Nonbinary people, who are neither exclusively male nor female, have gained increasing visibility in entertainment, sports, politics and beyond.
An estimated 1.2 million people, or 11% of LGBTQ adults in the U.S., are nonbinary, according to 2021 research by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Younger people are more likely to identify as nonbinary, according to Pew Research Center data released in 2022, which found that 5.1% of adults younger than 30 are transgender or nonbinary, including 2% who are a trans man or trans woman and 3% who are nonbinary. Among 30- to 49-year-olds, 1.6% are trans or nonbinary, and among those 50 and older, 0.3% are trans or nonbinary.
Nonbinary Awareness Week begins July 8 and ends July 14, on International Nonbinary People’s Day. Here are 11 nonbinary people who have made history and blazed trails in politics, music, movies and more.
Bob the Drag Queen
Bob the Drag Queen, the alter ego of nonbinary actor and comic Caldwell Tidicue, rose to fame in 2016 after being crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar on season eight of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The Georgia native’s star continued to rise with other projects, including the popular podcast “Sibling Rivalry” and the heartwarming HBO drag makeover series “We’re Here.”
Emma D’Arcy
British actor Emma D’Arcy was catapulted to stardom with the role of Rhaenyra Targaryen in the “Game of Thrones” spinoff “House of the Dragon.” D’Arcy earned their first Golden Globe last year for their starring role in the HBO fantasy series. Their other acting credits include “Mothering Sunday,” “Misbehaviour” and “Wanderlust,” but they’re also known for their sexy pronunciation of their favorite cocktail: a negroni sbagliato with prosecco.
J Harrison Ghee
Broadway performer J Harrison Ghee made theater history last year by becoming one of the first nonbinary actors to win an acting Tony. Ghee won best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical for their role in “Some Like It Hot.” Ghee was joined in their historic win by Alex Newell, who won best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical for their role in “Shucked.”
Nikki Hiltz
Middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz ran the second fastest time ever of any American in the women’s 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month, qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, Hiltz, 29, said the race had significance beyond their personal accomplishment: “I wanted to run this one for my community. … All the LGBT folks, yeah, you guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.”
Casey McQuiston
Queer romance author Casey McQuiston’s debut novel, 2019’s “Red, White and Royal Blue,” was an undeniable hit. Centered on the love story between the son of an American president and a British prince, the book was a New York Times bestseller and was then adapted into an Amazon Prime Video film starring Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez. McQuiston’s following titles, 2021’s “One Last Stop” and 2022’s “I Kissed Shara Wheeler,” both made the New York Times Best Sellers list, and their upcoming book, “The Pairing,” debuts next month.
Alok Vaid-Menon
Author and activist Alok Vaid-Menon rose to fame after publishing “Femme in Public,” a collection of poetry about the queer experience, in 2017. In an interview with NBC News in 2019, Vaid-Menon said they used the book as a “catalyst” to travel the world and advocate for transgender and gender-nonconforming communities. In more recent years, Vaid-Menon has built a successful career in comedy, starring in Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special “Gender Agenda” earlier this year.
Janelle Monáe
Grammy-nominated singer and actor Janelle Monáe — who goes by both she/her and they/them pronouns — is best known for their four studio albums, including “The ArchAndroid” and “The Electric Lady.” In addition to her award-winning music career, Monáe has had a successful career in film and television. Most notably, she starred in the Oscar-nominated movie “Hidden Figures” in 2016. Monáe, 38, instantly became one of the most recognizable nonbinary people in the world when she confirmed she was nonbinary in an interview on Jada Pinkett Smith’s talk show, “Red Table Talk,” in 2022.
Quinn
Canadian soccer star Quinn, 28, became the first openly transgender athlete to ever win an Olympic medal following their team’s stunning defeat of Sweden in the Tokyo Games three years ago. Quinn was one of at least three transgender and/or nonbinary athletes to compete in Tokyo. This year, they will be representing Canada once again on the soccer pitch at the Paris Olympics.
Bella Ramsey
Actor Bella Ramsey, 20, first rose to fame as Lady Lyanna Mormont in HBO’s wildly popular “Game of Thrones” series, but her star power soared with a starring role in “The Last of Us,” an HBO series adapted from the popular video game of the same name. In an interview with The New York Times last year, Ramsey shared that her gender has always been very fluid and said she would hypothetically tick “nonbinary” if it were an option on a form. In terms of pronouns, she said, “I really couldn’t care less.”
Sam Smith
After winning a Grammy for their hit song “Unholy” with pop star Kim Petras in 2023, British singer-songwriter Sam Smith made history by becoming the first nonbinary artist to win the award for best pop duo/group performance. Smith rose to fame when they were featured on Disclosure’s breakthrough single “Latch” in 2012, which was a sleeper hit in the United States, peaking on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2014. That same year, Smith released their first of four studio albums, “In the Lonely Hour,” which included hits “Stay With Me” and “I’m Not the Only One” and nabbed Smith their first four Grammys.
Oklahoma Rep. Mauree Turner
Mauree Turner made history in 2020 by becoming the country’s first openly nonbinary state legislator. Turner was elected to represent District 88 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives that year with more than 70% of the vote, and they won re-election in 2022 with nearly 80% of the vote. After their first win, Turner told NBC News that they hope their election victory and presence in the Legislature will help LGBTQ people in Oklahoma and beyond see themselves reflected and represented.
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