After doing drag performances while doing compulsory military training and periods working as a nurse and waiter, Rupe moved to Sydney's Kings Cross in the late 1950s.

[7] Taking the name of the Romani Flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya,[8] Rupe became Australia's first Māori drag performer and from that time on lived as a woman.

Despite misgendering Rupe, the case was a landmark one for the trans community, as Judge McCarthy ruled that he was "unable to find anything in our law which says that it is unlawful for a male to attire himself in female clothing.

[12] She was not afraid to speak to the press and was summoned to appear before the Privileges Committee by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon for suggesting some MPs were gay or bisexual.

[13] In 1977 she ran for the Wellington mayoralty, with the support of local businessman Sir Bob Jones, with the slogans get in behind and Carmen for mayor[14] and a platform of gay marriage and legalised brothels, though neither of these are local-government matters in New Zealand.

[16] Rupe died of kidney failure in St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, on 15 December 2011, after a fall and hip surgery earlier in the year; she was 75.

Long-time friend and ex Grey District councillor Jacquie Grant wrote a tribute for Rupe and at her tangi delivered a eulogy.

It is heartening that, in accordance with her wishes, the Carmen Rupe Memorial Trust has been established to raise awareness of some of the issues faced by our GLBT community.