[4] With marital problems developing between her mother and her stepfather, Beyer was sent to Wellesley College boarding school, where she attempted suicide amid feelings of rejection by her parents.

[6] After her parents' marriage ended in 1971, financial constraints meant that a private school was no longer affordable, and Beyer attended Onslow College in Form 3.

Before enrolment, a legal surname change by deed poll from "Bertrand" to "Beyer" meant that the difference in family name did not have to be explained at school.

[9] Beyer lived in Australia for some time, and in 1979 experienced a traumatic sexual assault in Sydney; she felt unable to seek help from the police, which led her to start thinking about a political career.

[10][11] On her return to New Zealand she began seeking work as an actor with increasing success, culminating in a GOFTA award nomination for best female performance for the television drama Jewel's Darl in 1987.

[13][14] Beyer became a part of the Wellington gay nightclub scene, initially as a singer and drag queen performer, and later as a sex worker.

Beyer was the local news presenter and part of the inaugural breakfast crew on radio station Today FM, then owned by Paul Henry (whom she later defeated in the 1999 general election).

She surprised political commentators by winning the typically right-leaning electorate, with a 3,033-vote majority over former colleague and National candidate Paul Henry, and becoming the world's first transgender Member of Parliament.

We have led the way in the past, and I hope we will do so again in the future in social policy and certainly in human rights.At the 2002 election, Beyer re-contested Wairarapa for Labour.

[33][34][35] In 2001 Beyer supported the addition of sexual orientation as a ground of prohibited discrimination under the Human Rights Act 1993.

[36] She withdrew the bill after the Solicitor-General provided a legal opinion confirming that gender identity was already covered by existing law.

[11] She personally opposed the government's seabed and foreshore legislation of May 2004, but voted in favour of it due to her electorate's preferences.

[38] She asked the Labour Party if she could abstain from the vote but was refused; she later said that vowed that "from that time on that I would never be torn between who and what I am as far as my heritage is concerned, and political expediency".

She expressed her wariness towards Kim Dotcom, saying that "he [was] using his power and position to seek retribution on people who have done him wrong",[45][46] and wished that he would have taken a backseat in campaigning.

[45] Beyer believed the relationship between the two parties was not mutually beneficial,[47] considering that Mana candidates did not receive equal treatment within the partnership.

[55] In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Beyer was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to LGBTIQA+ rights.

Rural, conservative people who overlooked my colourful past, looked at the substance of me and gave me a shot.Beyer was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2013.

[15] Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty, whom she babysat, described her as "a beloved family member, loyal friend, passionate advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and a powerhouse of a local politician", and prime minister Chris Hipkins said she "has blazed a trail that makes it much easier for others to follow".