List of transgender characters in film

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This is a list of films and television shows with transgender people and transgender fictional characters.

Film and video

Several movies feature transgender issues as a central part of the plot element, or well-known movies in which a transgender character plays a minor but important role:

Trans men

  • Desperate Living (1977): A John Waters comedy featuring a trans man character who gets phalloplasty.
  • Boys Don't Cry (1999): A drama film based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was raped and murdered by male friends. The movie received much media attention when its star Hilary Swank, who played Brandon, won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
  • Southern Comfort (2001): A documentary film about the final year in the life of Robert Eads, a transgender man from the southern United States.
  • By Hook or by Crook (2001): A queer buddy film written, directed by, and starring trans men.
  • Strange Circus (2005): Yuji, the novelist's assistant, is a transgender man.
  • Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007): A comedy about young feminists who spread their message through public art and vandalism. Aggie (played by Lauren Mollica) has gender dysphoria. He bonds with the main character, Anna, and develops an apparent crush on her.
  • Romeos (2011): A drama and tragicomedy which revolves around the romantic relationship between Lukas, a 20-year-old gay trans man who is transitioning from female to male, and a cisgender gay man named Fabio.
  • Tomboy (2011): A French drama about a 10-year-old transgender child who, after moving with his family to a new neighborhood, introduces himself to his new friends as Mikäel.
  • Albert Nobbs (2011): A drama about a trans man living in 19th century Dublin and working as a butler. He bonds with another trans man, who is a painter, in the same city. Film is criticized for its portrayal of trans men as "women in disguise."[citation needed]
  • Pierrot Lunaire (2014): an adaptation of Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire that features a trans man in the title role.
  • 3 Generations (2015): A drama about a teenage trans boy who struggles with his mother and grandmother to get approved for hormone replacement therapy.

