Quick Links

Non-binary celebrities such as Demi Lovato and Sam Smith have recently taken the media by storm with their visibility and advocacy in the LGBTQ community.

The term non-binary simply means, the person does not identify as male or female and describes the spectrum of gender as fluid and not particularly fitting in a traditional box. While the term is often thought to be relatively new, identifying as non-binary has been recorded as far back as 400 B.C. according to Healthline.

However an individual’s path has led them to choose their gender, sexuality and understand how they identify, they’re breaking barriers in Hollywood and becoming advocates for all LGBTQ individuals.

Here are some of the well-known non-binary celebrities standing up for gender fluidity.

Amandla Stenberg

The Hunger Games star came out as non-binary in 2016. While the actress has expressed support for others choosing a different pronoun, Stenberg personally feels she doesn’t need them to “feel comfortable” in her own skin.

She’s known for being outspoken on political views, considers herself an intersectional feminist and works to advocate for the LGBTQ community and against cultural appropriation. Her modeling and endorsement deals continue to put the famous actress in a good position to maintain her activism.

Tilda Swinton

Swinton is an actress that enjoys selecting non-binary roles according to Ranker. Speaking out about gender identity, Swinton told the media back in 2009 she couldn’t really pinpoint if she was a boy or girl from a very young age.

The Doctor Strange actress has explained her desire to find others with creative vision, similar to herself, and so far, is choosing roles that establish gender fluid or non-binary as mainstream in Hollywood for women like herself and others, following in her footsteps.

RELATED: Miley Cyrus Performs At Crypto Billionaire's Private Birthday Party

Janelle Monae

Monae announced her non-binary identity on Twitter in 2020. The singer and actress has always stood out with her signature, black and white tuxedo look but has also been vocal about her sexuatlity and gender identity for the past decade.

The Hidden Figures star has said she identifies with bisexuality and pansexuality and has said she frequently feels feminine energy, masculine energy and “an energy I can’t even explain”. Though she has not specifically announced her preferred pronouns, she’s used she/her in recent interviews.

Jonathan Van Ness

In 2019, Van Ness announced his non-binary identity and prefers pronouns he/him but doesn’t shy away from they/them or she/her either. Van Ness has been vocal about society using gender to “separate and divide” and his desire to live in a non- conforming environment caused him to choose the non-binary term.

Van Ness is a star on television’s Queer Eye, has served as an icon in the LGBTQ community according to CelebsList and was the first non-binary cover star of the UK’s Cosmopolitan.

Elliot Page

According to Pop Buzz, Elliot Page is transgender and non-binary and prefers the pronouns he/him. He rose to fame as Ellen Page staring in 2007’s Juno and is currently starring in Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy”.

Page came out as a gay woman in 2014 and as transgender in 2020, becoming the first trans man to appear on the cover of TIME magazine in 2021. He has been vocal about the anti-transgender conversation in politics and media and continues to share his journey through transition surgery.

Miley Cyrus

Cyrus identified as pansexual at the age of 14 and referred to herself as gender fluid in June of 2015. Fans have watched Cyrus date and marry a variety of male and female partners, saying she’s open to loving “anyone that loves me for who I am.”

“The Climb” singer has had a long history with Disney, through the “Hannah Montana” series and a subsequent soundtrack. She was the first Disney star to have contracts in television, film, consumer products and music at the same time. Today, Cyrus is the founder of the Happy Hippie Foundation, a non-profit working to fight against homeless youth, LGBTQ youth issues and other minority populations.

Sam Smith

Though Smith has identified as gay since 2014, they officially announced their non-binary identity in a Sept. 2019 social media post. Choosing to change their pronouns to they/them, Smith said they felt “just as much as a woman as I am a man,” according to Seventeen.

They’re known for hits such as “Stay with Me”, “Too Good at Goodbyes” and “Dancing with a Stranger” and have been open about gender and sexuality struggles as well as body image issues for many years.

Demi Lovato

In May of this year, Lovato is perhaps the most recent celebrity to announce they were non-binary and preferred to use they/them pronouns. In the Instagram video, Lovato spoke about “healing” and “self-reflective work” that led them to this decision but also acknowledged their continuing self-discovery.

The singer, songwriter and actress has been in the limelight from childhood, appearing in “Barney and Friends” and Disney’s “Camp Rock”. They have been releasing hit albums since 2008 with the most recent, 2021’s “Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over”.

READ NEXT: Demi Lovato: From Disney Kid To $40 Million Woman

Sources: Healthline, Ranker, CelebsList, Seventeen