr. Soloway in recent weeks was in jolly spirits and writing a book called “I’m sorry, but we’re out of time” about being a psychiatrist.
Dr. Soloway was thinking about coming out of retirement to practice psychiatry again. Joey and Faith Soloway encouraged them, noting that their life experiences would allow Dr. Soloway to help multitudes.
Dr. Soloway was a die-hard fan of Monty Python, the Cubs, the Blackhawks, opera and the English Premier League’s Arsenal Football Club.
As a guest in 2017 on the podcast “Sagittarian Matters” hosted by Dr. Soloway’s friend Nicole Georges, Dr. Soloway offered words of wisdom to young trans people: “You have to have a lot of courage, and you have to believe in yourself and not worry too much about what the rest of world feels about you, that’s their problem.”
In addition to Joey and Faith, Dr. Soloway is survived by three grandchildren.
Family is holding a private memorial Friday afternoon in Chicago.