biography elliot page

Elliot Page

Who Is Elliot Page?

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1987, Elliot Page got his start in Canadian television before generating buzz for his powerful performance in the 2005 indie thriller Hard Candy . From there, Page went on to star in X-Men: The Last Stand , and his much-heralded role as the teenage star of Juno . Although Juno became one of his best-known roles, he also appeared in several popular films, including Smart People , Inception , Super and X-Men: Days of Future Past , later starring in the domestic drama Freeheld .

Early Life and Career

Actor Elliot Page was born on February 21, 1987, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Page took an interest in theater from a young age. He performed in his first local production in the fifth grade and won Canada's prestigious Gemini nomination for his role in the made-for-television movie Pit Pony in 1997.

The busy actor went on to appear in several Canadian television series, including the Pit Pony spin-off, Trailer Park Boys (2001-02) and ReGenesis (2004), as well as the award-winning film Marion Bridge (2002) .

Though Page was first introduced to American audiences in the Lifetime movie Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), his role in the provocative 2005 indie thriller Hard Candy launched him into the spotlight . His haunting performance as a 14-year-old victim-turned-attacker caught the attention of director Brett Ratner, who cast him as Kitty Pryde in Page's first big-budget feature, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

Even after having filmed the big-budget X-Men film, Page didn't gain international critical acclaim for his acting until he played a pregnant teen in the heralded indie dramedy Juno (2007). His quick wit and hidden vulnerability as the wise yet innocent Juno McGuff earned the young star an Academy Award nomination for his performance.

After appearing in Juno , Page continued his success on film as the star of films like Smart People (2008) and Whip It (2009)—the former film showcased Page as Dennis Quaid's secluded and emotional daughter, while the latter film, directed by Drew Barrymore, put Page in a helmet and knee pads as part of a roller derby league. Sidestepping his usual quirky, comedic roles for something more serious, he starred in Inception alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 2010.

Not long after Inception , Page began participating in a string of voiceover work. He lent his voice to the television series Glenn Martin DDS in 2011 and to the popular cartoons Family Guy and Out There in 2012 and 2013, respectively. He also brought the main character in the video game Beyond: Two Souls to life as the voice actor for protagonist Jodie Holmes. Following his stint as a voiceover actor, Page reprised his role in the film X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

In 2015, Page co-starred with Julianne Moore in Freeheld. The following year he began hosting Gaycation , a travel series exploring LGBTQ cultures around the world, and in 2017 he starred in a remake of the 1990 horror flick Flatliners .

Personal Life

Page publicly came out as gay during a conference in Las Vegas in February 2014. The conference, named Time to THRIVE, was focused on addressing issues within the LGBTQ community.

In January 2018, Page announced his marriage to girlfriend Emma Portner, a dance instructor and choreographer. Posting a photo of their wedding bands on Instagram, the actor wrote, "Can't believe I get to call this extraordinary woman my wife. @emmaportner." They divorced in 2021.

In March 2022, Netflix announced Page's character on 'The Umbrella Academy' would also come out as transgender , mirroring real life.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth Year: 1987
• Birth date: February 21, 1987
• Birth City: Halifax
• Birth Country: Canada
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Canadian actor Elliot Page first gained attention with the film 'Hard Candy,' then garnered accolades as the title character in 'Juno.'
• Astrological Sign: Pisces
• Interesting Facts
• Before filming 'Whip It,' Elliot Page went through a three month training period to do all his own skating and stunts.

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Elliot Page Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/elliot-page
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: April 5, 2022
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
• I'm here today because I am gay. And because... maybe I can make a difference.
• I suffered for years, because I was scared to be out.

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Author Interviews

In a climate rife with hate, elliot page says 'the time felt right' to tell his story.

Tonya Mosley

Elliot Page describes the gender dysphoria he experienced for decades as "a constant noise, a constant feeling that something's wrong." Catherine Opie /Flatiron Books hide caption

Elliot Page describes the gender dysphoria he experienced for decades as "a constant noise, a constant feeling that something's wrong."

For much of his life, Canadian actor Elliot Page experienced gender dysphoria that made him extremely uncomfortable in his own body. He nearly quit show business following his Oscar-nominated turn in the 2007 film Juno because of the intense pressure he felt to dress and act in a certain way.

"It's like a constant noise, a constant feeling that something's wrong, like a sensation and a voice that's telling you to flee," he says.

Page continued working, appearing in films like X-Men and Inception , but his dysphoria never faded. It wasn't until the pandemic shut everything down that Page says he finally had the space "to sit with myself and reflect — which became very difficult in some moments, but ultimately led me ... to acknowledge and express my truth."

Page came out as a transgender man in 2020. Soon after, his character in the third season of the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy also transitioned. Since then, Page has completed what he once felt was impossible: writing a memoir. Pageboy chronicles the joys and perils of fame, including the pressure Page felt in Hollywood to conform to the gender binary.

"In many ways, there was some organic surge of words that did need to come out," Page says of his memoir. "Also, in this specific time and climate just so rife with attacks against trans people, and having this strange life that's ended up with this platform I have, it sort of felt like these two things collided in many ways and in the time felt right."

Interview highlights

On wanting to quit acting after the success of Juno

I thought about quitting all the time. ... I didn't know what else I'd do. I didn't go to university or anything, so I thought, well, maybe I'd go back to school. But I didn't necessarily know what it meant "back to school." I didn't know what I'd want to study. And then I think it was actually after finishing Inception , even, I packed up my apartment in Los Angeles and went back to Halifax and I was like, I don't think I want to do this.

I always kept coming back from doing it. In many ways I think I did love the actual aspect of acting — that incredible magical sensation that it can allow for these moments you create with other people. It's an escape, and also you feel more present than I was probably feeling in life and in many moments. I also sort of resented that the joy I felt in that aspect of the job was disappearing or felt like it had been taken away in some ways.

On coming out as gay in 2014

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, immediately, like overnight, because that really 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.

It made a drastic change in my life, but the sensation I have in terms of the relationship with my gender was not going away. ... 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.

And I really did have an idea of what it was. Friends bring up me ... saying, "I think I'm trans. I feel like I really want to transition," in moments years ago. ... I realized the amount that I actually was talking about it, and then I would talk myself out of it. I'd figure out ways around it because it did just feel like that's too much, that's too big. I can't and just shove it away and shove it away and shove it away — 'till finally I stop doing that.

On feeling public scrutiny

Pride Month

A guide to gender identity terms.

I experienced it a bit like when I made an X-Men movie when I was 18 and it premiered at Cannes. ... I remember just being in this very tight, gold dress and my publicist at the time, like the face just brightening up and people just going on and on about how you look, like you'd accomplished this feat, like I'd [been] given a reward for, like donning what felt like a costume for me, essentially. But it wasn't until Juno where that was just taken to a whole new level and intensely pressured to dress a certain way and act a certain way and not be seen with my girlfriend.

On experiencing sexual predation in Hollywood

I think in so many ways I didn't know what to do. My reaction was just to sort of freeze up. And, from a certain age onward, it just became so consistent. ... I was under 19. ... It's baffling to me why anyone would want to treat anyone that way, particularly someone who is so young and in a vulnerable position and new to that world. ... It's obviously in every aspect of our society and it's really harmful. So many of us shove it away, don't talk about it, are told to just let it go, brush it off, you know? And that can be just so damaging and harmful and I think allows for individuals to keep getting away with their predatory and hurtful behavior.

On the crew member who forced herself on Page and then later said, "We had fun, right?"

To me, that sounded like, "You're not going to tell anybody, right?" That, to me, was the subtext of that. What I could sense is her knowing that that was wrong, that she took advantage of someone who was quite young and I'm sure felt bad about it. But instead of having that conversation, I think, [she] panicked.

Shots - Health News

As conservative states target trans rights, a florida teen flees for a better life.

