'Gender just isn't fixed': Hollywood stars who opened up about changing identity

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey initially hesitated to come out as non-binary, wanting to avoid turning their personal identity into a media headline. Aged 22, the actor experienced a rapid rise to fame, making it understandable that they felt cautious about sharing such a personal milestone with the world.

After gaining international recognition in season six of Game of Thrones, Bella shared their identity while promoting the hit HBO series The Last of Us, a television adaptation of the popular video game. Coming out as non-binary and gender-fluid in 2023, they were unprepared for the level of public attention that followed.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2025, Bella said: "Part of me looks back and I wish that I didn't [come out], because I didn't want it to become a headline and a big thing. And obviously it was going to, and I didn't really understand that at the time. And I wasn't really prepared for that."

They added: "But on the other hand, people have said to me that it's been very helpful for them seeing some representation."

The announcement even sparked online debate among a faction of fans who objected to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in the franchise.

However, Bella remained largely unfazed, describing the reception as a "mixed bag". Ultimately, they noted: "Overall, I think it was a good thing, just for me living more freely, without feeling like I'm keeping a secret."

If anyone embodies self-expression, it's Miley Cyrus. Her extroverted personality shines through in her bold style choices and candid discussions about identity. Over the years, she has redefined herself, moving far beyond her Disney Channel days, and embracing a gender-nonconforming identity.

As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Miley shared with Billboard in 2015 that she doesn't define herself strictly as a girl or a boy. She explained: "I think about being a girl all the time. I'm always like, 'It's weird that I'm a girl, because I just don't feel like a girl, and I don't feel like a boy.'"

Her perspective on modern relationships is equally groundbreaking as she told Vanity Fair in 2019: "Relationships and partnerships in a new generation - I don't think they have so much to do with sexuality or gender. Sex is actually a small part, and gender is a very small, almost irrelevant part of relationships."

The 33-year-old has openly discussed her pansexuality, a sexual orientation defined by being romantically attracted to someone regardless of their gender.

Reflecting on her wedding day to ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, Miley challenged traditional expectations. In a personal note shared with Vanity Fair, she wrote: "I wore a dress on my wedding day because I felt like it, I straightened my hair because I felt like it, but that doesn't make me become some instantly 'polite hetero lady."'

The Crown star Emma Corrin has been on a personal journey of exploring their gender and sexual identity, coming out as non-binary and queer.

The British actor, who uses they/them pronouns, first announced their non-binary identity by changing their pronouns on Instagram. They later posted a photo from Pop Magazine shoot of themselves in a wedding dress in 2021, captioning it: "Ur fave queer bride." In the accompanying interview, Emma explained: "In my mind, gender just isn't something that feels fixed and I don't know if it ever will be; there might always be some fluidity there for me."

However, their journey hasn't been without challenges. Speaking to Harper's Bazaar in 2024, Emma opened up about facing negativity online since coming out: "The vitriol is worse than I anticipated. Even though we like to think we're in a progressive society, a lot of what we're seeing is increasingly a step back."

In their career, Emma who has often played traditionally feminine roles — such as Princess Diana in The Crown and Connie Chatterley in Lady Chatterley's Lover. Reflecting on this, she told Pop Magazine: "I remember struggling with having to wear bras in Chatterley as Marion, but it's quite difficult because I'm not Emma, right? I'm an actor, and I have a job to do."

Demi Lovato has been open about their evolving understanding of gender identity, coming out as non-binary in 2021 and later adopting both they/them and she/her pronouns.

Initially, Demi shared their non-binary identity on Instagram in 2021, stating: "Over the past year and a half I've been doing some healing and self-reflective work, and through this work I've had this revelation that I identify as non-binary. I feel that this best represents the fluidity that I feel in my gender expression."

However, in 2022, Demi began using she/her pronouns again, explaining to G2 Hype Spain: "I constantly had to educate people and explain why I identified with those pronouns. It was absolutely exhausting."

On an episode of the Spout podcast in 2022, Demi talked about being gender fluid allowing her to use both sets of pronouns: "I'm such a fluid person that I don't find that I am…I felt like, especially last year, my energy was balanced in my masculine and feminine energy." She also encouraged patience for those learning about pronouns: "Everyone messes up pronouns at some point, and especially when people are learning."

Elliot Page has navigated fame while exploring his true identity. Initially struggling with the pressures of Hollywood, he revealed on Fresh Air in 2023 that coming out as gay in 2017 was a pivotal moment: "I think coming out as gay was a massive step for me to getting closer to my truth and where I ultimately needed to be. I felt like a huge weight lifted overnight, because that was just so challenging and insufferable, being as closeted as I was, and for as long as I was. I didn't come out till I was 27. But that wasn't the end of the story."

