“You don’t choose this journey.  This journey choses YOU!”— Kellie Maloney

Knock Out Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story is an honest, revealing, and provocative documentary about a highly determined, strong-willed individual who achieved great success in the world of boxing.  However, this same highly determined, strong-willed individual also had been keeping a secret since childhood.  As the documentary’s subject shares with the audience in the first few minutes of the film, “All my life, I wanted to be a woman.” That woman inside a little boy named Frank was “Kellie”.  Kellie Maloney would eventually become one of the most well-known transgender people in the UK. Knock Out Blonde tells us Kellie’s story, almost entirely in her own words.   Directed by Tom DeNucci, Seth Koch, and Rick Lazes, the film offers a level of intimacy and insight which sets it apart from so many other documentaries about the transgender community.  

For the younger generations, Kellie Maloney is perhaps best known from her appearance on the fourteenth season of Celebrity Big Brother, or from her other guest spots on many other reality TV and talk shows.  However, long before she reinvented herself as a colorful pop culture media star, Maloney was a major mover-and-shaker in the world of boxing.  Born into a traditional Irish Catholic family, Francis “Frank” Maloney” wanted nothing more than to be a part of the exciting world he admired.  He would achieve that goal, not by becoming a boxer himself but instead becoming a highly successful manager and promoter.  Maloney managed Lennox Lewis, who won the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, between 1989 and 2001.  Lewis himself states in the film: “He (Frank) may be a small man in stature, but he’s a big man in boxing!” However, despite the celebrity status in the culture of pugilism, Maloney knew that she would need to face her fears and take the first steps to live the way she was meant to live.   

Reporters found out about her “alternative lifestyle” and threatened to “out” her without her consent.  In 2015, she was then ready to come out as transgender, but only by her own terms– specifically, with the Sunday Mirror.  Needless to say, this was BIG news in the media The film goes into great detail about Maloney’s coming out process, which included revealing the news to her mother, her first wife, her wife at the time (The two since divorced.), and her three daughters.  As his therapist Jan Upfold states in the film, “You could lose all your family and all your friends forever, or it could bond you and glue you closer together once the truth is known.”  Although the pathway of acceptance with his family was a S-L-O-W and imperfect process, Maloney thankfully found a great deal of acceptance with a new generation on social media… and even from some of his peers in the male-dominated world of boxing. One of his daughters shared, “I’d rather have my dad in a dress than in a wooden box.”  

Movies about transgender people usually tend to go in one of two different directions when it comes to exploring the actual transition process.  Some films tend to either severely downplay or gloss over the surgical aspect of transition altogether.  Others tend to share the intimate details with the audience, which can be a valuable resource for some but can be challenging for more sensitive viewers.  Knock Out Blonde is clearly in the latter category; Our protagonist is clearly NOT shy about sharing her journey.  The viewer gets an insider’s view of Maloney’s procedures– from facial surgery to what Kellie calls “the final operation”– meaning breast implants and vaginoplasty.  Several times, Maloney–still VERY groggy from the anesthesia– speaks directly to the camera.  Despite the film’s many positive messages, Kellie’s journey certainly wasn’t all about makeup, shopping, and red-carpet appearances. The filmmakers, and Kellie Maloney herself, deserve credit for not shying away from the less glamorous aspects of transition.  In fact, there’s even a segment about Maloney’s post-transition emotional breakdown, which she completely recovered from before finding yet another career pathway… 

The film is bolstered by the many vintage photographs, video, news footage, and clips from many of Maloney’s many appearances on TV.  There is also some passionate insight from transgender actress Alexandra Billings, and some truly wonderful footage of Kellie and Leslie Jordan, who were castmates on Celebrity Big Brother.  The footage of Jordan is especially provocative to see considering the star’s passing in 2022.

Knock Out Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story is highly recommended viewing.  You can buy the film at Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home as a download, or rent it on Fandango at Home, Amazon Video, and Apple TV online.