"Woman as Man: A female singer plays the male role of 'Algy, the Piccadilly Johnny with the Little Glass Eye.' The cover photograph of Vesta Tilley reveals her female nature beneath the suit of Algy." (From: HERE)

Brief biography from HERE:

Tilley, Vesta [pseud. of Matilda Alice Powles]
(1864 - 1952)
English music hall star and male impersonator.
Born in Worcester, she first appeared at the age of four in her father's music hall. She toured with him as 'Harry Ball the Tramp Musician and the Great Little Tilley', and adopted permanently the costume of top hat and tails at the age of five. She made her first appearance in London in 1874 and became a popular attraction by the time she was 16. Known as the 'London Idol', she was an impeccable performer who carefully researched all her roles, from soldier to priest. Her career was long and successful and she appeared in the first Royal Command Performance in 1912. Her most famous songs included Burlington Bertie, Following in Father's Footsteps, After the Ball, The Army of Today's All Right, and Algy - The Piccadilly Johnny with the Little Glass Eye. After 1898 she also toured the USA and was well received in both New York and Chicago.

In 1890 she married a music hall owner, Walter de Frece, who was knighted in 1919 and later became a Member of Parliament. She retired 30 years later, receiving a rapturous farewell at the Coliseum, where a book was presented by Ellen Terry containing two million autographs. She spent her long retirement in England and the South of France, dying in Monte Carlo at the age of 88.

Bibliography
S. Maitland: Vesta Tilley (1986)
The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography, c Jennifer S. Uglow 1999