The next chapter continued with him exploring his gender identity and led him on the path to coming out as a transgender man in 2020. On his journey to becoming trans he said: "I felt so much more comfortable in many ways with queer-women environments, with queer women, but then there would also be this aspect where, in a certain way, things would start to feel worse in moments, because I expected to feel at home. I expected this sensation of, "Oh finally," and I still knew something about me was different."'

In 2020, he came out as transgender, sharing the news in a heartfelt Instagram letter: "My name is Elliot, I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life." Elliot also expressed concerns about transphobia, writing: "I am scared of the invasiveness, the hate, the 'jokes,' and of violence. But I won't be silent in the face of your attacks."

He also made a political point to leaders that deny trans rights writing: "You aren’t being 'cancelled,' you are hurting people. I am one of those people and we won’t be silent in the face of your attacks."'

Caitlyn Jenner's journey to living authentically as a transgender woman has made her one of Hollywood's most high-profile trans figures.

As Bruce Jenner, she was an Olympic decathlon champion in the 1970s. Later, she went on to be a reality TV star while married to Kris Jenner — with whom she shares daughters Kendall and Kylie.

Caitlyn publicly came out as a transgender woman in 2015. During an interview with Diane Sawyer, she talked about battling gender dysphoria throughout her youth and told the host: "For all intents and purposes I'm a woman."

Some of the 76-year-old's comments on trans identity have occasionally been divisive. For example, on The Dinosaur Hour in 2023 she stated: "I see these 'trans women are real women' no, you're not. OK, that's the bottom line."'

Cara Delevingne's exploration of gender fluidity has shaped her identity as both feminine and masculine.

The 34-year-old spoke to the BBC in 2022 about her confusion with rigid gender norms as a child: "It didn't feel weird until I got older when everyone in society made me feel different. It just confused me that everything was so gendered and boys' toys were blue and girls' toys were pink. It was just weird."

In a 2020 interview with Variety, Cara expressed: "Some days, I feel more womanly. Some days, I feel more like a man." In her BBC documentary, Planet Sex with Cara Delevigne, she summed up her identity: "I am a 'she' right now. But I also like dressing up as a man and being a 'he'. You don't have to put so much pressure on yourself about what you are, who you are. Whether it's masculine and feminine, it's just who I am."

Amandla Stenberg has been a vocal advocate for challenging societal norms around gender and identity from a young age.

At just 18, Amandla was using their platform in Hollywood to raise awareness about being non-binary.

In an interview with People in 2017, they shared their perspective on gender: "I tend to believe that gender as we've set it up in current-day society doesn't exist." The 27-year-old uses both they/them and she/her but explains: "I don't necessarily always subscribe to female pronouns just because I don't think that pronouns are necessarily very meaningful."

The Hunger Games star also embraces her bisexual identity and hopes to inspire others, saying: "You don't really have to conform to those constructs in order to be valid or be worth something."

Sam Smith has undergone a public evolution of identity since their rise to fame at 22 with their angelic voice and the album In the Lonely Hour.

Coming out as non-binary, the star spoke to Rolling Stone in 2017 about his early days in the industry: "In the time that people have known me — from In the Lonely Hour, at the age of 22 – was a time when I didn't want to dress up as much; it was a time when I wanted to take a break and fit in."

However, in 2017 the star began embracing their true self. They revealed they were genderqueer, then came out as non-binary, using they/them pronouns.

Sam explained on Jameela Jamil's I Weigh series in 2020: "I've always had a little bit of a war going within my body and my mind. I do think like a woman sometimes, in my head. Sometimes I've questioned 'Do I want a sex change? It's something I still think about, like, 'Do I want to?'"

They described being non-binary as a "special creation," emphasising: "I'm not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It's all on the spectrum."

Sam continues to challenge societal norms, inspiring others to embrace their authentic selves.

Singer Halsey quietly announced her non-binary identity to her fans on social media by changing her pronouns to she/they.

Explaining the shift, she wrote on Instagram: "For those asking RE: my updated IG bio, I am happy with either pronouns…The inclusion of 'they' in addition to 'she' feels most authentic to me. If you know me at all, you know what it means to me to express this outwardly. Thanks for being the best."

Becoming pregnant with her first child further deepened her understanding of gender. On Instagram, she shared: "I thought pregnancy would give me very strong, binary feelings about womanhood. But truly, it has leveled my perception of gender entirely. My sensitivity to my body has made me hyper-aware of my humanness and that's all."