Transgender people in film

CLEVELAND, Ohio - At this year's Academy Awards, Daniela Vega made history as the first openly transgender Oscar presenter. That night, the Chilean film she starred in, "A Fantastic Woman," went on to win a coveted award for Best Foreign Language Film. The movie tells the story of a transgender woman who faces the prejudice of the police and her boyfriend's family after his untimely death. She manages to triumph despite their mistreatment.



The win was also one for representation of transgender roles in cinema. Transgender people are overwhelmingly portrayed in a negative light in popular movies. Transgender women in particular are frequently depicted as something to be feared by straight male protagonists. They are often murderers and criminals or at the butt of cruel jokes played on men.

However in recent years, we've seen prominent movies like the Sundance breakout hit "Tangerine" and Oscar Award-winning "Dallas Buyers Club" amplify the stories of transgender characters with rich, nuanced detail and development.



In this round-up, we look back on 11 memorable roles in film that put the spotlight on transgender lives.

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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Al Pacino plays a bank robber trying to steal money to pay for his transgender lover’s sex-change operation in “Dog Day Afternoon.” While the transgender woman in question is not portrayed in a negative light, she is kept on the sidelines throughout much of the movie.

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Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

William Hurt plays a prisoner in a Brazilian men’s prison who identifies as a woman and pursues a relationship with a male inmate in this 1985 drama. It’s a remarkably humanizing portrait of a transgender woman, considering the manner in which they were often depicted in the ‘90s and 2000s.

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The Crying Game (1992)

The hero of this early-’90s thriller - which is set in Northern Ireland during that turbulent period known as “The Troubles” - is revolted when he finds that the woman he is romantically entangled with is transgender, rushing to the bathroom to vomit when her true nature is revealed. Upon further reflection, however, he decides that his feelings for her haven’t changed, and eventually serves a prison sentence in her place. While the depiction of the transgender woman is hardly a positive one - as she’s a criminal and all - the movie bucks the trend by having its main character continue to love her once he finds out the truth. Sadly, many movies that came after would follow a much different path.

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The Birdcage (1996)

“The Birdcage” is a surprisingly tasteful portrayal of a gay male couple in the mid-’90s, when such depictions were rare in mainstream cinema. However, one member of the romantic pairing longs to be a woman and requests to be identified as “She.” His partner, however, refuses to go along.

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Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Hilary Swank won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was raped and murdered by two male acquaintances in 1993. The movie is a heart-rending account of Teena’s life and tragic death thanks to the performances of Swank and Chloe Sevigny, who plays Teena’s girlfriend Lana.

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Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

Based on a cult classic off-Broadway musical, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” follows an East German rock singer who is left with an “Angry Inch” after a botched sex change operation. The movie explores her complex sexual identity as she pursues a copyright infringement lawsuit against her former partner. While the movie might be too unyielding for some, it remains one of the most thoughtful films to star a transgender character.

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Transamerica (2005)

Bree, a transgender woman from a conservative family on the verge of her transition, is contacted by the son she never knew she had in this 2005 comedy. Bree’s therapist sets the story in motion when she refuses to give final approval to Bree’s sex-change operation unless she reconciles with her estranged offspring. It’s a remarkably deep dive into the life of a transgender woman and the trails specific to her experience, and it’s unfortunate that the film didn’t generate more buzz outside of the festival circuit.

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Albert Nobbs (2011)

Glenn Close was nominated for an Oscar for playing the title role in this Irish drama about a transgender man living in secrecy as a butler in Dublin. The story ends in tragedy, as Hollywood tales of transgender people often do, but it’s also a deeply humanizing story involving a minority often overlooked in popular entertainment, namely transgender men. While the movie earned mixed reviews, Close’s performance as Nobbs earned her a multitude of award nominations.

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Dallas Buyer's Club (2013)

Talented actor Jared Leto plays a transgender woman with AIDS in this acclaimed drama. It’s mostly a tasteful depiction, sprinkled with a few gay and trans stereotypes. But Leto’s character is still relegated to the role of sidekick to a straight man whom the movie sets up as a savior to the LGBT community.

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Tangerine (2015)

Most of the movies that star transgender women are low-budget indie passion projects that aren’t seen by many. That is sadly the case with “Tangerine,” which earned some buzz on the festival circuit and made a small profit on a limited release, but went largely unnoticed by the general public. The film follows a pair of transgender prostitutes, one of whom mistakes her pimp for her boyfriend. It’s a hilarious tale that tackles gender fluidity with an uncommon amount of grace and class and is worth a watch if you have Netflix.

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The Danish Girl (2015)

“The Danish Girl” is a story about the first recorded sex reassignment surgery, which was performed on Danish transgender woman Lili Elbe. Lili was born Einar Wegener, and the film follows Lili and her wife, Gerda, as their relationship evolves following Lili’s coming out as a transgender woman. It’s ultimately a tragic story, as Lili dies from complications stemming from the surgery, and it’s made all the more resonant by a transcendent performance from Eddie Redmayne in the lead role.