Elliot Page is the first trans man to appear on the cover of Time magazine

By Randall Perry Last updated Apr 11, 2021

The Oscar-nominated actor, who stars in the Netflix hit “The Umbrella Academy,” announced that he was trans in December

By Hugo Greenhalgh

LONDON, May 23 / PRNewswire / – Oscar-nominated actor Elliot Page will be the first transgender man to appear on the cover of Time when the magazine’s latest issue hits stores on Friday.

Page, 34, who was nominated for a variety of awards for the 2007 Oscar-winning independent film “Juno” and a leading role in the latest Netflix hit “The Umbrella Academy,” announced that he was trans in December.

The actor wrote on Instagram at the time that he could not “express how remarkable it is to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self”.

Page follows in the footsteps of actor Laverne Cox, who was the first trans woman to appear on the cover of Time in 2014 under the title “The Transgender Tipping Point”, a sign of approval from the mainstream media.

Juno actor Elliot Page poses on the cover of TIME magazine. Photo by Wynne Neilly for TIME. Handout from TIME via Thomson Reuters
Since then, trans rights have been at the center of a heated debate in the US and around the world.

In 2017, then-President Donald Trump announced a ban on trans workers from joining the U.S. military. That ruling was overturned that year by his successor Joe Biden.

In the past 12 months, dozens of US states have proposed legislation banning trans women and girls from competing in women’s sports, which goes against Biden’s drive for greater LGBT + inclusion.

Page told Time that he had long felt a disconnect between how the world saw him and how he felt himself.

“I just never recognized myself. I couldn’t even look at a photo of myself for a long time,” he said.