At least 1.6% of Americans are transgender or nonbinary. 44% of adults know someone who is transgender, and 20% know someone who is nonbinary.
This gender shift extends to Hollywood stars that everyone knows. Identifying as a gender different from the one that you were assigned at birth was once a shameful thing that celebs tried to hide, but it’s now becoming widely accepted.
Most actresses, singers, athletes, or models who are trans have become advocates for others around the world. They want to set a positive example and decrease bullying.
Keep watching to learn about Hollywood celebrities who changed their gender.
Christine Jorgensen
Starting at the beginning means starting with Christine Jorgensen. She identified as a woman after her service in WWII and was the first known person to undergo what was then known as sex reassignment surgery.
Denmark was the only country that performed it in the 50s, but she returned to New York when she was done and was hounded by the media. She then became an advocate for others and worked as an actress and performer.
Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn may be the most well-known of all Hollywood celebrities who changed their gender. She was born Bruce Jenner and became both an Olympic gold medalist and the wife of Kim Jenner.
She came out in 2014 and left Keeping Up with the Kardashians to make her own show called I Am Cait. She also won accolades such as the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards.
Chaz Bono
Chaz Bono is another famous transgender celebrity as the child of Sonny Bono and Cher. The tabloids suggested he was a lesbian before his transition in the late 2000s. He’s since become a vocal activist, competed on Dancing with the Stars, and created a documentary about his experience called Becoming Chaz.”
April Ashley
April Ashley was a British actress and model. She worked to earn enough money to afford gender reassignment surgery. Her story was published in Sunday People without her consent, but it helped create more acceptance of trans individuals.
Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson was a vocal advocate for HIV awareness and the LGBTQ+ community. She was part of the Stonewall uprising that inspired the Pride Parade. She was also a drag performer who performed in Andy Warhol’s The Factory.
Octavia Saint Laurent
Octavia was also known as the Queen of the Underground. She was an actress, model, and activist primarily known for appearing in the documentary Paris is Burning. She passed away from cancer on May 17, 2009.
Mimi Marks
Mimi transitioned at 21 years old. She won the 1986 Ms. Waterloo pageant and the Miss International Queen Contest for the Most Beautiful Transsexual.
Bibiana Fernandez
Also known as Bibi Anderssen, this Spanish model transitioned in 1991 and changed her name three years later. She’s appeared in films such as Law of Desire, Matador, and Rowing with the Wind and is married to Cuban model Asdrubal Ametller.
Marie-Pierre Pruvot
Marie-Pierre was born in Algeria in 1935. She was a showgirl for 20 years and appeared in documentaries about performance and gender. They included Bambi, a 2013 film about her life.
Laverne Cox
Laverne shot to fame as Sophia Burset on the prison drama Orange is the New Black, earning an Emmy nomination. She was also the first trans actor to play a trans role in the 2008 film Doubt. She’s had a large role in the discussion of transgenders in the United States.
Alexandra Billings
Alexandra Billings played Davina on the show Transparent. That made her the second openly transgender person to play a trans character on TV. She’s been in several shows after that and received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award in 2016.
The Wachowski Sisters
Lana and Lili Wachoswski are famous behind the camera. They created the Matrix franchise and the show Sense8. They’ve won awards for their work, including Saturn Awards for Best Director.
Jamie Clayton
Actress and model Jamie Clayton appeared on Wachowski’s show Sense8 as Nomi Marks. It got her several other roles in shows, films, and video games, such as The Snowman, The Neon Demon, Designated Survivor, and Mass Effect: Andromeda. She even portrayed transgender icon Christine Jorgensen.
Fallon Fox
Fallon was the first openly transgender fighter in MMA history. She struggled with her identity until she transitioned at 19. She eventually married her girlfriend, and they have a daughter together. She’s retired from the MMA after a long fight for inclusion, but outlets like Outspots call her the “bravest athlete in history.”
Janet Mock
Janet was the first transgender person of color to write for a TV show. She’s also a director, TV host, and producer. She put her experience into her New York Times bestselling memoir Redefining Realness.
