Despite common assumptions, the representation of trans individuals on television is actually on the decline. According to GLAAD’s Where We Are On TV report, 2024 has seen a significant drop in transgender characters, down to 24 from the previous year’s 32.

Of the 468 characters counted across scripted broadcast, cable, and streaming, only 24 (5%) are transgender.

Transgender representation in major studio films dropped sharply in 2023 after reaching a record high in 2022, the advocacy group shared.

The study also found that non-LGBTQ+ adults who are exposed to the LGBTQ+ community in media are 30% more likely to feel familiar with LGBTQ+ people overall. Additionally, half of Americans said they appreciate it when TV shows and movies show transgender or nonbinary characters.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the transgender and nonbinary storytellers in film and television who have used their talent to leave a lasting impact on audiences through their powerful performances.

#1 Elliot Page

Elliot is best known for his work on The Umbrella Academy, Juno, Tales of the City, Flatliners, and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The Canadian actor received Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations for his performance in the coming-of-age film Juno.

He announced his transition in December 2020, writing on social media, “Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they, and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life.”

In an interview with Time magazine, Elliot said he began talking about his gender identity at the age of nine. “I felt like a boy … I wanted to be a boy. I would ask my mom if I could be someday.”

His next role will be in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in 2026.

Image credits: elliotpage

#2 Hunter Schafer

The 26-year-old star made her acting debut as high school student Jules Vaughn in the HBO teen drama show Euphoria in 2019.

Hunter also had roles in the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and the horror film Cuckoo.

In 2021, Time included the actress, model, and activist in its list of 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future.

Hunter recently posted a video in which she criticized the Trump administration for changing the gender marker on her passport from female to male.

Image credits: hunterschafer

#3 Laith Ashley

The model and actor, who came out as a trans man in 2013, starred in Pose and has appeared in Strut, a series about transgender models produced by Whoopi Goldberg, as well as on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

As an activist, he has appeared in several LGBTQ+ public awareness campaigns, including T-Mobile’s We Are Bold campaign.

“You have to at least be sensitive. I think it’s important to talk about it but we want to let people know we are people just like everyone else,” Laith said about his gender identity during an interview with the HuffPost.

“Don’t put us on display and under a spotlight and make it uncomfortable. I want to show everyone that yes I am trans, but it’s not all that I am.”

Image credits: laith_ashley

#4 Yasmin Finney

The English actress plays Elle Argent in Netflix’s Heartstopper and Rose Noble in the BBC series Doctor Who.

“Doctor Who is a 60-year-old franchise with fans around the world, so including a young trans woman on this show is a powerful antidote to the transphobic media narratives in the UK,” the GLAAD report notes.

In 2013, Yasmin appeared as a guest judge during the fifth series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

The 21-year-old initially gained popularity through her TikTok videos about her experience as a young Black trans woman in Britain.

Image credits: yazdemand

#5 Josie Totah

Josie is best known for starring in the Disney Channel series Jessie, the ABC comedy show Back in the Game, and the 2016 comedy-drama film Other People.

In 2018, she wrote an article in Time magazine in which she came out as trans. “This is not something that just happened. This is not a choice that I made,” Josie stressed.

“When I was 5, long before I understood what the word gender meant, I would always tell my mother that I wished I were a girl.

“I always knew on some level that I was female. But it crystallized about three years ago when I was a 14-year-old watching the show I Am Jazz with my mother.”

Image credits: josietotah

#6 Michaela Jaé Rodriguez

Michaela, who started her transitioning process in 2016 after working on the rock musical Rent, is recognized for Tick, Tick… Boom!, Pose, American Horror Story, and Saturday Church.

In 2022, the New Jersey-born star won a Golden Globe for her role as Blanca Evangelista in the FX show Pose, becoming the first transgender performer to win the prestigious accolade.

Michaela currently stars as Sofia Salinas in the Apple TV+ comedy series Loot.

Image credits: mjrodriguez7

#7 Trace Lysette

Trace is known for playing Shea in the comedy-drama series Transparent, where she came out publicly as trans. 

The Amazon series features a scene that shows Trace’s character, a transgender yoga teacher, having a romantic relationship with a cisgender straight man, which The Hollywood Reporter called “a groundbreaking TV moment for a trans character.”

The 43-year-old actress later starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the film Hustlers.

More recently, she appeared on Disclosure, a Netflix documentary that explores Hollywood’s depiction of transgender people and the impact of these stories on members of the community and American society.

Image credits: tracelysette

#8 Asia Kate Dillon

Asia, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, portrayed Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black, Taylor Mason in Billions, and the Adjudicator in John Wick: Chapter 3.

They also portrayed a nanny who tackles childhood trauma in the film Outerlands, which is set to be released on March 10.

The actor received a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination for their work on Billions, where they portrayed the first non-binary main character on North American television.

Image credits: asiakatedillon

#9 Hari Nef

Hari portrayed Glitter in the Emmy-winning series Transparent. She was also in the psychological thriller You, the HBO drama The Idol, and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

The actress and model recently worked on Johanna Block’s experimental film Who Am I, which is currently in post-production.

As part of her modeling career, Hari walked nine runways during New York Fashion Week for the Spring/Summer 2023 season.

Image credits: harinef

#10 Indya Moore

Indya has famously starred in Ryan Murphy‘s FX series Pose, which focuses on New York City ball culture in the late 1980s. Her other acting credits include Saturday Church, Queen & Slim, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Ponyboi.

The 30-year-old is transgender and non-binary, and uses she/her and they/them pronouns.

When Indya was fourteen, she left her parents’ home because they didn’t accept how she wanted to live her life and entered into foster care.

Before becoming an actress, the New York native worked as a model, posing for Dior and Gucci and walking in New York Fashion Week.

Image credits: indyamoore

#11 Jamie Clayton

The actress and model, who previously worked as a makeup artist, rose to fame after portraying Nomi Marks in the Netflix series Sense8, created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski.

“The story does not center on transition, which I think is a really important step to take with trans characters,” she told NBC about her character, a political blogger and hacker named Nomi Mark.

“I’m excited that shows are moving towards the idea that trans people can just exist in the fictional worlds, because we exist in the real world.”

Jamie appeared on season three of Designated Survivor and in The L Word: Generation Q, and portrayed Pinhead in the horror film Hellraiser.

Image credits: msjamieclayton

#12 Laverne Cox

Laverne became the first transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category in 2014 for her role in Orange is the New Black.

Additionally, the actress and activist is the first trans person to win a Daytime Emmy as an executive producer and be on the cover of Time magazine.

Her sitcom Clean Slate, which centers on an Alabama woman reuniting with her father who she has not seen since her gender transition, premiered on Prime Video on February 6. 

She’s also set to appear in the comedy film Outcome alongside Keanu Reeves, Jonah Hill, Cameron Diaz, and Matt Bomer.

Image credits: lavernecox

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