Learn More About Transgender Icons From Throughout History

Throughout the 21st century, there has been a lot more awareness regarding gender identity. Although now it has become a hot button issue, it is by no means a new issue. A major part of why gender identity has become a major discussion is due to the fact that many prominent voices have spoken up about not just their struggles, but also their triumphs. In fact, it was once unthinkable that a celebrity would open up about any gender identity issues, so the fact that today it is celebrated shows just how much progress has been made. When well-known people open up about these struggles, it becomes much more normalized and helps others who are having the same type of struggles. Here are some of the most famous trans activists and celebrities that helped pave the way.

Candy Darling

Candy Darling starred in many films including Women Revolt, Silent Night, Flesh, and Bloody Night. Darling was born James Lawrence Slattery in 1944, she bravely spoke out and announced that she was transgender. At that time, it was completely unheard of, so she was truly a trailblazer. She would frequently collaborate with Andy Warhol, appearing in two of his films. Darling sadly passed away when she was only 29.

April Ashley

April Ashley was a British actress and model that was the face of the trans community throughout the 1960’s. She modeled and appeared in acting roles until she was able to pay for gender reassignment surgery. Sadly, her story was printed in the British Sunday People magazine without her approval, but the silver lining was that her story helped pave the way to a more accepting society.

Holly Woodlawn

Born Haraldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez in Peurto Rico, she chose her new name based off the character of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and a name she heard in an episode of I Love Lucy. Once she moved to New York City, she appeared in films like Women in Revolt, Alibi, and Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers. She later opened up the Holly Woodlawn Memorial Fund for the Transgender Youth at the LA LBGT Center.

Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson is one of the best known icons of LGBTQ+ advocacy who was vocal about raising awareness about both HIV and trans acceptance. She performed in drag as a a part of the Hot Peaches troupe and modeled for Andy Warhol. She was often referred to as the “Mayor of Christopher Street” since she had such a welcoming demeanor all around Greenwich Village. She was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.).

Octavia Saint Laurent

Octavia Saint Laurent was a model, actress, and AIDS educator and who was a prominent member of Black and Latino ballrooms at Harlem balls. She was prominently featured in the Paris Is Burning documentary from 1990. She passed away in 2009 after battling with cancel.

Sophia Lamar

Sophia Lamar has been prominently active in the New York City LBGTQ+ entertainment scene for many years. She was first a part of the Cuban underground scene before she became a New York City Club Kid. She has modeled for Levi’s and Trash & Vaudeville, and also represented NYU School of Medicine Center for AIDS Research.

Jackie Curtis

Jackie Curtis was an actress, singer, writer, and one fo Andry Warhol’s superstars. She performed in many stage productions and later appeared in Warhol films Flesh and Women in Revolt. She was also a poet and a singer. She struggled with drug addiction which ultimately led to her overdose in 1985.

Mimi Marks

Often called the most beautiful trans model in the world, Mimi Marks was also active in the pageant world. She won Ms. Waterloo in 1986 and also won Miss International Queen in Pattaya, Thailand, The World’s Most Beautiful Transsexual Content in Las Vegas, and Miss Continental in Chicago.

Ian Harvie

Ian Harvie is a stand up comedian who is also an LGBTQ+ activist. In the late 2000s, he was the opener for comedian Margaret Cho. In his standup, he often discusses the topics of gender identity as well as the difficulties of transitioning. He began transitioning at age 19 and fully transitioned by age 32.

Eva Robin

Eva Robin is an Italian trans activist who has always been open about the fact that she knew she was trans since she was 13 years old. She is a fierce LGBTQ+ rights activist and has also worked as a model and actress, appearing in Tenebrae, a film by Dario Argentino.

Bibiana Fernández

Also known as Bibi Andersen, Bibiana is an actress who first transitioned in 1991 and appeared in films like Rowing with the Wind, Matador, and Law of Desire. She married Asdrúbal Ametller, a Cuban model, though they were only married from 2000 until 2003.

Marie Pierre Pruvot

Marie Pierre Pruvot was born in 1935 in Algeria. From her early days, she knew she was destined for a a career in the spotlight. Working as a showgirl for two decades often under the stage name Bambi at Le Carrousel de Paris, she would also often appear in documentaries that discussed gender and performance. She also appeared in the documentary Bambi.