On why he doesn't like being called "brave"

I can't help but just think of the position I'm in and the resources I have and the access to health care I've had. And if something drastic happens, if I get death threats, I can hire security. I don't represent the majority of realities for trans people, [who] disproportionately deal with unemployment, experience homelessness, incarceration, violence — particularly Black trans women.

Sam Briger and Susan Nyakundi produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.

Elliot Page

• Born February 21 , 1987 · Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• The Tiny Canadian
• Height 5′ 1″ (1.55 m)
• Elliot Page was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Martha Philpotts, a teacher, and Dennis Page, a graphic designer. Page wanted to start acting at an early age and attended the Neptune Theater School. They began their career at the age of 10 on the award-winning television series Pit Pony (1999) , for which they received a Gemini nomination and a Young Artist Awards nomination. Later, Page appeared in Marion Bridge (2002) , which won the award for Best Canadian First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival. They won a Gemini Award for their role of Lilith in the first season of ReGenesis (2004) , a one-hour drama for TMN/Movie Central, and for the cable feature, Ghost Cat (2004) , for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series. In addition, Page appeared in the cult hit TV series Trailer Park Boys (2001) . As the lead in David Slade 's Hard Candy (2005) , which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Page garnered much praise for their tour de force performance as a 14-year-old who meets a 30-year-old photographer on the Internet and then looks to expose him as a pedophile. Films that followed included the title role of Bruce McDonald 's The Tracey Fragments (2007) ; An American Crime (2007) , also starring Catherine Keener ; and the third installation of the X-Men franchise, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) , where Page played Kitty Pryde. With their breakout role in Jason Reitman 's hit comedy Juno (2007) , about an offbeat teenager who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, Page received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Best Actress nominations, and won the Independent Spirit Award for their performance. They followed up that turn with the lead in Drew Barrymore 's directorial debut, the roller-derby comedy-drama Whip It (2009) , Christopher Nolan 's psychological thriller Inception (2010) , the independent film Peacock (2010) , and the dark comedy Super (2010) , opposite Rainn Wilson and Liv Tyler . Page co-starred alongside Jesse Eisenberg , Alison Pill , Alec Baldwin , and Greta Gerwig in the Woody Allen ensemble comedy To Rome with Love (2012) , and appeared in the thriller The East (2013) , a story centered on a contract worker (played by Brit Marling ) tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group, only to find herself falling for its leader (played by Alexander Skarsgård ). - IMDb Mini Biography By: Janet Petch
• Spouse Emma Portner (January 3, 2018 - present) (filed for divorce)
• Children No Children
• Parents Martha Philpotts Dennis Page
• Relatives Gordon Wesley Philpotts (Grandparent) Gladys Jean MacKinnon (Grandparent) Archibald George Philpotts (Great Grandparent) Catherine Eunice Lane (Great Grandparent)
• Small frame
• Sardonic drawling voice
• Deadpan sense of humor
• Often plays intelligent likeable characters
• Originally turned down the role of Kitty Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) until director Brett Ratner personally contacted them and talked them into it.
• Their hidden talent is juggling.
• Had to wear hair extensions for X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) as they had shaved their head bald for their role in Mouth to Mouth (2005) .
• Studied permaculture at an eco-village outside Eugene, Oregon.
• Was originally cast in Jane Eyre (2011) as the title role, but quit the project when production was delayed. Mia Wasikowska was later cast instead.
• The thing I like about acting is being able to lose yourself completely in someone else. I'm not that comfortable when I get recognized.
• I don't really want to do the Hollywood thing. I think you ought to try to say something with your movies.
• I don't care if people like my character. I just want them to think about the movie's message.
• When I feel strongly about something, I'm not so quiet.
• Judging people you don't know for things you don't understand is just really stupid.

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Elliot Page

Article by Maurie Alioff

Updated by Andrew McIntosh

Published Online December 1, 2020

Last Edited December 1, 2020

Elliot Page (born Ellen Philpotts-Page), actor, activist, producer (born 21 February 1987 in Halifax , NS ). Elliot Page is a serious, soulful and intelligent actor, and one of Canada’s biggest movie stars. A seasoned child performer, Page started out in Canadian feature films and TV series, winning two Gemini Awards by the age of 18. Page’s intense performance in the American indie Hard Candy (2005) led to high-profile roles in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and the indie smash Juno (2007). Juno earned Page an Independent Spirit Award and an Oscar nomination. Adept at quirky comedy ( Whip It , Super ), intimate drama ( Marion Bridge , Mouth to Mouth ) and big-budget blockbusters ( Inception , the X-Men franchise), Page is equally well-known for environmental activism, advocacy for LGBTQ rights and a grounded, socially-conscious persona.

Elliot Page Elliot Page at an event for The IMDb Studio at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Personal Life

Elliot Page was born Ellen Philpotts-Page on 21 February 1987 in Halifax , Nova Scotia . His parents are graphic designer Dennis Page and teacher Martha Philpotts, who divorced when Page was a child. He was known as Ellen Philpotts-Page early in his career, and as Ellen Page from around 2001 until December 2020.

Page came out as a gay woman on Valentine’s Day 2014, at a Human Rights Campaign conference on LGBTQ youth in Las Vegas. Page began identifying as gay around 14 or 15 and came out to their family at 20, but had struggled for years with the effects that coming out might have on their public image and career. At the conference, Page told the attendees that, “I am here today because I am gay… Maybe I can make a difference, to help others have an easier and more hopeful time.… I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered.”

Page’s speech was viewed more than five million times on YouTube. Following that declaration, Page talked about the experience of coming out on such programs as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Good Morning America . Page also spoke openly about a years-long battle with depression and panic attacks. After coming out, Page was named one of the Advocate ’s “40 Under 40” and Out magazine’s Entertainer of the Year.

Page came out as a trans man on 1 December 2020, when he posted a statement to his social media accounts reading, “Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life…. I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. I’ve been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place. I will offer whatever support I can and continue to strive for a more loving and equal society.”

Education and Early Career

Elliot Page studied acting at Halifax ’s Neptune Theatre School. At age 10 he was cast in his first film, Pit Pony (1997), under the name Ellen Philpotts-Page. The TV movie about growing up in a Cape Breton mining town morphed into a CBC series (1999–2001), which earned Page a Gemini Award nomination in 2000.

As a tween and teenager, Page acted steadily in Canadian projects, including Trailer Park Boys (2001–02) and a trio of acclaimed Maritime films: Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s Marion Bridge (2002), which earned Page an ACTRA award; Andrea Dorfman’s Love That Boy (2003); and Daniel MacIvor ’s seriocomic Wilby Wonderful (2004), for which Page received an award from the Atlantic Film Festival. Page won his first Gemini Award in 2004 for the TV movie Mrs. Ashboro’s Cat (2004).

Page then relocated to Toronto and enrolled in Vaughan Road Academy’s Interact program, where his classmates included actor and singer Drake . Page received another Gemini Award in 2005 for best supporting actress in a drama for the first season of the popular sci-fi series ReGenesis . After returning to Halifax, Page graduated from the Shambhala School, a progressive school based on Buddhist principles of mindfulness and awareness.

International Breakthrough

Page could have settled into the relative safety of a television career with forays into moviemaking. But lead roles in Alison Murray’s Mouth to Mouth (2005) and David Slade’s Hard Candy (2005) raised the stakes. In the international co-production Mouth to Mouth , Page played a wandering Goth kid who falls in with anarchist cultists in Europe. In the confrontational American indie Hard Candy , Page offered a smart, scary performance as a 14-year-old girl who uses the Internet to lure a suspected pedophile into a trap. The controversial film earned mixed reviews, but Page’s performance received universal acclaim and led to Page being cast as Kitty Pryde in the blockbuster action movie X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

With his international star on the rise, Page still made time for Canadian projects, including veteran director Bruce McDonald ’s elliptical and semi-experimental The Tracey Fragments (2007) and Kari Skogland’s graceful The Stone Angel (2007), based on the novel by Margaret Laurence .