Trans women

Television Show Portrayals

  • 3%: Marina Matheus plays Gloria's friend Ariel in this Brazilian show.
  • 30 Degrees in February: DoungJai Hiransri plays Oh, a Thai Kathoey who falls in love with Glenn, and later on they adopt a child.
  • 9-1-1: Lone Star: Brian Michael Smith as Paul Strickland, a firefighter who is also a trans man
  • All My Children: Zoe is a transgender character in the American soap opera.
  • All That Glitters: Linda Gray played transgender fashion model Linda Murkland in this 1977 series.
  • Ally McBeal: Wilson Cruz guest stars as Stephanie Grant, a transgender teen arrested for prostitution whom Ally must defend in court.
  • Ally McBeal: Lisa Edelstein played transgender character Cindy McCauliff in the fourth season of the show.
  • American Horror Story: Hotel: Liz Taylor is a transgender female character who is the bartender in the Hotel Cortez.
  • Bad Girls: Arun Pamer - a transgender character who served time in Larkhall prison.
  • Becoming Us: Reality show starring Carly Lehwald focusing on a family whose father has come out as a trans woman.
  • Better Things: Sam's middle child, Frankie, is a transgender boy.
  • The Bold and the Beautiful: Karla Mosley appears as Maya Avant, a transgender supermodel on the American soap opera. Scott Turner Schofield, a transgender male actor, appears as Nick, Maya's mentor.
  • Bones: In the 2009 episode "The He in the She," a police teamwork to solve the murder of a transgender pastor named Patricia.
  • Brave New Girls: Reality show focusing on aspiring trans model Jenna Talackova.
  • The Brini Maxwell Show: Sabrina "Brini" Maxwell is a fictional character created by actor Ben Sander. Described by Guy Trebey of the Village Voice [1] as the "prototypical, pre-feminist, 1960s homemaker", Maxwell has also been described as a composite of Doris Day, Mary Tyler Moore, Auntie Mame, That Girl and Donna Reed and came to prominence in the late '90s as the host of her eponymous television show on Public-access television cable TV in Manhattan.
  • Butterfly: Three-part miniseries starring Anna Friel and 11-year old Callum Booth-Ford as her daughter Max(ine).
  • Casualty: featured transgender character Robert in episode 26 of its 30th series.
  • Chicago Med: Features Alexandra Grey, a trans woman, portraying Denise Lockwood, a trans woman, in Episode 3, Season 2, who is the sister of nurse Maggie Lockwood, she is a recurring character.
  • Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A main character Susie Putnam, later Theo Putnam is a trans boy.
  • The Closer: In the episode "Make Over," Beau Bridges plays Georgette, a transgender woman and Provenza's ex-partner.
  • Col'n Carpenter: Col'n Carpenter is reunited with his estranged brother who is now his sister, and she is still Mummy's favourite child.[5]
  • Coronation Street: Hayley Cropper was the first transgender character in a British soap opera.
  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The fifth-season episode "Ch-ch-changes" focuses on illegal sex reassignment operations in the female transgender community, and features several transgender characters.
  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Paul Millander, a transgender character, appears in three episodes of CSI: "Pilot", "Anonymous", and "Identity Crisis."
  • Dark: Features a transgender woman who works as a prostitute.
  • Dark Angel: Season 1 Episode 8 "Out" Back at Jam Pony, Normal has a date with a woman who is actually transgender. After he finds out, he decides that he doesn't care about her past, only to discover that Louise (Played by actress Jessica Crockett) is a lesbian. The first time a trans woman was cast to play a trans character on American television.
  • Dead of Summer: Drew is revealed to be a transgender male. He encounters issues when he comes out to his male crush.
  • Degrassi: Adam Torres (played by Jordan Todosey) is a transgender character introduced into the show in the tenth season.
  • Designated Survivor: The third season features Jamie Clayton as Sasha Booker, a trans woman and the President's sister-in-law.
  • Diagnosis: Murder: A trans woman is murdered by her previous lover, who loved her as a male.
  • Difficult People: Lola is a coworker of Billy Eichner introduced in the second season, played by trans actress Shakina Nayfack.
  • Dirty Sexy Money: Candis Cayne, actress and transgender performer plays Carmelita, a transgender woman who has an affair with married New York attorney General Patrick Darling, played by William Baldwin.
  • Doctor Who: Zoë Wanamaker voices Lady Cassandra O'Brien, a recurring character in season one and two. In season one episode, "The End of the World," it is revealed that Cassandra was assigned male at birth. She is depicted as genetically the last pure human (all the others have miscegenated with alien beings), and physically as a flat sheet of skin that has to be moisturized to keep her from drying up, and with her brain in a jar under her frame.
  • Doom Patrol: Danny is a sentient, genderqueer, teleporting street which is being haunted by the Bureau of Normalcy. Former Bureau agent Morris Wilson has become a drag queen named Maura Lee Karupt (played by Alan Mingo Jr.) who helps keep Danny going by sustaining a party atmosphere.
