Val Eastwood

Val Eastwood (17 August 1927 – 10 December 2009) was a dancer, model, and author best known for operating a series of cafes through the 1950s to 1970s that became a gathering point for Melbourne's gay and lesbian community.

As a teenager, Eastwood ran her own dancing school in Ivanhoe, before joining the Tivoli Theatre in Melbourne's central business district, then becoming a partner in the Betty Lee Academy of dance.

Eastwood described herself as "outrageous", was openly lesbian, and regularly wore men's suits with lipstick in public.

Eastwood opened her first cafe, Val's Coffee Lounge, in her mid twenties, at 123 Swanston Street in Melbourne. This was a rare venue which welcomed the "camp" community, which was otherwise underground.

In 2009, the name Val's Cafe was used for a government-funded program to support ageing LGBTI people in health and wellbeing.