Juno (2007)

Page then co-starred opposite Michael Cera in Juno (2007) a record-breaking, critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning independent hit. Directed by Montreal -born Jason Reitman from Diablo Cody’s Oscar-winning screenplay, Juno showcased Page as a lovable, quick-witted oddball teenage girl who decides to find the right parents for her unborn baby. Budgeted at US$7 million, the film turned a huge profit, earning US$143 million in North America. It also garnered a number of honours for Page, including an Independent Spirt Award for best lead actress and nominations from the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards and Golden Globes.

In the idiosyncratic comedy, filmed in British Columbia , Page created a screen persona that countered the cultural obsession with glamour. Page’s diminutive body, hoodie-and-sneaker outfits and scrubbed prettiness appeared far removed from dysfunctional celebrity stars of the Twitter generation. (American political pundit Bill Maher described Juno in 2011 as “the anti-Kardashian”). Page created a character who, while childlike, possessed mature verbal skills and projected an aura of confident intelligence. Page displayed a gift for seeming unique yet representatively teenaged at the same time.

Acting Career Highlights

The Oscar-nominated role in Juno elevated Page to A-list status, resulting in such career milestones as an appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair ’s 2008 Hollywood issue and inclusion in Entertainment Weekly ’s “15 to Watch: Hollywood’s Next A-List.” Yet he continued to balance roles in offbeat and independent productions with the occasional blockbuster. Page played the daughter of Dennis Quaid’s dissolute college professor in Smart People (2008); whirled around as a beauty queen turned roller-derby contender in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It (2009); and played a tackily-costumed female sidekick to Rainn Wilson’s caustic wannabe-superhero in the violently eccentric comic book parody Super (2010). Page also co-starred in one of 2010’s biggest box-office hits, Christopher Nolan’s Inception , playing a genius architect who designs dream structures.

Page played a narcissistic seductress in Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love (2012); an unleashed anti-corporate activist in The East (2013); the psychic protagonist in the popular PlayStation 3 video game Beyond Two Souls (2013); and Kitty Pryde in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Page also worked as a spokesperson for Cisco Systems in whimsical commercials shot in Nova Scotia .

Elliot Page Elliot Page at the premiere of Super at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010. (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Other projects included Page’s first two movies as producer: Patricia Rozema ’s post-apocalyptic Into the Forest (2015), co-starring Evan Rachel Wood and Callum Keith Rennie ; and a story especially dear to his heart, Freeheld (2015), in which Page co-stars with Julianne Moore. Based on true events, Freeheld tells the story of a New Jersey police detective (Moore) who is dying of a terminal disease and must fight for the right of her life partner (Page) to receive her pension benefits. In 2016, Page also produced and co-hosted the Vice series Gaycation (2016–17), which explores “what it means to be lesbian, gay, bi or trans all around the world.” It received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program in 2016 and 2017.

Page then played a series of complex, flawed characters in challenging, critically acclaimed dramas. Page and Juno co-star Allison Janney offered a different take on accidental pregnancy in Tallulah (2016), in which Page’s character steals a baby and passes it off as her own to get support from her ex-boyfriend’s mother. In My Days of Mercy (2019), Page plays a woman whose father ( Elias Koteas ) is on death row, yet who falls in love with an advocate for capital punishment . Page also starred in The Cured (2018), a sci-fi drama about society’s attempts to reintegrate former zombies who have been cured of their affliction; Ann Marie Fleming’s award-winning animated film Window Horses (2017); and the Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy (2019–).

A star who has handled the demands of fame with a disarmingly casual poise, Page has used his celebrity to speak out frequently about numerous social and political issues, from his advocacy of Plan B contraception for women to gender stereotyping. A committed environmentalist , Page studied permaculture design at an eco-village near Eugene, Oregon. He also narrated the documentary Vanishing of the Bees (2009) and supports a number of organizations dedicated to sustainability. Page participated in a series of online ads in 2008 to bring attention to human rights abuses in Burma and has also supported the Lunchbox Fund, which provides food to disadvantaged children.

• Outstanding Performance – Female ( Marion Bridge ), ACTRA Maritimes Award (2003)
• Best Performance in a Children’s or Youth Program ( Mrs Ashboro’s Cat ), Gemini Awards (2004)
• Atlantic Canadian Award – Outstanding Performance by an Actor, Female ( Wilby Wonderful ), Atlantic Film Festival (2004)
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series ( ReGenesis ), Gemini Awards (2005)
• Best Actress ( Hard Candy ), Austin Film Critics Association (2005)
• Relationship from Hell ( Hard Candy , shared with Patrick Wilson ), Fangoria Chainsaw Awards (2006)
• Best Actress ( Juno ), Austin Film Critics Association (2007)
• Best Actress ( Juno ), Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2007)
• Best Performance by a Female – Film ( Juno ), Canadian Comedy Awards (2008)
• Canadian Award, Best Actress ( The Tracey Fragments ), Atlantic Film Festival (2007)
• Best Breakthrough Performance ( Juno ), EDA Female Focus Award (2007)
• Breakthrough Actress of the Year, Hollywood Film Awards (2007)
• Best Performance, Female ( Juno , tied with Julie Christie ), Toronto Film Critics Association Awards (2007)
• Best Female Lead ( Juno ), Independent Spirit Awards (2008)
• Best Scared-As-Shit Performance ( Inception ) , MTV Movie Award (2010)
• Best Kiss ( Inception , shared with Joseph Gordon-Levitt ), MTV Movie Award (2010)

• Genie Award
• Canadian actors
• Nova Scotia

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Elliot Page Brings His Misfit Characters to Life

By Crispin Long

When Elliot Page came out as transgender, in December of 2020, he was immediately thrust into the harrowing position of being one of the most famous trans people in the world. He had been a serious actor since his youth, when he garnered acclaim for his performance as a teen vigilante in the 2005 pedophilia-revenge film “Hard Candy.” In 2008, Page was nominated for an Oscar for his titular role in the indie comedy “ Juno ,” and was launched, at age twenty, to a new tier of celebrity that would lead to work in big-budget movies such as Christopher Nolan’s “ Inception .” Before he made his transition public, the latest turn in his career had been a leading part in “The Umbrella Academy,” a superhero series that became one of Netflix’s most popular original shows. Netflix confirmed, after Page’s announcement, that he would remain in the cast, but little other information was given about his character’s trajectory until March of this year, when Page posted an image on Instagram of his character, who had been introduced as a woman, looking very much like a man. The caption read, “Meet Viktor Hargreeves.”

As a person roughly Page’s age who came out as transmasculine past the age of thirty, and who grew up identifying with the quirky girls he was renowned for playing, I met the news of his transition with glee and a certain recognition. My dad used to tell me that I resembled Page, and it seemed clear, all of a sudden, why that was. I had recently started taking testosterone, and I watched—with some relief not to be in such a glaring spotlight myself—as each new selfie Page posted on Instagram was met with waves of both support and scrutiny. When I heard that his character on “The Umbrella Academy” would be transitioning, I was curious, if a little anxious, about how the show would pull it off. It did, at least, seem like the kind of fictional world that could accommodate a trans character. Based on a series of comics by Gerard Way, the androgynous frontman of the emo-rock band My Chemical Romance, “The Umbrella Academy” is campy and darkly funny, full of misguided, endearingly ignoble antiheroes who are constantly struggling toward some semblance of self-actualization.

The show follows a group of adopted siblings, the Hargreeves, all spawned on the same day—October 1, 1989—by women who were not previously pregnant and who experience, in the first moments of the series, the rapid swelling of their stomachs and the immediate births as a shocking, supernatural horror. The family’s patriarch, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, is an eccentric billionaire who tries to collect as many of the forty-three spontaneously birthed babies as he can, and winds up with seven of them, all of whom possess superpowers. Sir Reginald hones their skills, molding them into a unit of child crime fighters known as the Umbrella Academy.