  • EastEnders: Transsexual actor Riley Carter Millington plays trans character Kyle Slater.
  • The Education of Max Bickford: Helen Shaver plays Erica, a trans woman and best friend of Max Bickford, the title character.
  • Eli Stone: In the season two episode, "Two Ministers," Dallas Malloy plays a transgender minister who needs legal help when he loses his job after transitioning.
  • Emmerdale: Trans man Ash Palmisciano plays trans character Matty Barton.
  • Euphoria: Hunter Schafer plays a teenage transfeminine character named Jules Vaughn.
  • Faking It: In season three a new character, Noah, is a transgender gay male. He starts dating Shane. He is portrayed by Elliot Fletcher who is transgender himself in real life.
  • Family Guy: In the episode "Quagmire's Dad", Glenn Quagmire's father, Lieutenant Commander Dan Quagmire, has gender reassignment surgery and changes her name to Ida Quagmire.
  • The Fosters: Tom Phelan plays a transgender boy named Cole whom the main character, Callie, meets at a group home. Cole first appears in season 1 and has a recurring role throughout the series. In season 4, Elliot Fletcher appears as Aaron Baker, a transgender guy, who works with Callie on a murder case. Callie develops a romantic interest in him and he later becomes her boyfriend.
  • Glee: Alex Newell plays Unique Adams, who, when originally introduced in season 3, identifies as a cisgender male, begins her transition throughout the series when performing in drag. Dot Marie Jones plays football coach Shannon Beiste, who transitions to male (Sheldon Beiste) during the sixth season.
  • The Golden Girls: Season 3, episode 8: “Brotherly Love”: John Schuck plays Gil Kessler, a city council candidate who comes out as a trans man.
  • The Good Doctor: Sophie Giannamore plays Quinn Darby, a patient who is a trans girl
  • Good Girls: Isaiah Stannard plays Sadie Marks, Annie's and Gregg's son who is bullied. He comes out as a transgender boy in season 2.
  • Good Grief: Sheldon Feldner plays Raoul, an assistant at the Lapidus's funeral home.
  • Good Trouble: Hailie Sahar plays Jazmin Martinez, Gael's trans sister whose family doesn't accept her. The show also counts with Daisy Eagan as Joey Riverton, Alice's non-binary love interest, and Rhea Butcher as Lindsay Brady, Alice's non-binary 'comedy mentor'.
  • Grey's Anatomy: In season 9, episode 13 "The Face of Change", a transgender boy comes in for transitional surgery, and is accompanied by his transgender girlfriend. The couple is played by Rachel Brosnahan and Matt Pascua.
  • Grey's Anatomy: Alex Blue Davis, a transgender male actor, appears as Intern Casey Parker in Season 14.
  • Gwaith Cartref: Welsh T.V show featuring series regular Macsen Issacs (previously Phoebe Issacs) played by Mabli Jen-Eustace. Macsen is an FtM character that transitioned during season 7.
  • Hit & Miss: Chloë Sevigny plays a transgender woman, Mia. Mia is a contract killer who finds out that her ex-girlfriend, from before transitioning, is dead and that she was pregnant and had their child.
  • Hollyoaks: In 2010, the character Jason Costello was introduced as the British soap opera's first character to have gender dysphoria. Subsequently, they introduced Blessing Chambers, a young trans woman, and, most recently, Sally St. Claire, played by Annie Wallace, the first trans actor to play a regular trans character in a British soap.
  • How to Get Away With Murder: In season 2, episode 3, shortly before their wedding anniversary party, transgender Professor Jill Hartford kills her husband, claiming self-defense from his abuse.
  • Hung: In season 3, Jamie Clayton plays Kyla, a trans woman, in two episodes in the third season in 2011.
  • Hunter x Hunter: Anime series featuring a transgender character, Alluka Zoldyck.
  • Itaewon Class: Lee Joo-young portrays Ma Hyun-yi, a trans woman.
  • It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Brittany Daniel plays recurring character Carmen, a trans woman who has an on-again, off-again relationship with Mac until she gets married.
  • The Jeffersons: Veronica Redd plays Edie Stokes, formerly Eddie Stokes, in the episode "Once a Friend".
  • Just Shoot Me: Jenny McCarthy plays Brandi, formerly Burt, an old college friend of Finch's, in the episode "There's Something About Allison."
  • La que se avecina: Alba Recio, daughter of the homophobic Antonio Recio, who is embarrassed by her. She is a main character after season nine.
  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Transgender characters are featured in episodes "Fallacy" (Season 4) and "Transitions" (Season 10).
  • The League of Gentlemen: Barbara Dixon is the proprietor of the local taxi firm, Bab's Cabs.
  • The Love Boat: In a 1980s episode, MacKenzie Phillips portrays a trans woman who is eventually accepted as a friend by her old high school classmate, series regular Fred Grandy.
  • The L Word: Moira becomes Max, a transgender man. He becomes aggressive and unpredictable during his transition due to the hormones he is taking, and Jenny then dumps him because she does not want to be in a relationship with a man.
  • The L Word: Generation Q: features Leo Sheng as Micah Lee, a trans man, in the main cast, Jamie Clayton as Tess, a trans woman and Brian Michael Smith as Pierce Williams, a trans man, both secondary characters.
