20 Most Famous Transgender People

Flying the rainbow flag. Photo by theodoranian-Wikimedia

20 Most Famous Transgender People

Transgender people are part of the LGBTQ community and have over time shown their skills and talents in various fields. A trans is a person whose sense of personal identity and expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. There is no explanation as to why some people are transgender. Experts believe that biological factors such as genetic influences and prenatal hormone levels, early experiences, and experiences later in adolescence or adulthood may all contribute to the development of transgender identities. Often than not Trans undergo a procedure to align their bodies as congruent as possible with their gender identities. This process of transition through medical intervention is often referred to as gender affirmation.

Trans has done quite well despite all the hurdles they face day in. Bullying, banishing, raping, and killing are some of the atrocities that Trans have to deal with.  Despite all these, their profound successes have broadened our perspective of queerness. They use their found popular status to advocate and push for LGBTQ rights and inspire young queer people all over the world. This has opened a way for more queer people to follow. Society has expectations that are rigid and take time to catch up with the times. It is time societies all over the world come to accept that trans genders are just like every other person and are here to stay.

1. Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox. Image by Luke Harold-Wikimedia

This Orange is the New Black queen is an actress and activist and is one of the most famous Trans today. She has many firsts which include; being the first transgender performer nominated for an Emmy in an acting category, the first transgender actress with a series regular role on a broadcast network for her work on CBS’ Doubt, and the first transgender person to appear on the cover of Time magazine and Cosmopolitan magazine. She has faced several challenges as a Trans such as bullying and lack of support. She uses her status in society to advocate for LGBTQ rights and urges us to move beyond gender expectations to live more authentically.

2. Caitlyn Marie Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner. Image by
US Mission to the UN-Wikimedia

Caitlyn Jenner is a household name. We were all glued to the T.V during her coming out moment. Caitlyn is one talented individual, name it she has done it! He has had careers in the Olympics (gold medal decathlete), television, film, writing, auto racing, business, and as a Playgirl cover model.

Caitlyn’s transition journey started way before she got involved with Kris Kardashian. She says she always felt like a woman and felt comfortable in women’s clothes and had even started taking hormone replacement therapy but stopped after her romance with Kris became more serious, leading to marriage. She has since broken up with Kris and went through gender affirmation in 2017.

3. Candis Cayne

Candis Cayne. Image by Greg Hernandez-Wikimedia

Candis is a famous transgender actress and performance artist. She started as a drag queen and after her debut, Dirty Sexy Money, she became the first transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character in primetime. She came out as trans in 1996 and has since become a strong advocate for the transgender community.

Her talents know no bounds as she has had roles in various films including  In the Closet, Heartbeat, and Grey’s Anatomy. She is an incredible dancer and made she became well known at the famed NYC gay hot spot “Boy Bar”, where her shows drew crowds. More recently in the 2020 Netflix documentary Disclosure, she talks about her experiences as a trans actress.

4. Chaz Bono

Chaz has always been in the spotlight because he is the son of Sonny Bono and Cher. Having famous parents meant having his life under scrutiny. Tabloids took away his chance to come out when they outed him as a lesbian. He later began his transition to a male between 2008 and 2011. He became a prominent LGBTQ+ activist and advocate and even shared his story in a 2011 documentary film, Becoming Chaz. His role in Dancing with the Stars also helped spark talks about the trans.

5. Rachel Levine

Dr. Rachel L. Levine. Image by U.S. Department of Health and Human Service-Wikimedia

Levine is a famous American pediatrician and a four-star admiral. She has served as the United States Assistant Secretary for Health since March 2021. She made history as the first openly transgender to hold an office that requires Senate confirmation. When it comes to high leadership officials, there are few if not any openly transgender individuals. We can all agree that Levine is one brave and confident woman!

6. Abel Liu

Chinese people are known to be very traditional so when Abel Liu, a Chinese- American student and openly trans, decided to stand for Student Council president at the University of Virginia in March 2021, it was a first. He did not only win but got 81.2 Percent of votes! This landslide win could only mean that change is coming and it is inclusive!

7. Elle Hearns

Elle is a  transgender rights activist and the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter network. As a black boy, raised by a single mom and having struggles with identity, things were not always easy for Elle. She knows the struggle and that is why causes like Black Lives Matter are dear to her.

8. Vaginal Davis

Vaginal Davis. Image by dirty filthy socks-Wikimedia

Vaginal Davis is a famous transgender painter, performance artist, composer, filmmaker, and writer. Davis was born intersex in South Central, Los Angeles. She first became famous when she helped breathe life into the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn’s prevalent drag scene as a genderqueer artist. This was in the 1980s and she has since flourished in the art world as she is one impressive artist.

9. Teddy Geiger

Teddy Geiger. Image by Unmatched777-Wikimedia

Teddy is one of the most famous trans singers. She is popular for the E.P.s, albums, and singles that she dropped since starting her music vocation. she is best known for her albums, Underage Thinking, The Last Fears, and Lilyanna.

