Josie Totah is another young member of our list. Josie Totah used to go by J. J. You might have seen this actress on the Disney Channel or on the ABC sitcom “Back in the Game.” (Or both.) She was cast in her breakthrough role in 2018 as a regular in the comedy “Champions” alongside the fantastic Mindy Kaling.
In August of that same year, at 17, she came out as a trans woman and declared her name to be Josie. At such a young age, she’s already been a part of six movies and over 20 TV-Shows. When does she have time to rest? Representing the younger generation of trans people in Hollywood, we are sure she will move on to do even greater things.
Yance Ford
If you don't recognize Yance Ford's face, it might be because he's used to being behind the camera. He has worked as a producer for PBS for over 10 years. In 2017 he was on The Root's list of the most influential African Americans aged 25-45. If this isn't enough to make a trans icon, he was also nominated for an Academy Award, being the first transgender man to do that.
He then went on to direct a very personal movie. Titled “Strong Island,” the documentary tells the story of Ford's brother's tragic killing in 1992. It talks about how the event affected him and his family members. He won an Emmy for that movie, of course, being the first transman to do so.
Ser Anzoategui
Ser's parents are from Paraguay and Argentina, but Ser was actually born in California. They started their acting career in the theaters of the city of angels. Right off the bat, Ser showed their unique voice and talent by writing, producing, and starring in a play about their life called “Catholic School Daze.”
Ser used to identify as Karen but has since come out as non-binary. They had to deal with many obstacles, as at first, they were getting rejected and had a hard time booking new acting jobs. But, luckily, this changed when they were cast as Eddy on the TV show “Vida.”
Brian Michael Smith
Brian Michael Smith was raised by his mother in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When he was a kid, even though he was assigned female at birth, many thought he was a boy. This has helped him to find his way to the boy's football team while attending High School. Today Brian is known as, by many, Toine Wilkins, a fictional transgender police officer, in the TV series “Queen Sugar.”
He is the first black trans man who is a series regular on network television. This just goes to show that we have come a long way, but that we also have to find ways to represent more trans people in the media. In his free time, Brian advocates for the importance of trans representation.
Vivek Shraya
Vivek Shraya is a triple threat. She's an artist, author, and musician. She has won over 20 awards in her life. When she's not creating art, this Canadian sensation is a director on the board of a foundation that fights for LGBTQ women.
She's an incredibly prolific author and musician and has written 7 books in the past 10 years, as well as recorded 7 albums in her lifetime. Her coming out as a trans woman in 2016 did not slow her down one bit, it actually motivated her to achieve even more, and it is evident that she has.