“The Umbrella Academy” is not about heroes, though, but about how the savior fantasy can go awry. As we learn in a series of backstories that unfold in the course of the show, Sir Reginald is a preternaturally bad dad, a monstrous caricature of the sort of self-serving parent who sees his children as vessels for ambition and success. Instead of giving the children real names, he refers to them by numbers he has assigned them—one through seven—which hint at a mysterious hierarchy. The kids’ maternal figure, Grace, a robot of uncertain sentience (quite literally a wire mother) that Sir Reginald designed to care for them in the style of a chipper nineteen-fifties housewife, eventually gives them more humanizing names, and they call her Mom.

Sir Reginald prepares the children for his grand plans by subjecting them to gruelling and often abusive training. Page’s character (Number Seven), who begins the series with the name Vanya and, in the new season, changes it to Viktor, bears the worst of Sir Reginald’s tendency to reward acquiescence and punish any power that may threaten his own. We see Viktor’s desolate childhood in flashbacks: Sir Reginald excluded him from Umbrella Academy missions because of his supposed lack of powers, and constantly reminded him that, though his siblings were special, he was ordinary. As an adult, Viktor is a shaky, taciturn figure, a mediocre violinist and the author of a tell-all memoir meant to expose the merciless family dynamic of the famous Umbrella Academy, but the book, like his other endeavors, is unsuccessful. Revisiting early episodes with the knowledge that the character will transition, I observed many of his qualities in a new light: his dissociated smile as he poses for an author photo, his drab, apathetic style of dress, the jarring moments when his feelings fizz to the surface in defiance of his studied reticence.

Even in the first season, which was released in 2019, Viktor undergoes a kind of metamorphosis: we learn that he is not powerless but forcefully miscategorized. It is revealed that he is the most powerful sibling of all, with an ability to harness sound waves to move matter and, if he loses control of his emotions, to create mass destruction. Sir Reginald, fearful of Viktor’s powers, enlisted one of his daughters to erase all memory of them, fabricated an illness as an excuse to isolate Viktor for long periods of time in a soundproof chamber, and drugged him into a state of helplessness. As Viktor’s talents emerge, so do their hazards; between his long-simmering rage toward his family and his inexperience, he nearly ends human existence on Earth by breaking off a piece of the moon.

In an interview, Page told me that all ten episodes of the new season had already been written when he first shared the news of his transition with the showrunner, Steve Blackman. Page introduced Blackman to the writer Thomas Page McBee, who had prior experience working on queer and trans stories for television, and Blackman and McBee worked together to incorporate the story line into the script. Viktor’s shift to living as a man is stitched into the narrative with commendable efficiency—rather than watch him struggle with the question, we see him walk into a barber shop to have his hair cut, and look knowingly at himself in the mirror. The second episode, in which he comes out to his siblings, benefits from the sensitive direction of the legendary Cheryl Dunye, who made “The Watermelon Woman” in 1996, a queer-cinema classic about a young Black lesbian. Viktor’s siblings say that they like the haircut, and he tells them that it’s a bit more than the hair—that he will go by Viktor now, that he is expressing something to them that has always been true. The Hargreeves accommodate this information seamlessly, a perhaps unrealistic turn that would be more conspicuous in a show that was at all concerned with the question of realism.

But it makes a kind of sense that the siblings would not be shocked that a person who appeared to be a woman has turned out to be a man. The series is, in many ways, preoccupied with aberrant embodiment, and with dramatizing and satirizing the workings of the body. Number Five, for example—who disappeared as a child in a fit of accidental time travel—has returned from the post-apocalyptic future to rejoin his siblings, inadvertently exchanging his adult body for his adolescent one. The discrepancy between his boyish appearance and his grizzled soul is a frequent source of comedy. Five’s experience is analogous to dysphoria: he is easily misinterpreted, and must persuade everyone he meets that he is not exactly who he appears to be. Thoroughly steeped in supernatural transformations, the siblings are unfazed by his unusual physicality, more likely to joke about it than to point out its strangeness. The same is true of their treatment of Number One, Luther, who is gravely harmed on a doomed solo mission and injected with a life-saving experimental serum that transforms his body into that of an ape-human hybrid. The siblings’ environment, though brutal in many ways, is, convincingly, a soft landing for a person whose identity is in flux. Viktor’s gender does not become the main heft of the story, but it coincides with the first moments in the show when he is in full possession of his powers. He is suddenly assertive; his gestures are sharper; he makes more eye contact. It is as if he has received an emergency infusion of self-possession.

The fictional characters Page played before Viktor were women, but his performances were marked by an understated disconnection from the accoutrements of femininity. His character in “Whip It” rebels against her mother, who urges her to compete in beauty pageants, by taking up the hardscrabble sport of roller derby. In “Juno,” he plays a teen-age girl who accidentally gets pregnant and navigates an unusual relationship with the couple that intends to adopt the child. The film maintains its levity in part because Juno is uncannily relaxed about the pregnancy. When the baby’s adoptive mother, Vanessa, asks if she can touch Juno’s pregnant belly to feel the fetus’s legs kick, the teen-ager yanks Vanessa’s hands to her stomach without hesitation, as if the bump is no more hers than anyone else’s. Juno’s boundary-crossing rapport with Vanessa’s husband, the ostensible future father, is made possible by their nerdy conversations about the history of rock music but also by their mutual aloofness about the baby. It is easy to see them, knowing Page’s future, as a couple of well-meaning but immature guys, one of whom happens to be pregnant. Juno even says in one scene, “I don’t really know what kind of girl I am.”

“I was far more comfortable than I’ve been in so many things,” Page said, of his time playing Juno, “so much more embodied, and far more self-assured.” The film’s director, Jason Reitman, gave Page a great deal of control over how to portray her; Page had his own vision for Juno’s androgynous style of dress and took one of the producers to used-clothing stores to find the right look. When Page attended the première in Toronto, he was a little bemused at how much the audience laughed. He knew the film was funny, but had also been steeped in the gravity of Juno’s situation and thought of her as “someone who put up walls.”

One of Page’s earliest acting gigs was an appearance on the Canadian mockumentary series “Trailer Park Boys” as Treena Lahey, the daughter of the meddling trailer-park supervisor who tries to foil the illegal schemes of the main characters, Ricky, Bubbles, and Julian. Treena comes to stay with her father at the park for the summer and immediately becomes fascinated with the men, trading the floral dress she arrived in for a pair of Ricky’s old track pants. She spends the season dressed like a miniature Ricky and follows him around with puppy-like devotion, fetching him pepperoni from a nearby gas station. Ricky’s inadequacy as a role model is played for laughs, but his essential gentleness, and his guileless self-absorption, leave space for Page to exhibit Treena’s bald longing for his recognition. Compared with Page’s first screen role, in “Pit Pony,” a period piece set in early twentieth-century Nova Scotia that required him to wear dresses and tights, playing the lawless and—he hesitates before using this term—boyish Treena was a relief. “ ‘Trailer Park Boys’ actually gave me this opportunity to be comfortable,” Page said.

Like many queer and trans people, Page has a biography studded with these kinds of moments of becoming and unbelonging—facts that, when viewed in retrospect, point toward the obvious. To be trans is to automatically have a backstory, a prequel that might appear to bend inexorably toward coming out. But to sift through Page’s catalogue for the sole purpose of collecting evidence of his transness is to overlook that he is also a very skilled actor, with a gift for convincingly depicting a varied array of eccentric characters. During our interview, Page recalled the rigor with which he practiced Juno’s idiosyncratic way of speaking. “I wouldn’t even be able to do Juno’s voice right now,” he said. He does not merely play versions of himself; like any good performer, he uses his imagination to inhabit other people. ♦

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Elliot Page is an unlikely trans hero. His new memoir shows why that’s important.

