These Iconic Transgender Celebs Are Changing Hollywood for the Better

Until recent years, transgender people rarely had any mainstream media representation, and if they did it certainly wasn’t positive or accurate. Of course, we as a society still have a long way to go before trans people are fully accepted for who they are, but we shouldn’t downplay the progress that’s been made throughout the years. From Laverne Cox to Elliot Page, the following transgender celebs are changing things for the better in pop culture and beyond, and proving that they’re here to stay!

Elliot Page

The ever-talented actor Elliot Page came out as a transgender man on December 1, 2020 in an Instagram post, where he specified that his new pronouns would be he/him and they/them. Many people publicly came out in support of Page, including GLAAD spokesperson Nick Adams, who stated that “[Page] will now be an inspiration to countless trans and non-binary people.” Page appeared on Time’s March 29 / April 5, 2021 issue, making him the first openly trans man to do so. “I felt like a boy … I wanted to be a boy,” Page told Time about what he said to his mom at the age of nine. “I would ask my mom if I could be someday.”

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox quickly became one of the most popular transgender actresses ever with her role as Sophia Burset on the hit show Orange is the New Black, and subsequently the first transgender person in history to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category. But unfortunately, despite all of the progress we’ve made as a society, trans people are still often the victims of hate crimes, as Cox knows all too well. She revealed in 2020 that she and a friend were attacked while walking through a park in Los Angeles.

Fun fact: Lavern Cox is also the first openly transgender person to have a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussauds!

Caitlyn Jenner

You’ll know Caitlyn Jenner best from the show Keeping up With the Kardashians and for being a stellar Olympic athlete in years past. Jenner came out as a transgender woman in April 2015, announcing her new name in July of the same year. From 2015 through 2016, she starred in a reality show, I Am Cait, which documented her transition. Unfortunately, Jenner and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner family struggled to see eye to eye after the release of her memoir, entitled Secrets of My Life, which revealed some juicy secrets about the family and their treatment of her gender dysphoria.

The Wachowski Sisters

Lana and Lilly Wachowski make up the legendary film directorial duo known as The Wachowskis. Their most famous works have included The Matrix series, V for Vendetta, and Cloud Atlas. Lana (pictured left) began transitioning as early as the early 2000s and officially announced her transition in 2008. Lilly came out in 2016, thanking her sister for paving the way.

“I am one of the lucky ones,” Lilly said in a statement issued to the Windy City Times. “Having the support of my family and the means to afford doctors and therapists has given me the chance to actually survive this process. Transgender people without support, means and privilege do not have this luxury.”

Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono is the son of legendary duo Sonny and Cher and a musician, writer, and actor in his own right. From a young age Bono knew he wasn’t a girl, citing his inability to fully connect with the other girls in his class. “As a child, I always felt there was something different about me,” he told Family Outing. “I’d look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their obvious interest in the latest fashion, which boy in class was the cutest, and who looked the most like cover girl Christie Brinkley.” Bono began to transition in 2008, and in 2011 he became the first openly transgender man to star on a major network TV show (Dancing With the Stars) for something unrelated to his gender identity.