  • Married... with Children: In season 9's tenth episode, "Dud Bowl", Drew Pillsbury plays Thad, a former high school teammate of Al's who is now a trans woman, to Al's dismay, but who nevertheless plays football on Al's re-organized team.[6]
  • Married... with Children (Episode 10.16 "Calendar Girl") Beautiful calendar girl Crystal Clark comes out as a trans woman on national TV, to the horror of those who loved her for her body.
  • Medical Center: In the two-part Season 7 opener, Robert Reed portrays Dr. Pat Caddison, a former colleague of Dr. Gannon, who reveals his intention to transition from male to female.
  • M&M Green and Brown M&M are both trans women.
  • Mr. Robot: B. D. Wong portrays Whiterose, a transgender woman.
  • Mrs. Fletcher: features Jen Richards as Margo, the teacher for the title character's creative writing class.
  • My Family: Diana Weston plays Charlie Briggs, an old college friend of Ben's who is transgender.
  • My Hero Academia: Magne is a villain who is a transgender woman. The professional hero Tiger is a transgender man, and the professional hero Thirteen is non-binary.
  • NCIS: In the Season 1 episode "Dead Man Talking," the female person of interest in a stakeout turns out to be the presumed male murder suspect. In the Season 2 episode "An Eye for an Eye," a person of interest turns out to be a closeted trans woman.
  • Night Court: In the Season 3 episode "Best of Friends", Dan meets up with a college buddy who is no longer living as a man.
  • Nip/Tuck: Famke Janssen played Ava Moore in the American plastic surgery based television drama series. Jonathan Del Arco plays Sophia Lopez, whose botched surgery leads the doctors to a doctor who routinely botches surgery on transgender patients in season 1. Cherry Peck (Willam Belli) figures prominently in season 3.
  • Number 96: In Australia 1973, Carlotta played a showgirl revealed as transgender.
  • One Day at a Time: Syd is non-binary.
  • The OA: Ian Alexander portrays Buck Vu, a 15-year-old Asian trans man.
  • One Piece: Mr. 2 Bon Kurei (better known as Bon Clay in English adaptations) is an okama, or transvestite agent, of the criminal organization Baroque Works who can change his body to anyone he's touched, including females. Another character, Emporio Ivankov (aka Iva) is the "Queen" of Kamabakka Queendom (Kamabakka literally means "full of transvestites") and possess the powers of the "Horu Horu no Mi" devil's fruit, which grants the user the ability to create and control special hormones that can affect anyone they strike by however the user desires. One of his techniques is Emporio Onna Hormone (エンポリオ・女ホルモン, literally translated as Emporio Female Hormone) which are special female hormones that when injected into a male, causes said male (including Iva himself) to be transformed completely into a female (Iva uses it to change the sex of male opponents and even himself to female). The character O-kiku in the Wano Arc is a male who "is a woman at heart".[7]
  • Orange Is the New Black: Sophia Burset (portrayed by Laverne Cox) is an inmate who serves time for credit card theft. Before transitioning, she was known as Marcus.
  • Orphan Black: Tony Sawicki (formerly Antoinette) is a clone and criminal introduced in season two. Every other known clone in his "batch" is female.
  • Party of Five (2020): Matthew is Lucia's undocumented trans friend who works at the Acostas' restaurant. He's played by the non-binary actor Garcia.
  • Penny Dreadful: Angelique (Jonny Beauchamp) Encounters Dorian Gray in a cafe. After they meet Gray takes up her offer and goes to her workplace. Here it is made clear that she is transgender.
  • Pose: Fictionalised version of the New York ballroom culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Features many transgender characters, including 5 in the main cast.
  • Pretty Little Liars: In the summer finale of Season 6, CeCe Drake (portrayed by Vanessa Ray) is revealed to be a transgender woman. She was born as a male named Charles DiLaurentis and identified as female from an early age, eventually becoming Charlotte DiLaurentis. In the same episode, she was revealed to be the main villain "A", her motives transpiring from being sent to a mental facility at a young age due to her transphobic father Kenneth.
  • Prime Suspect 3: Peter Capaldi plays Vera Reynolds, a trans woman and cabaret singer.
  • Queer as Folk: Later seasons featured a minor transgender character named Kiki (usually described by other characters as "Kiki the Waitress, formerly known as Kenny the Waiter").
  • Queen Sugar: Ralph Angel is uncharacteristically sensitive about his son Blue's affinity for playing with a doll. It's revealed that Ralph's childhood friend, Antoinette "Toine" Wilkins, was bullied for being gender-variant growing up and Ralph came to their defense. When they reunite in Season 2, Antoinette has transitioned and is a transgender man, and goes by Antoine.[8] Toine is played by transgender actor Brian Michael Smith.[9]
  • The Riches: Sam Malloy, the youngest child of the family on whom the series focuses, is a possibly non-binary pre-teen who usually prefers feminine gender expression, in spite of being assigned male at birth. Sam's parents and siblings respect and accept Sam's gender expression.
  • Rise: Ellie Desautels plays Michael Hallowell, a transgender student now a new member of the drama club.
