Woman Who Tricked Her Way Into Famous Men’s Magic Club Is Sought After Vanishing Act

Sophie Lloyd was promptly thrown out of London’s Magic Circle in 1991 after revealing her identity to the members, who knew her as Raymond.

More than 30 years after a British woman pulled off the ultimate act of illusion by gaining admission to an all-male magicians’ club while disguised as a man, the historic organization says it is hoping to track her down to not only reissue her membership but offer an apology.

Sophie Lloyd was promptly thrown out of London’s historic Magic Circle organization in 1991 and largely vanished after revealing her stunning 18-month disguise to the exclusive society, which had forbidden women from joining for 86 years.

“It’s an incredibly brave thing to do, an extraordinary thing to do,” Magic Circle member Charlie Burgess, who is helping with Lloyd’s search, told HuffPost on Friday of her cunning act of trickery. “It’s not lost on us the irony to be thrown out for deception at a magicians’ club. What else do we do? We deceive all the time.”

Lloyd, who Burgess said may also go by the first name of Sue, first introduced herself to the then-segregated club as Raymond Lloyd in her application papers in October 1989 and joined as an associate member the following February. She completed an in-person exam about a year later in March 1991 and became a full-fledged member immediately after.

In a 1991 interview with CBC Radio in Canada shortly after coming clean, Lloyd recalled heavily training for her entry with the help of her female magician friend Jenny Winstanley, who, Burgess said ― like many other women ― had long sought admission to the society. She believed that Lloyd, who was an actor, would be more skilled at pulling it off, Burgess said.