Lauren Harries

Lauren Harris became famous when she was only 13 years old, becoming well known for wearing a suit and bowtie and discussing antique furniture. Later in his life, she transitioned and struggled with the fact that she was already well known during the process. She later appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, Big Brother’s Bit on the Side, and This Morning.

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox is perhaps the most visible trans actress of recent times. She became a household name when she starred as Sophia Burset on Netflix original Orange Is The New Black. She earned a Primetime Emmy Award for the role. When she appeared on CBS show Doubt, she became the first trans person to play a transgender series regular role on U.S. broadcast TV.

Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner is one of the most well known trans people in recent times, and is definitely the most high profile person to transition publicly. She was born Bruce Jenner and went on to become an Olympic gold medalist. She later prominently appeared on Keeping Up With The Kardashians when she was married to Kris Jenner. She came out as trans in 2014 and chronicled her life after transitioning on her show I Am Cait.

Caitlyn Jenner is perhaps one of the most well known trans people in the world. She was born Bruce Jenner, and became a star after becoming an Olympic gold medalist. She also appeared on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. She came out as trans in 2014 and after transitioning she starred in her own show I Am Cait.

Wachowski Sisters

The Wachowski Sisters are film and TV directors who both transitioned later in life. They are best known for directing The Matrix film franchise as well as V For Vendetta, Cloud Atlas, and Netflix show Sense8.

Fallon Fox

Fallon Fox is a retired MMA fighter who made history when she became the first openly trans person in the MMA. She said that she experienced gender dysphoria her whole life before finally transitioning. When she was 19 and still living as a heterosexual man, she married her girlfriend and had a daughter with her. She transitioned after college.

Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono is Cher and Sono Bono’s child who is an actor, writer, and musician. He first appeared in The Sonny & Cher Comedy House as a child. In 1995, while still identifying as a woman, he was outed by tabloids as lesbian. Between 2008 and 2010 he underwent female to male gender transition and in 2010 he legally changed his gender and name.

Janet Mock

Janet Mock is a writer, TV host, director, producer, and trans rights activist. She is a contributing editor for Marie Claire and formerly a staff editor of People.com. Her memoir Redefining Realness became a New York Times bestseller. She is the executive producer of the shows Pose, Hollywood, and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Erika Ervin

Erika Eve, who is professionally known as Amazon Eve, is a model, actress, and fitness trainer. She appeared in American Horror Story: Freak Show and American Horror Story: Apocalypse. Ervin is also a body positivity activist.

Amanda Lepore

Amanda Lepore is a model, singer, and performance artist who became well known as a Club Kid. She has been regularly photographed by prominent photographers like David LaChapelle, Terry Richardson, and Ruben van Schalm. She appeared in documentary Party Monster: The Shockumentary and the feature film of the same story, Party Monster. She has appeared in music videos for artists like Elton John, The Dandy Warhols, Grace Jones, and The Drums.

Candis Cayne

Candis Cayne is an actress and performance artist who first became known in the NYC nightclub scenes. She came out as trans in 1996 and became well known for appears as the transgender character Carmelita on Dirty Sexy Money in 2007, becoming the first trans actress to play a recurring trans character.

Alexis Arquette

Alexis Arquette was an actress and activist who was part of the Arquette family, her siblings include David, Patricia, and Rosanna Arquette. She appeared in several films like Pulp Fiction, Bride of Chucky and The Wedding Singer. She also appeared on an episode of Friends. She documented her experience of transitioning on the documentary film Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother. She passed away in 2016 from complications of HIV.

Trace Lysette

Trace Lysette first became known when she appeared on the Amazon original series Transparent after she publicly came out. She has appeared in music videos for The Sins, Maroon 5, and Cher, and is an active advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. She starred in the 2019 film Hustlers and the documentary Disclosure.

Kate Bornstein

Kate Bornstein is an author, entertainer, and gender theorist whose writing discusses gender identity, eating disorders, and personality disorders. She deals with PTSD as well as Borderline Personality disorder, but she has not let that hold her back from her writing.

Jamie Clayton

Jamie Clayto first became known for starring in the Wachowski sisters’ Netflix series Sense8,  on which she played the character of Nomi Marks, a trans political blogger and hacker. Clayton also appeared in Designated Survivor, The L Word: Generation Q, Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, Equal, and Hellraiser.