Erika Ervin
Also known as Amazon Eve, Erika Ervin is a fitness trainer, model, and actress. She’s also an activist for body positivity and has appeared on episodes of American Horror Story: Freak Show and American Horror Story: Apocalypse.
Candis Cayne
Candis Cayne was popular in the underground New York and drag scene in the 90s. She became famous for an appearance on the ABC show Dirty Sexy Money in 2007. It made her the first transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character on prime-time TV.
Alexis Arquette
Alexis Arquette wore plenty of hats as a therapist, acting teacher, poet, and activist. Her drag name was Eva Destruction and she transitioned in 2014. She passed away from HIV complications two years later.
Harmony Santana
Harmony appeared in the 2011 film Gun Hill Road. It earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress and made her the first trans woman to be nominated for that award.
Caplernia Adams
Calpernia served in the Navy and US Marine Corps. She came out as trans during her last year of service. She chose Calpernia as her name because of the Julius Caeser play and wrote her own play that won the Feminist Fest Award.
Peppermint
Peppermint is a singer and actress who appeared on the ninth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She also appeared as Pythio in Head Over Heals, making her the first transgender person to star in a Broadway show.
Angel Quinan
Angel Qinan earned roles in Act Like a Woman, Strut, and Starlet Diner, along with her sister who is also trans. She’s also the first transgender model to appear on the runway of the Sacrenemnto Fashion show.
Buck Angel
Buck Angel founded the Buck Angel adult film brand. He also pioneered the process of transitioning using hormone therapy and completed it himself when he was 28.
Jahna Steele
Jahna was a Vegas showgirl who was voted the Sexiest Showgirl on the Strip. She earned other accolades such as Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year and Most Beautiful Showgirl before her tragic death in 2008.
Laura Jane Grace
Laura founded and served as the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of the punk band Against Me. She’s one of the only openly transgender punk artists and came out in 2012. She wrote a book and released a concept album titled Transgender Dysphoria Blues in 2014.
Asia Kate Dillon
Asia Kate Dillon was the first nonbinary performer on an American TV show as Taylor Mason in Billions. They’ve been nominated for several Critic’s Choice Television awards. They’ve also appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum and made some award ceremonies such as the MTV Awards include gender-neutral categories.
Like and subscribe to Facts Verse for more on gender roles in the media. Keep watching to learn about more Hollywood celebrities who changed their gender.
Billy Tipton
Billy Tipton was one of the most popular jazz musicians of the 20th century. He was a bandleader and pianist that toured the country and released several successful albums. He changed his gender in the early 30s to “fit the jazz band image,” but not even his close friends and family knew about the change until after his death.
Chris Mosier
Chris Mosier is a triathlete who’s worked to fight for change in sports. He challenged the International Olympic Committee’s policy and won. He was the first transgender man to compete in Olympic trials with other men and the first to appear in the Body Issue of ESPN magazine.
Elliot Page
Elliot, born Ellen Page, won hearts with sassy and sarcastic roles such as the lead in the 2007 film Juno and voice work on the 2013 game Beyond Two Souls. He surprised the world when he came out in December 2020.
Hunter Schafer
Hunter Schafer won the audience’s hearts as the love interest of Zendaya’s character in the hit show Euphoria. She worked with showrunner Sam Levinson to make the character’s backstory authentic, and it worked. She’s also a model with prominent labels such as Tommy Hilfiger and Coach and a major queer activist.
Josie Totah
Josie Totah is another one of the youngest transgender celebrities in the world. She was born in 2001 and appeared on the Disney Channel show Jessie and the 2016 film Other People. She waited to come out as a transgender woman until 2018 and has since appeared in other projects such as Peacock’s Saved by the Bell reboot.
Michaela Jae Rodrigues
Pose has the largest transgender and queer cast in television history, and Michaela Jae Rodrigues is the lead actress. In 2021, she was the first transgender woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress the next year and was also the first transgender actress to do so.
Who’s your favorite transgender celebrity? Let us know in the comments.