  • Saturday Night Live: Pat is an androgynous fictional character. The central humorous aspect of sketches featuring Pat is the inability of others to determine the character's gender.
  • Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: Features Berg Katse, an intersex mutant created from the synthesis of male and female twins in utero created by the alien leader of evil organisation Galactor.
  • Second Serve: A TV film based on the autobiography of tennis pro Renée Richards (played by Vanessa Redgrave), whose player status was challenged in 1976 when it was revealed that she was transgender.
  • Secret City: An Australian drama television series in which a political journalist uncovers a secret city of interlocked conspiracies, putting innocent lives in danger including her own. Her ex-husband is a trans woman.
  • Sense8: One of the Sensate 'cluster' is a transgender woman named Nomi Marks, played by a transgender actress Jamie Clayton.
  • Shameless: Trevor, played by Elliot Fletcher, is introduced as Ian's love interest in the show's seventh season.
  • South Park: From the start of the ninth season, elementary school teacher Herbert Garrison became known as Janet Garrison, then later reverted to male.
  • Star: Amiyah Scott portrays Cotton Brown, the daughter of a salon owner and part of the main cast from season 1 forward.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dax, a symbiont, has changed genders throughout their lives.
  • Strange Empire: Morgan Finn, played by Joanne Boland, is a trans man. The series is set in 1869.
  • Supergirl (TV series): In the show's fourth season, transgender woman Nia Nal is introduced as the hero Dreamer. She is portrayed by real-life transgender woman, Nicole Maines
  • The Surreal Life: Alexis Arquette, a trans woman who appeared in the reality series.
  • The Switch: A transgender comedy series.
  • Tales of the City: Based on Armistead Maupin's novel of the same name, this miniseries is set in a San Francisco apartment building run by an Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), an over-solicitous transgender landlady. Anna's younger self is played by Jen Richards in the 2019 revival.
  • TransGeneration: A US documentary-style reality television series that affords a view into the lives of four transgender college students.
  • Transparent: Jeffrey Tambor plays a trans woman in the process of transitioning. Alexandra Billings, Trace Lysette. and Alexandra Grey portray trans women recurring characters.
  • Twin Peaks: David Duchovny portrays Denise Bryson, a trans FBI agent, who purportedly began presenting as a woman after working undercover.
  • Two and a Half Men: In the episode "An Old Flame With a New Wick" (Chris O'Donnell) plays a transgender man.
  • Ugly Betty: Rebecca Romijn plays Alexis Meade, a trans woman in the American drama/comedy television series.
  • Wandering Son: An 11-episode anime adaptation produced by AIC Classic based on the manga by Takako Shimura. The story depicts a transgender girl named Shūichi Nitori, and her friend Yoshino Takatsuki, a transgender boy. The series deals with issues such as transphobia, gender identity, and the beginning of puberty.
  • Waterloo Road: In 2011, British School-based Drama Waterloo Road introduced fictional transgender character, 'Martin Dunbar' played by Matt Greenwood in Series 7, Episode 2 of the BBC Drama Series. The episode features around the 'coming out' and coming-to-terms storyline of the pupil. Kacey Barry, played by Brogan Ellis, is forced to come to terms with her gender issues in series 8 (episode 18, man of the match") when Barry outs Kacey as a girl on the football pitch after Zoe kisses her/him.
  • Wentworth: In this Australian series set in a women's prison, Socratis Otto plays Maxine Conway, a transgender woman who is in prison for the murder of her ex-boyfriend.
  • When They See Us includes Isis King as Marci Wise, a young trans woman.
  • WKRP in Cincinnati In the episode "Hotel Oceanview", Linda Carlson plays Nikki Sinckler, a transgender woman and former high school buddy of salesman Herb Tarlek, whom he unwittingly tries to seduce.
  • Work in Progress Theo Germaine portrays Chris, a young, trans man barista and boyfriend to the lead character.
  • Zombie Land Saga: Lily Hoshikawa is a prodigious transgender child actress who died from a heart attack caused by occupational stress and mental shock upon growing facial hair.

See also

References

  1. ^ Todd W. Reeser, "Transsexuality and the Production of French Universalism: René Gaveau's Adam est...Eve (1954)," French Review 91.2 (December 2017): 126-38.
  2. ^ https://pocketmags.com/transliving-magazine/transliving-61/articles/435937/the-diva-was-born
  3. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4838248/
  4. ^ Peter Knegt, "This filmmaker is pushing beyond 'sensational' trans narratives with a love letter to their nonna". CBC Arts, January 16, 2018.
  5. ^ Talking TelevisionAU: Col'n Carpenter
  6. ^ Dud Bowl, 1994-11-13, retrieved 2015-08-16
  7. ^ One Piece Chapter 948
  8. ^ "Ralph Angel Reconnects with a Transgender Man He Once Protected". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  9. ^ "GLAAD talks to Brian Michael from OWN's Queen Sugar". GLAAD. 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2018-06-26.

External links