In his book Pageboy, between all the juicy Hollywood stories, Page invites crucial empathy toward the trans experience.

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Share All sharing options for: Elliot Page is an unlikely trans hero. His new memoir shows why that’s important.

At first glance, you’d think Elliot Page would be the last person to have written an explosive tell-all Hollywood memoir. The 36-year-old Page, who has starred in iconic films like The X-Men series, Juno , and Inception as well as Netflix’s much-loved urban fantasy series The Umbrella Academy , has arguably built his career on a persona of mild-mannered chill.

Yet Elliot Page is also queer and trans , coming out as trans in 2020, and his choice to publish a memoir during Pride month amid aggressive anti-trans actions playing out in red states across the US makes Pageboy a surprisingly bold political statement. Page may be an unlikely poster boy for trans rights, but that may be precisely what gives his story such power.

Who is Elliot Page again?

Originally from Canada, Page had a typical upbringing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, except for his double role as a child star. Page’s first acting job, in Pit Pony (1997), a film-turned-family-drama in which he also starred, netted him critical acclaim before he’d even turned 11, and set him on a swiftly rising career path. A decade later, after critically lauded turns in films like the 2004 dramedy Wilby Wonderful and the 2005 dark thriller Hard Candy , in which his character weaponizes her deceptive innocence to catch a child predator, Page bagged the role of Kitty Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), a part that’s since become iconic queer rep .

The following year, he landed the title role in one of the most unexpectedly polarizing films of the decade: Diablo Cody’s comedy about teen pregnancy, Juno (2007). Featuring Page as the titular unwed high schooler who finds herself pregnant by her sometime boyfriend (Michael Cera), the film’s refreshingly casual take on teen pregnancy divided critics and activists across the political spectrum and ushered in a wave of odd takes. Time magazine blamed a nonexistent “ Juno effect ” for “glamorizing” teen pregnancy and causing a rash of pregnancies at a random high school. The film’s apparent quick rejection of abortion as an option for its protagonist led many viewers to conclude it was anti-abortion, a charge Cody is still quick to refute .

In Juno , Page and Cera deftly fling classic Cody zingers at each other (“I still have your underwear.” “I still have your virginity!”) all while embodying the mortifying awkwardness of teenagerdom. Both actors built their personas around such performative normalcy; Page became known for this particular brand of low-key, world-weary innocence. In 2010, he starred as Ariadne, the architect of Christopher Nolan’s Inception , whose mix of wide-eyed wonder and deadpan eye-rolling over her own dreamscapes turns out to be the perfect grounding element the entire story needs. If Page had an identifiable public persona by the 2010s, it was arguably that of weaponized ambivalence.

All of that changed in 2014, however, when Page, trembling through an instantly viral speech for the Human Rights Campaign on Valentine’s Day, came out as gay. Page spoke of the “crushing standards” Hollywood pressed upon people, and of his fight to live authentically despite social stigmas and homophobia. “Trying to create that mental picture of your life, of what on earth is going to happen to you, can crush you a little every day,” he said. His coming-out speech made international headlines and turned Page into one of the most-Googled celebrities of 2014; he subsequently filmed a series for Vice, Gaycation , in which he leveraged his new status as a queer icon to explore the queer identities and experiences of average citizens around the world.

Though Page had yet to come out as trans, his 2014 coming-out speech is also full of references to Page’s trans identity. A 2015 profile of Page in the New York Times reported that Page, from an early age, had presented as transmasculine and had written a high school paper questioning the existence of a gender binary. That profile, while attempting to be definitive, also seemed to struggle to comprehend Page’s persona; writer Sam Anderson observes Page’s aura of “profound moral seriousness” but then meanders away to fixate on Page’s forehead wrinkles for an entire paragraph, concluding, “That is the essence of Ellen Page: the face like a doll; the gnarled sophistication of the forehead.”

It’s a quizzical approach toward an actor who, as Anderson’s profile acknowledges and the memoir later confirms, has spent his entire career steadfastly rejecting the pressure to be more feminine, to perform the role of a feminine sex symbol. Throughout Pageboy — the title a clever reference to Page’s lifetime of androgynous presentation prior to coming out — it seems as if by merely passively rejecting such pressure, Page becomes a confrontational powder keg that provokes responses. “We get it, you’re gay!” a higher-up at his (former) agency allegedly responded when Page got the news about Gaycation . When Jordan Peterson was finally banned from Twitter , it was over, of all things, a tweet deadnaming and mocking Page.

But Page, of course, is aware of all this. The memoir makes it clear that despite a career built around an appearance of anodyne waifishness, Page is savvy and streetwise about the mental and emotional toll the celluloid closet — and the process of leaving it — can take.

What do we learn about Page in his memoir?

Pageboy makes for raw reading, bouncing from emotion-filled personal encounters to the grim realities of Hollywood to the perils of navigating the societally enforced gender binary. Page skims over his rise to Hollywood stardom, picking up the majority of his narrative after his post- Juno success, when the pressure to conform really kicked in. He drops titillating details in the classic tradition of the scandalous Hollywood tell-all: everything from delightful asides (Hugh Jackman is a really nice guy! Page has Catherine Keener’s name tattooed on his shoulder!) to deeper ruminations on his relationships, including with his Juno co-star Olivia Thirlby and an indecisive, arguably manipulative Kate Mara, who refused to choose between Page and her then long-term boyfriend Max Minghella.

Simultaneously, Page moves back and forth across time, detailing a lifetime of exploring his sexual and gender identity , and seemingly also a lifetime of encountering gender-based and queerphobic harassment and violence. Page recounts horrifying incidents, including being gay-bashed repeatedly, intensely stalked online and in person, alleged emotional abuse at the hands of his father and stepmother, and the time an unnamed A-lister, still allegedly one of the most famous men in Hollywood, harassed him repeatedly at a party and threatened to rape him to prove that being gay wasn’t real. Along the way, he battles an eating disorder, gender dysphoria, and a string of awful sexual encounters throughout his life. In these encounters he is never giving nor being asked for consent; which is to say he was raped repeatedly. He dissociates completely in such moments, but makes it clear that his passivity is a fear response. That’s not to say that the book is joyless; indeed, it’s because of scenes like this that, later on, once Page has come out and transitioned and developed more affirming relationships, his contrasting descriptions of sex are suffused with joy and delight. Pageboy is ultimately arguably a work not only of trans survival, but of trans euphoria .

Though the memoir is rarely explicitly political — despite Page’s openly progressive politics, the book is focused on his personal experiences — it is an act of political activism simply by presenting the reality of queer trans identity. Lurking at the edges is the sense that Page, even at 36, has been just as disenfranchised by the escalating war on transgender rights, and the use of trans people as a target in the culture war, as every other vulnerable trans kid. Witness his heartbreaking description of his estrangement from his father. “To be frank, it is hard to imagine a relationship again,” he writes, noting that his father and stepmother “support those with massive platforms who have attacked and ridiculed me on a global scale.” He goes on to report that after Elon Musk allowed Peterson to rejoin Twitter, his father “liked” Peterson’s first return tweet, which referenced his being “canceled” over Page.

“I have no clue what my father thinks of his son at this point,” Page writes. “Regardless of everything before, it’s painful to think that someone who parented you could support those who deny your very existence.”

This all makes for heady reading, but it’s already made an impact: On June 6, the day of the memoir’s release, trolls on Twitter trended his name alongside disgraced actor Jussie Smollett , who famously staged a gay-bashing incident, as a way of attempting to discredit one of Page’s more powerful (and by no means isolated) descriptions of being verbally assaulted and threatened with violence while walking down Sunset Boulevard in early 2022.

