Ivory Aquino is a Filipina-American actress. She is known for portraying

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

activist

Cecilia Chung Cecilia Chung ( zh, 鍾紹琪) is a civil rights leader and activist for LGBT rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, health advocacy, and social justice. She is a trans woman, and her life story was one of four main storylines in the 2017 ABC miniseries ''Whe ...

in the 2017 miniseries ''

When We Rise ''When We Rise'' is an eight-part American docudrama miniseries about the history of LGBT rights advocacy in the United States from the 1970s to the 2010s. It was created by Dustin Lance Black and stars Guy Pearce, Rachel Griffiths, Mary-Loui ...

''.

Early life and education

Aquino was born in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. She knew from a very young age that she was transgender, stating in a 2017 interview, "As soon as I was born, I was always a girl; I was just assigned differently at birth." In her mid-teens, she started hormone therapy. She was often bullied at school, but her parents were supportive of her transition. As a teenager, Aquino moved to the United States to study at the Berklee College of Music, which she graduated from '' summa cum laude''. She enrolled to study singing, thinking that there would be no acting roles for a transgender Filipina. But after having

gender confirmation surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

, Aquino decided to pursue her childhood dream of being an actor.

Career

In 2015, Aquino performed the role of Juliet in a production of '' Romeo and Juliet'' in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

with The Drilling Company's Bryant Park Presents. Other stage roles she has played include

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

in '' Othello'',

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

'', and Isabella in '' Measure for Measure'', all with The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot on the Lower East Side of New York. Aquino was cast in the role of transgender activist

for the 2017 docudrama miniseries, ''

''. At the time she auditioned, she had played mostly

cisgender Cisgender (often shortened to cis; sometimes cissexual) is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. The word ''cisgender'' is the antonym of '' transgender''. The prefix '' cis-'' is L ...

roles, and was not open about being trans, as "There never was a reason to talk about it." Aquino made sure to let series writer

Dustin Black Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film ''Milk'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009. He has also sub ...

know that she was transgender, which helped her secure the part, as Black was specifically looking for trans actresses. She publicly

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as transgender during a January 2017 press conference for the series. Aquino met with Chung in person to prepare for her part on ''When We Rise''. They became friends; Aquino considers Chung to be a mentor and "older sister" figure in her life. Aquino plays a minor but important character named Cassie in the '' FBI: Most Wanted'' season 1 episode "Silkworm" in 2020. In January 2022, Aquino was cast as

Alysia Yeoh Alysia Yeoh is a fictional character created by writer Gail Simone for the ''Batgirl'' ongoing series published by DC Comics. She is Barbara Gordon’s best friend and a trans woman. At the time of her debut appearance, she was noted for being th ...

in the unreleased superhero film '' Batgirl'', set in the

DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...

Activism

Aquino has spoken out in support of trans children and

transgender rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

, criticizing the

Donald Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory o ...

's overturn of federal protection for transgender students.

Personal life

Aquino lives in New York City, where she enjoys spending time with her

Shih Tzu The Shih Tzu (, ; literally " Hsi Shih dog") is a toy dog breed originating from Tibet and was bred from the Pekingese and the Lhasa Apso. Shih Tzus are known for their short snouts and large round eyes, as well as their long coat, floppy ea ...

dog Chewybear. She is the niece of former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquino, Ivory Aquino family Berklee College of Music alumni Filipino LGBT actors Living people Transgender women Transgender actresses Actresses from New York City American LGBT people of Asian descent Actresses from Manila Year of birth missing (living people) American LGBT actors Filipino emigrants to the United States