March 31 is the Transgender Day of Visibility.
We celebrate trans artists and entertainers, from award-winning actors like MJ Rodriguez and Elliot Page, to social media pioneers like Gigi Gorgeous and Nikkie de Jager. In fashion, models like Valentina Sampaio and Laith Ashley are challenging and changing beauty standards.
Trans actors may play transgender, cisgender or non-binary characters. As long as these roles and the spaces for them are being created, there are talents to fill them.
Elliot Page
Pronouns: He/Him/They/Them
Where You’ve Seen Elliot: As Vanya/Viktor Hargreeves in Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy.”
Chella Man
Pronouns: He/Him
Where You’ve Seen Chella: In fashion campaigns for Gap and American Eagle and as the mute superhero Jericho in HBO Max’s “Titans” (Chella is deaf in real life).
Michaela Jay “MJ” Rodriguez
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen MJ: As Blanca Evangelista on FX’s “Pose,” for which she earned an Emmy nomination (the first trans woman to do so). She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 2021.
Valentina Sampaio
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Valentina: As Victoria’s Secret’s first openly trans model in 2019 and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s first openly trans model in 2020.
Nikkie de Jager
Pronouns: She/her
Where You’ve Seen Nikki: As the vlogger behind NikkieTutorials, a makeup and beauty channel on YouTube with over 1.5 billion views.
Hari Nef
Pronouns: She/her
Where You’ve Seen Hari: As Tante Gittel in “Transparent,” for which she received a SAG Award nomination. She also starred as Blythe in “You” and played a trans rabbi in “And Just Like That.”
Gigi Gorgeous
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Gigi: As the pioneer who documented her trans journey on YouTube for the last 15 years. Gorgeous, whose real name is Gigi Loren Lazzarato Getty, has recently been sharing her and husband Nats Getty’s journey to parenthood. Getty is a trans man.
Hunter Schafer
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Hunter: As trans teen Jules on HBO’s “Euphoria,” and the upcoming “Hunger Games” prequel film.
Zion Moreno
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Zion: As Luna on HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl” reboot.
Kim Petras
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Kim: As part of the duo behind the Grammy-winning pop hit “Unholy” (with Sam Smith).
Indya Moore
Pronouns: She/Her/They/Them
Where You’ve Seen Indya: As Angel Evangelista in FX’s “Pose,” and the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel.
Laith Ashley
Pronouns: He/Him
Where You’ve Seen Laith: As a fashion model in many campaigns, and as Taylor Swift’s love interest in her “Lavender Haze” music video.
Elliot Fletcher
Pronouns: He/Him
Where You’ve Seen Elliot: As Trevor on “Shameless” and Sam Jordan on FX on Hulu’s “Y: The Last Man.”
Trace Lysette
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Trace: As the lead in the indie drama “Monica.”
Jen Richards
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Jen: As Margo in HBO’s “Mrs. Fletcher” and Jojo in “Mayfair Witches.”
Ian Alexander
Pronouns: They/Them
Where You’ve Seen Ian: As Buck on “The OA” and Gray Tal on “Star Trek Discovery,” the first trans actor playing a trans character in the franchise’s history.
Brian Michael Smith
Pronouns: He/Him
Where You’ve Seen Brian: As Toine on “Queen Sugar,” and “Paul Strickland” on “9-1-1 Lone Star” — the first Black trans man series regular on a network show.
Scott Turner Schofield
Pronouns: He/Him
Where You’ve Seen Scott: As Nick on the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful,” for which he became the first trans man to win a Daytime Emmy acting nomination.
Dominique Jackson
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Dominique: As Elektra Abundance on FX’s “Pose.”
Nicole Maines
Pronouns: She/Her
Where You’ve Seen Nicole: As Nia Nal on “Supergirl,” and Lisa on “Yellowjackets.”
Tyler DiChiara
Pronouns: He/Him
Where You’ve Seen Tyler: As Cullen on the new CW show “Gotham Knights.”