Yet the frothing anger displayed online at Page’s story just served to uphold the veracity of his account — which was, again, one of many that Page experiences throughout the memoir — underscoring just how normalized this violence is for so many queer and trans people just living their lives.

That may be the key to understanding Page himself. Beyond the wave of aggressive anti-trans legislation trans people are facing around the country, there’s a broader push to question the validity of trans identity — to challenge the idea that trans people are even real. And while pop culture has a number of prominent trans women who visibly represent transfemininity to the public — Laverne Cox, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, Caitlyn Jenner, and Janet Mock, for example — there are far fewer examples of celebrity trans men to look to.

So it matters that our most famous transmasc celebrity, Elliot Page, is also an actor who’s arguably always been known for his authenticity. Long before he came out as trans, he performed his trans identity in ways that couldn’t be hidden, in ways that sent cisgender writers scrambling to impose traditionalist gender readings on him. At one point, E! Online published a series of awful, since-deleted pieces questioning why Page dressed like a “hobo” instead of showing off his “petite beauty.” No matter where you are on the gender spectrum, the fact Page has continued to be simply himself in the face of such ridiculous standards makes him universally relatable. And a universally relatable trans celebrity may be exactly what we need right now.

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“i have this new ability to sit with myself”: how elliot page made the journey to tell his story in his own words.

In the new memoir ‘Pageboy,’ the actor recounts pivotal moments in his life, his career and his transition.

By Seija Rankin

Seija Rankin

Senior Editor

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Margot robbie and power stylist andrew mukamal's new 'barbie: the world tour' book is on sale after scoring bestseller status, elliot page denounces "devastating" rollback of lgbtq2+ rights at 2024 juno awards.

“I have this new ability to literally sit with myself and make things,” Page told THR over Zoom a few weeks before the memoir hit shelves. “I could never do that before [coming out].”

The memoir tracks pivotal moments in the actor’s life, from childhood (in Nova Scotia) and a simultaneously successful and tumultuous entrée into Hollywood to his coming out as gay, and then later trans, on a public stage. “As you can see, I’m slightly nervous,” he says with a laugh. “But it’s thrilling and meaningful that people might connect to elements of my journey. I’m realizing that, ‘Oh, maybe people will read this book.’ ” Page describes what it was like to tell his story in his own words and what he learned after the creative team of Flatliners pressured him into performing a dangerous stunt.

Can you talk a bit about your decision to write a book — why a book, and why now?

The idea of writing a book would come up in the past and I would shove the idea aside, saying no, I don’t think the timing is right. But mostly, I did not think that it was possible for me. There’s been many a time I’ve looked at a book and thought, “I don’t understand how someone can do that.” But I met with my literary agents, who had been encouraging me to at least write a proposal — I remember I walked back to my apartment afterward and I sat down and had this stream of consciousness in which I wrote that first chapter, “Paula.” The final version in the book is not that different to how it came out. And I seemed not to be able to stop after that.

I definitely went through a process of deciding how much [of my personal life] to write about. The journey with my mom felt important to share because so many queer and trans people have a similar experience, and I hope that in talking about it vulnerably and honestly as possible it can help people feel seen, or show that it’s possible for people to change. But the experience of writing those moments only helped my mom and I get closer.

Did you let her read an early copy?

She hasn’t read the whole book, because there are moments in it where I’m like, ” Mom, you might not want to see that. ( Laughs .) But the first thing I shared with her was that “Paula” chapter, and her response was to well up, and she sat back and said: “Your words, they sound like music.” That was so sweet, and she was so cool about it all. And talking to her before writing about her helped me learn a lot about her life and things she went through that I don’t think I would have learned otherwise.

Was there anyone else that you wanted to make sure was OK with what went into the book? I noticed that you named some people but left others anonymous.

When you describe our culture’s inability to discuss vulnerable topics, do you think of it as a uniquely American problem, or is it just as bad in Canadian culture?

That is a fantastic question, and I don’t think it’s much different in Canada. ( Laughs .) I often think of that Rebecca Solnit book, The Mother of All Questions , where she asks what stories aren’t you telling, and why aren’t you telling them?

You write about some of the bad experiences you’ve had on set, whether it was discomfort with the way men in power treated you or being pressured into those dangerous stunts during Flatliners — do you think that actors have more autonomy now? Have things improved on set?

I don’t really know how different it is. It is so much about power. I am in a position on the set I work on [ Umbrella Academy ] where people probably are not going to try and fuck with me. I’m at a place where I’m not going to put up with anything. None of that means it’s gone away, of course, it’s just gone away for me because I’m in a different situation in my career. That shouldn’t be the case, obviously, we should all be treated with the same dignity and respect and care on film sets, and particularly if you’re young. I do know that I always feel protective when young people are on set — I wonder about their experience and I want them to not feel taken advantage of.

It does seem like people are learning about that at a younger age, but you never actually know what’s going on with someone. I’m sure when I was making Hard Candy [at 17] I seemed relatively self-assured and in control, and that it seemed to others that I had a good experience. It’s so insidious that you just never know.

What do you see as the turning point for yourself, where you were able to feel more in control and autonomous on set?

Well, I’ve had lots of these awful situations. Granted, it was the kind of behavior that I don’t think would be allowed to happen now — I had experiences with toxic, abusive people who are doing stuff right out in the open for everyone to see. And then you say something about it and end up being the one who is reprimanded. Maybe it’s top of mind because I wrote about it, but I do think my time making Flatliners [2017] was probably the last time that I thought, absolutely not.

How does the current wave of anti-trans legislation change the stakes for the publication of this book?

It’s interesting timing. Our lives and bodies have always been politicized, but we’re in a much scarier time. But it’s important for me to say that this is just my story. I do not represent most of the trans experience — I have privilege and resources and access to health care. And even with that, what I’ve been through is not fucking easy.

He’s going to come on the North America tour, because I think at the end of some of those days I’m going to need to snuggle my little guy. He is just such a ball of love, and I’m the luckiest person. I don’t know what I’d do without him.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

A version of this story appears in the June 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe .

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Elliot Page on Juno, Hollywood’s dark side and coming out twice: ‘Living my life was more important than being in movies’

When the feelgood movie made him an Oscar-nominated star, the strain of hiding who he was almost forced him to quit acting. He explains how opening up about being gay, then trans, saved his life

E lliot Page’s memoir is called Pageboy. At its heart is the story of his transitioning from an Oscar-nominated actress, best known for the wonderful coming-of-age comedy drama Juno , to one of the world’s most high profile trans men. He writes, rather beautifully, about gender dysphoria, top surgery and finally finding himself. But the book is so much more than a tale of transition.

Pageboy is a modern-day Hollywood Babylon, written by a sensitive soul rather than a scandalmonger. Page depicts a film industry even more rancid than we may have suspected. This is a world where it’s not only the Harvey Weinsteins at the top of the pyramid who get to abuse the young and powerless – just about everybody seems to have a go. It’s a world where most people appear to be closeted in one way or another, a world where more acting is done off set than on.

It’s also a love story, sometimes unrequited, usually closeted (of course) and occasionally full on. Throughout, Page is looking for love. There are a dizzying number of blink-and-you-miss-them relationships, often with famous people, some named, some anonymised. He’s looking for love from women he’s infatuated with, his parents and ultimately himself. For most of his life, the last has been the greatest struggle.

Page is now 36. He always looked young for his age. Today he is dressed all in black – cap, hoodie, glasses and cargo pants – and could pass for mid-20s. He’s Zooming from home in Toronto and, unsurprisingly, is a little anxious about the book: “I’m nervous, but grateful for the opportunity to have written it.” Unlike most celebrities’ books, there is no ghost involved – these are all his words. And it’s important to him that they are: “It was really healing getting a lot of stuff out. It’s been very beneficial for my relationship with my mom. It has allowed us to talk about things for the first time in a meaningful, sincere way.”