Our Lady J

Our Lady J is a writer, producer, classical pianist, and singer. She is a writer and producer for the successful TV shows Transparent and Pose. She has received two Peabody Awards and three American Film Institute Awards. As a pianist, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, American Ballet Theater, as well as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Jake Zyrus

Jake Zyrus first came to prominence when he appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He released a studio album named Charice, his pre-transition name. In 2010, he appeared as Sunshine Corazon on TV show Glee. He came out as trans in 2017 and changed his name to Jake Zyrus. Regarding his transition, he shared: “I am always thankful for the life of Charice that I experienced and the music that I shared, but that obviously belongs to her, it’s not for me. I’m letting her go and be free.”

Christine Jorgensen

Christine Jorgensen is considered to be the first person to have undergone gender reassignment surgery. She traveled to Denmark for the procedure, which at the time was the only country where these surgeries were performed. After she returned to New York, she landed on the front page of New York Daily News and became an instant celebrity, later working as an actress and singer.

Alexandra Billings

In Transparent, Alexandra Billings played the role of Davina, the second character on a TV show that is openly trans. Billings also appeared in Romy and Michelle: In The Beginning, How To Get Away With Murder, ER, and Grey’s Anatomy. In 2016, she received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award. dont

Angelica Ross

Angelica Ross is an actress, trans rights activist, computer programmer, and tech company founder. She is the CEO and founder of TransTech Social Enterprises, a firm that helps trans people get hired in the tech sector. As an actress, she has appeared in Her Story, Pose and American Horror Story.

Zackary Drucker

Zackary Drucker is a multi-media artist, activist, actress, and TV producer. She produced the docu-series This Is Me, worked as a consultant on Transparent, and has had her works exhibited at MoMA PS1, the Whitney Biennial, Art Gallery on Ontario, and the Hammer Museum.

Harmony Santana

Harmony Santana became the first trans woman to be nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 2011 film Gun Hill Road. She is also an activist and is a spokesperson for Homeless Youth and Bullying. She herself spent time living in Green Chimneys, a group home for LGBTQ+ youth.

Calpernia Addams

Calpernia Addams is an actress, musician, and trans right activist. She served in the US Navy, and during her last year in the military, she came out as trans. She took the name Calpernia after the character of Calpunia, wife of Caesar in the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar.

Peppermint

Peppermint is an actress, singer, drag queen, and TV personality who became well known in the nightlife scene and later as the runner up of season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She appeared in the musical Head Over Heels, becoming the first out trans woman to originate a lead role on Broadway.

Angel Qinan

Angel Qinan is an actress and model who has appeared in Strut, Act Like A Woman,  and Starlet Diner. She frequently collaborates with her sister Ally, who is also trans. Angel became the first trans model to participate in the Sacramento Fashion Week runway show. She’s also walked in New York Fashion Week, 3D Designs by Alexis Walsh, and Cabin by Stevie Boy.

Buck Angel

Buck Angel is an adult film actor, producer, and sex educator. He is the founder of Buck Angel Entertainment. In 2007, he received the AVN Award of Transsexual Performer of the Year. He transition when he was 28 after struggling with gender identity his whole life before.

Dorce Gamalama

Dorce Gamalama is an Indonesian pop singer, actress, comedian, and TV presenter. She experienced gender dysphoria when she was 7 years old. Her gender change was formally recognized in 1986. Sadly, she passed away in February 2022 due to complications from COVID-19.

Jahna Steele

Jahna Steele was an entertainer and showgirl that was voted Las Vegas’ “Sexiest Showgirl on the Strip” in 1991, as well as “Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year, 1992,” and “Most Beautiful Showgirl, 1993.” After she was outed as a trans woman on a tabloid TV show, she was fired from Crazy Girls Review. She passed away in 2008.

Laura Jane Grace

Laura Jane Grace is the lead singer of the rock band Against Me! as well as the band Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers. She was one of the first highly visible punk rock musicians to come out as trans when she came out publicly in 2012. She appeared in an AOL Studios documentary series True Trans with Laura Jane Grace in 2014 and published her memoir Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout in 2016.