Alexandra Billings
- Birth Name: Scott William Billings, born on March 28, 1962
- Transitioned: In 1980, at the age of 19
- Known for:
- Staring in the television movie Romy and Michele: In the Beginning as Donna
- Staring in Amazon Studios series Transparent as Davina Rejennae
- Staring in some episodes of series like ER, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, Eli Stone, and The Conners
With her portrayal of Donna in Romy and Michele: Alexandra was the second openly transgender woman to play a trans character on television. She is a teacher, singer, and activist in addition to being an actress.
During an interview with Alexandra Tempus of Jezebel, Alexandra discussed the information, education, and guidance for transgender people. “We have got to break out of the container of ignorance. And I don’t mean that in a gender-specific way, I mean that in a generalized way. We have got to realize that we are all students of the human experience. And if we do not start learning from each other and really listening and receiving the gift from the person across from us, we are lost.”
Alexandra Billings
Hunter Schafer
- Birth Name: Hunter Schafer, born on December 31, 1999
- Transitioned: Started to transition at the age of 14
- Known for:
- Modeling, among others, for Prada, Dior, Miu Miu, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Thierry Mugler, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, et Versus Versace
- Staring in HBO series Euphoria as Jules Vaughn
Hunter, in addition to being a well-known model and actress, is an advocate for LGBTQ rights. As part of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade in June 2020, the online magazine Queerty named her one of 50 heroes who are “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people.” In 2021, it was the turn of the New York Times to recognize her by including her on its Next list of “100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future.”
About hertransition, she said, “Part of surviving [that] experience was just, like, getting through shit. Letting it rest, and not addressing it. I think that’s what I had been [doing] up to that point: just going and going, fighting to be on the other side of my transition. There was so much that I was working towards, and I was so excited to [be out of] North Carolina that I don’t think I’d ever looked back on [that experience].”
Hunter Schafer