It has also allowed him to reflect on other relationships. When he wrote about former partners, he showed them the sections in advance. Again, he says, in many cases it has enabled them to talk in ways they never did at the time. But he admits there are some relationships that, for now at least, seem to be beyond repair. While most people in his life have embraced his coming out – first as gay , then as trans – he no longer talks to his father and stepmother.

Page grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a graphic designer father and schoolteacher mother. As a youngster, he was a talented footballer – though not good enough to turn professional, he says. By the age of 10 he was working as a professional actor in the TV movie Pit Pony, then the Canadian TV series of the same name and in a number of demanding roles in well-received independent films. Despite the success, he never felt right.

Even as a four-year-old, he used to try to pee standing up. “I would press on my vagina, holding it, pinching and squeezing it, hoping I could aim,” he writes in Pageboy. He knew girls weren’t supposed to do that, but he didn’t consider himself a girl. He didn’t quite know what he was. All he knew was that he felt a huge amount of discomfort and emotional pain. He self-harmed from a young age, smashing himself in the head with a hairbrush when getting ready for school, failing to recognise, or accept, the face staring back at him in the mirror. He cut himself, got wasted and stopped eating, but none of it did any good. He wanted to obliterate himself.

Acting gave him the opportunity to get lost in pretend worlds. While he wasn’t capable of untangling his own brambled emotions, he loved doing it on behalf of his characters. “There was an element of escape. You’re going to a place where it’s your job to feel and connect as much as possible, and we live in a world that encourages us on some level not to. I was feeling things through other characters without permitting myself to do so in my life.”

He was 20 when he starred in Juno as the 16-year-old who found herself pregnant by her geeky-cool friend Paulie Bleeker, played by Michael Cera. Juno was a huge commercial hit (it cost around $7m to make and took more than $230m at the box office), won Page a best actress Oscar nomination. The coming-of-age comedy drama showed off Page’s ability to play nuanced characters – Juno is a fabulous mix of precocious and naive, confident and vulnerable, gobby and withdrawn.

The same year Page played another 16-year-old with heartbreaking conviction. An American Crime is the horrifying true story of Sylvia Likens, who was tortured to death by a woman she was left in the care of. Two years earlier, Page gave an extraordinary performance in Hard Candy as a 14-year-old vigilante avenging herself on a sexual predator.

From the off, Page had a rare ease in front of the camera. There was nothing actorly about his acting – which might have been part of the problem. Unsurprisingly, these roles ended up traumatising him, not least because they echoed what was happening to him in real life. “I was attracted to that intense, traumatic work at the time,” he says. “As a teenager who dealt with a lot of shitty predatory behaviour, it was something I was interested in tackling.”

After moving to Toronto at 16, he was stalked by an older male fan he had befriended on social media to the extent that he feared for his life. When he told his parents, his father said: “I’m going to come to Toronto and kick your ass.” In the book, Page says his father’s response was even more traumatising than the stalking.

Then there was Hollywood. It’s hard to know where to start with the abuse there. As a lonely kid in a new city, he was the perfect target for predators. And so it proved. Page says one director groomed him as a teenager. Eventually, the director took him to dinner, stroked his thigh under the table and told him: “You have to make the move, I can’t.”

He also describes two disturbing incidents in his late teens. There was the funny, kind man on the set of Hard Candy who drove Page home, then forced himself on the actor. “His voice sweet, his hands on my shoulders, he guided me to the bedroom,” Page writes. “I went stiff. Unsure what to do as he stood tall and removed his glasses. He laid me down on the bed. Starting to remove my pants, he said, ‘I want to eat you out.’ I froze. After it was over, he tried to stay in the bed with me. I had thawed marginally and told him he couldn’t, to get out.”

It sounds horrifying. “Apart from the power conversation and the toxicity that comes with that, it is just being a young person who’s in a space with lots of adults and in situations where people took … I don’t even know the word. I was about to say ‘advantage’ or ‘awful advantage’, but that just feels gross,” he says now. “I almost don’t have the words for it because it’s so fucking hard to wrap my head around why somebody wants to do that to some … ” He trails off.

At the start of shooting another project, a female crew member offered to take Page house-hunting. “I was standing in the empty living room, in front of the couch, when I felt her grab me. She pressed her face into mine, some version of kissing,” he writes. “That freezing coming over me again. The next thing I knew I was on the rug, the floor firm on my back. I didn’t say no, I did not resist, I just stiffened.”

At the time he never discussed the incidents with anybody. Somehow he’d conditioned himself, or been conditioned, to think it was the norm. “I didn’t know how to talk to people about it. I thought you just get over it and move on.” When did you realise it’s not something you just move on from? “It took me a long time to be able to sit and fully talk about these experiences or acknowledge that they were traumatic and had a significant impact on me.” He felt as if he would be making a fuss about nothing, so he brushed it off. “I’d sit in therapy and talk about these things, and my therapist would go: ‘That’s a lot , that’s traumatic,’ and I’d be like: ‘ What? What are you talking about?’ I don’t know if that was a self-defence mechanism or just being made to feel it’s not a big deal.”

Years after Hard Candy, Page confided in an actor he was working with that he was gay. The actor told him he should never admit this in Hollywood and he didn’t want to hear about it again. After Page did finally come out as gay, a drunken actor told him: “I’m going to fuck you to make you realise you aren’t gay. I’m going to lick your asshole. It is going to taste like lime. You’re not gay.” He said it openly in front of some of Page’s closest friends. “Power works in funny ways,” Page writes. “He was, and still is, one of the most famous actors in the world.” Page is obviously aware that readers will play guessing games. You sense he would not be upset if the actor was exposed – so long as it’s not by Page himself.

Page stresses that Hollywood is not solely inhabited by abusers. He has made good friends in the film industry who have helped him through his toughest times. Who is the sanest person he has worked with? Page takes issue with the word. So we settle on balanced. “Someone like Hugh Jackman is lovely. He’s just so fucking cool.” Then there’s Julianne Moore . “I feel so lucky to have worked with Julianne and to have her in my life. She’s been an incredible friend to me, and so supportive and caring. So I’ve been really fortunate to have mentors in my life who’ve helped me a lot at certain times.”

When Page was cast as Sylvia Likens in An American Crime, he was struggling particularly badly with his mental health. Catherine Keener, who played Sylvia’s murderer, kept him from going under. After draining days on set, he would crash at her home, drink tequila and dance the night away. Today, he has C KEENS, his nickname for Keener, tattooed on his right biceps. “She is one of the absolute greats,” he says.

Please tell me that making Juno was an enjoyable experience, I say – it’s such an uplifting film that I’d hate to think anything nasty occurred on that set. He laughs. “Yes, it was a great experience. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had making something. It was an incredible group of people and I had a tremendous time. I remember Michael Cera and I were like: ‘This seems it could be kinda cool’ – but nobody expected it to blow up to the degree that it did.”

One of the many revelations in his memoir is that Page had a relationship with Olivia Thirlby, who played Juno’s dippy friend Leah, while making the movie. What did Thirlby think when you showed her the book? “I think she was surprised that it was so intense for me. We didn’t have the same comfort in relation to our queerness. I don’t think she knew the impact that relationship had on me, and how important it was. I was inspired by her and her ability to be herself.”

Page also had a relationship with Kate Mara , who was going out with the actor Max Minghella at the time and is now married to Jamie Bell. Again Page had never publicly discussed their relationship before the book. He describes being infatuated with Mara and how he couldn’t cope with having to share her with Minghella. Looking back, he says he didn’t behave well at the time. How do you and Mara get on now? “Kate is one of my closest friends. She’s moderating my book event in LA. She really loved the chapter and appreciated the honesty.”

