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We Can't Wait to See Newly Out Transgender Actress Ivory Aquino in When We Rise

We Can't Wait to See Newly Out Transgender Actress Ivory Aquino in When We Rise

We Can't Wait to See Newly Out Transgender Actress Ivory Aquino in When We Rise

The actress playing Cecilia Chung in the mini-series about the history of the LGBT movement recently spoke publicly for the first time about being trans. 

TracyEGilchrist

We already couldn’t wait to see the upcoming ABC miniseries When We Rise, from director Gus Van Sant and Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, but now we’re excited to see the work of Ivory Aquino, a transgender actress who spoke about being trans publicly for the first time this week, according to People. 

Ivory told People that she was ready to give up on her acting career because she thought there would never be a place for a “transgender girl from the Phillippines.” 

“I didn’t feel at that time that there were any roles I could do,” she said. But now, she’s starring alongside heavy hitters Whoopi Goldberg, Guy Pearce, Mary Louise Parker, Rachel Griffiths, and Rosie O’Donnell in the miniseries about the history of the LGBT rights movement. In the series, Ivory plays Cecilia Chung, a long-time transgender and HIV/AIDS activist who currently serves on the San Francisco Health Commission. 

At a panel for the mini-series at the Television Critics Association this week, Ivory spoke about being trans publicly, although, she wanted casting directors for When We Rise to know that she was trans when she auditioned, she told People.  

Prior to landing the plum role in the historic mini-series Ivory enjoyed a fair amount of success on the New York stage in The Drilling Company’s Romeo and Juliet for Bryant Park Shakespeare. But Ivory is thrilled to be a part of When We Rise (based on activist and friend to Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones’ autobiography). 

“You spend your whole life dreaming of these things,” Ivory told People. “And it’s really humbling when your dreams come true.

Watch the When We Rise trailer: 

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.