Over the weekend, trans history was made.
At the 2026 Tony Awards, costume designer Qween Jean became the first openly transgender person ever to win a statue in the award show’s 79-year history. She was given the honor for Best Costume Design of a Musical, for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”
Jean called her costuming experience for the production – a vibrant twist on the famous Andrew Lloyd-Weber musical that pulls inspiration from the Harlem ballroom scene – “monumental” in her acceptance speech.
Jean has received numerous distinctions for her work on this particular production, including a Drama Desk Award. She was also nominated in this year’s Tony Awards for another honor: Best Costume Design in a Play, for her work on Bess Wohl’s “Liberation.”
But Jean, who has been a longtime activist, was less focused on what the distinction meant to her as a creative person. Instead, she used her moment in the spotlight to say that she and her cohorts are “here for the legacy of queer people, trans people.”
“We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space,” she continued. “We have to shift the paradigm.”
These aren’t just heartfelt words from Jean. She also walks the walk – in part as the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization dedicated to eradicating food insecurity and homelessness for trans people that was launched in 2020. Among its numerous offerings is a weekly meal that welcomes trans and queer people of color for sustenance and community alike – representatives estimate these gatherings feed about 15,000 people over the course of a given year.
Which is perhaps why Jean used her moment to make a bigger statement about the direction she hopes to see our culture move toward, instead of her as an individual.
“The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments,” she said to the Tony-watching audience, of the many forms of prejudice that persist to this day. “And we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