She knew that she was female at the early age of 5 but she came out in 2017. In 2018, in Rolling Stone, a feature ran that “Geiger was assigned male at birth, and publicly identified that way until she began transitioning last fall. She recalls always having some understanding that the gender she identified with didn’t match the one the world saw. But a lack of trans figures to look up to, she says, left her with little language or experience to identify with as a teen or even young adult.”

10. Patricio Manuel

Manuel is a professional fighter. He was the first transgender boxer in the history of the United States to have a professional fight. He has had struggles with his gender identity all his life. His mother often thought of him as a tomboy but he knew he was different. He joined boxing as a way to take control of his life. He loved how organized and strict boxing was. He soon refused to live up to society’s and his family’s expectations. He came out and broke out as one of the greatest trans boxers in the United States.

11. Zoey Tur

Zoey Tur. Image by Zoeytur-Wikimedia

Tur is a broadcast reporter and commercial pilot. Together with her ex-wife, and a fellow reporter, they created Los Angeles News Service. She came out in 2013 and underwent hormone replacement therapy the following year. She did the gender affirmation surgery and applied for a name change and gender marker from male to female.

In 2015, she crushed Ben Shapiro who questioned her genetics and called her sir. Tur was offended and reacted by grabbing his neck and telling him to stop or he would go home in an ambulance. Shapiro filed a police report and intended to file charges of battery. Tur said that the police report was Shapiro’s way to keep the story out of headlines.

12. Hari Nef

Hari Nef. Image by Martin Kraft-Wikimedia

Nef is a model, actress, and writer. She started her transition journey in 2015 while in university at Columbia University. She is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of a major British magazine. She uses this platform to talk about trans issues. As a writer, her work has been featured in publications like Vice as well as a sex advice column. And as an actress, she has had roles in film and television including appearances on the TV show Transparent and the film Assassination Nation.

13. Andreja Pejić

Andrej Pejic. Image by CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK-Wikimedia

Andreja is of Bosnia-Herzegovina descent. She is a model who has showcased both female and male clothes. She has been on the covers of Elle, Marie Claire, and GQ, and became the first transgender model profiled by Vogue in 2015. To add to her impressive model career, she has been a guest judge on Britain’s Next Top Model and even had a role in 2018’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web.

14. Asia Kate Dillon

Asia Kate. Image by Billions-Wikimedia

Dillon is an actor who is the first non-binary performer to portray a significant role in an American television show, as Taylor Mason in Billions. Dillon goes by the pronoun they/them. They have been nominated for several Critics’ Choice Television Awards and co-starred in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. As non-binary actors, their presence in film and television has helped open our eyes.  We have learned about the non-binary experience and the use of singular they/them pronouns. It resulted in awards ceremonies such as the MTV Awards making some of their categories gender-neutral and inclusive.

15. Billy Tipton

Tipton is one of the most accomplished jazz musicians of his time. He is also a bandleader and a pianist and has traveled all over the world country. His albums have been nothing but successful. He was assigned female at birth but changed his gender presentation in the early 1930s to fit the “jazz band image” at the time. This was a secret that very few people knew. His status as a trans man was unknown until after his death and was a surprise to even his closest friends and family.

16. Caroline Cossey

Cossey, a model came into the limelight when she got a role in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. The tabloids took over and outed her as a trans woman. In the 20^th century, being trans was a big deal, and as expected this greatly affected her. She however did not give up; she continued her modeling career and fearlessly advocated for trans rights in the U.K. Her work was rewarded and her efforts reached the European Court of Human Rights.

17. Chris Mosier

Being a trans athlete is difficult. The sports allocated are either for males or females. Mosier set in motion the inclusivity by challenging the International Olympic Committee policy. He participated in the Duathlon Age Group World Championship Race and many events afterward. He became the first transgender man to compete in Olympic trials along with other men, and he was the first transgender athlete to participate in the “Body Issue” of ESPN Magazine.

18. Christine Jorgensen

Photo of Christine Jorgensen. Photo by Maurice Seymour, New York-Wikimedia

Jorgensen was the first known person to undergo sex reassignment surgery. It was in 1950 a few years after she fought in World War II! She had ‘wild and big dreams’ unseen at the time. She was one smart woman and she used this newly found celebrity status to talk about transgender people. Her advocate status alongside her career as an actress and performer remained influential even after she passed on.

19. Fallon Fox

Fox is a retired MMA fighter. She struggled with her gender identity from an early age but eventually underwent reassignment surgery. Fox came out after becoming an MMA fighter in the women’s division. It was criticized as to why she should be permitted to go against other women. Unfortunately, this led to the end of her career. Despite all these, she has been deemed the bravest athlete in history!

20. Gigi Gorgeous

Gigi Gorgeous. Image by Pax Ahimsa Gethen-Wikimedia

Gigi is a make-up artist and influencer. She has amassed 2.75 million subscribers on YouTube. She first came out as gay but identified as a trans woman in 2013. In 2016, she got detained at the Dubai International Airport for her transgender status and social norms in the United Arab Emirates. It brought talks for equal protection and reform in anti-transgender laws.