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Page’s most closeted relationship was with an actor he refers to as Ryan. He met her while making a film, and they were together for almost two years. By then Page was in his mid-20s and, he says, most people in the industry assumed he was gay. But Ryan passed as straight and was terrified of being outed. The degree of secrecy sounds painfully dysfunctional. Page literally hid in a closet once when room service was delivered to Ryan’s hotel room. At parties they ignored each other. Page says Ryan couldn’t cope with the shame and lies, went on to have a relationship with a cis man, and broke Page’s heart in the process. Is Ryan still closeted? “No, I wouldn’t call it that. I gave it to Ryan to read, and it was another example of getting to talk about things in a real way for the first time, and now we’re buddies again.” Does Ryan worry that people will be trying to guess who she is? “I don’t know how she feels about that deep down. I understand people will be curious. She can’t care too much, because people do figure things out.”

The book is punishingly honest in terms of his emotional needs and search for love. He nods. Are you a romantic? “Yeah, I think I am.” But he says there is more to it than that. For so much of his life, he says, love was a means of convincing himself things were OK or justifying to himself why he was unhappy. “Love was a way to escape, a way to feel less alone, a way to feel safe. I clearly didn’t love myself. I’d cling on and then end up in these co-dependent relationships – or getting completely lost in Kate and not staying centred on any level. I think it was a way of avoiding myself, going from one relationship to the next.” His voice wobbles. “This is the first time in my life I’ve been happy and able to just be on my own.”

The Hollywood that Page describes is frozen in time. It could be the 1950s – the same level of control, paranoia, abuse. The same homophobia. And the same blinkered argument: if the fans know you’re gay they won’t believe you when you play a heterosexual (though this is rarely the case when heterosexuals play gay characters). It’s hardly surprising in this culture that so few gay stars have come out. “I can obviously only speak to my experience, but yes, my experience is that there was intense pressure to be not only closeted but to act and appear and perform like someone I wasn’t and someone I’m not. Cis, trans, whatever – it doesn’t matter: the actor being told not to be your authentic self was a constant, and quite frankly it made me extremely unwell. I think back to the degree of how closeted I was and I’m just like: wow. It’s like watching a movie in my head. It was so extreme, and so were the feelings. I believed at certain points: ‘This is what my entire life is going to be.’”

He had never held a partner’s hand in public, never brought a girlfriend to an event, always got separate rooms. “There was this constant inherent anxiety when I was out at dinner. You become so profoundly isolated as a person, and also your relationship becomes very isolated. You’re in this bubble together.” Did it make you mentally unwell? “Yeah, mentally ill – depression and anxiety. But it also manifests itself physically, whether it’s vicious panic attacks, stomach issues, difficulties eating, chronic fatigue, just feeling in certain moments of my life it was very hard to function and operate.”

Did you want to walk away from it all? “Absolutely. Multiple times.” And did you ever? “Yeah.” By 2010, he was being cast in big-budget films such as Christopher Nolan’s Inception , and he decided he’d had enough. The funny thing is, he says he had a great time making Inception. “But after I finished that movie I was in Los Angeles and I just started packing my apartment. I was like: ‘I have to go back to Nova Scotia. I don’t think I want to act any more.’ I loved working with Chris Nolan and a great cast, but as a person I was just so not OK. I felt really guilty for feeling that. Here you are with all that dreams are made of – how the fuck could I possibly feel this way? I’m such an asshole – how can I be so ungrateful? I didn’t understand why I was so profoundly uncomfortable and feeling like this with all this privilege allowing me to do what I thought I wanted to do. But how I was feeling in my body, and being closeted, was eating at me to a degree that I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it any more.”

He took some time off and returned in 2012 with Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love . A couple of years later, aged 26, he came out for the first time – as gay. “That decision was scary and intense.” Did it change the way the film industry regarded you when it came to casting? “I mean, probably! I’m not in the rooms where those people are having those conversations, but I would imagine so.”

Six years later, in 2020, he came out as trans and changed his name to Elliot (ET is one of his favourite films – as a youngster he wanted to look like the film’s protagonist, Elliot, and he has a tattoo on his biceps that says “EP phone home”). He had never stopped questioning how he identified, and this intensified in the years between coming out as gay and trans.

In the Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy , Page plays a character who transitions from Vanya to Viktor and writes a warts-and-all memoir about his family. Is this a coincidence? He says the memoir element is (the character was created before he wrote Pageboy), but obviously the trans element is not. When Viktor tells his superhero siblings he has transitioned, they respond with approval verging on indifference: “Cool,” “I’m good with it,” “Yeah, me too,” they say, unfazed.

Was it as easy for you to tell friends and loved ones when you transitioned? “For people super-close to me it was definitely not shocking.” Because you’d been talking about it for so long? “Yes. I was hanging out with a friend the other day, and they were telling me something I said when I was 27 and we were working together. I realised just how much I had been talking about it. For years! And then proceeding to talk myself out of it.”

Why did you talk yourself out of it? He pauses. “Erm …… Gosh … It came mostly from internalised shame, internalised transphobia. I was overwhelmed by the fact that I was a known actor, and what is that going to mean? I was trying to wrap my head around it.” In terms of how people reacted to you or in terms of your work? “Both. But before coming out as queer in 2014, I’d already made the decision that living my life, to me, was going to be more important than being in movies. I was like: ‘What am I doing? This is my one chance to be alive; like, this just isn’t fucking worth it. It’s just not.’ So I thought less about the work and more about what does it mean to transition publicly and felt overwhelmed by it.” He tried to convince himself he could make do by wearing tighter sports bras to flatten his chest and saying nothing publicly. Try as he might, he says, the issue wouldn’t go away. “It just kept coming up. It was not letting go.” In Pageboy, he says he doesn’t think he would be here today if he hadn’t transitioned.

While his relationship with his mother has never been better, he writes in the book with huge regret, and some anger, about his father and stepmother’s inability to accept him – to the extent, he says, that his father has supported transphobic comments about Page. I ask if they have seen the book. “If it’s possible, I’d love not to talk about my dad and Linda,” he says with endearing politeness. There’s been no reconciliation? “No.”

Do you think film-makers are less willing to cast you since your transition? “Again, it’s so tricky because I’m not in the rooms where people are chatting.” But, he says, he’s got more than enough to be getting on with. He’s just worked on an improvised film directed by Dominic Savage, creator of Channel 4’s I Am … series : “That was a highlight of my life as an actor.” He has started his own production company, dedicated to telling stories about and by marginalised people, and hopes to do more writing.

A while ago, he said he fancied having children. Now, he says, that’s not a priority. “I’m trying to embrace the fact that I feel good on my own, and that’s very important for me.” He suddenly giggles. “But I’m definitely not against falling in love. I think now I’m a little bit more mature and centred.” He pauses. “I think.”

We hear so much about gender dysphoria, I say – have you experienced any body euphoria since transitioning? His face creases into an ecstatic smile. “To be honest, Simon, I experience it every single day when I wake up in the morning. When I say that I was always consumed by discomfort, I mean it. So the fact that I get up in the morning and get out of bed and stretch like this [he extends his arms to their full length] – that to me is body euphoria.” Soon after transitioning, he showed off his new six-pack. Does he still have it? “Yes,” he says proudly. “Working out this morning without my shirt on, and just being sweaty and jumping in the shower, just being able to be present in my body and the joy of it … When I say I never thought I’d feel this way I really, really mean that. I never thought I would just feel: ‘Oh here I am and I’m going about my day.’ So for me body euphoria is the most obvious stuff – getting out of the shower, seeing myself in the mirror, walking down the street with my shoulders back and just feeling like I can engage with the world in a present way.”

It’s great to see you in such a good place, I say. Listen, Page says, he knows there will be bad days – and plenty of them. “I’m a human being. Of course we all have our days. But they won’t even be comparable to how I felt before.” Another ecstatic smile. “Not. Even. Comparable,” he says.

Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page is published by Doubleday (£20). To support the Guardian and the Observer, buy a copy at guardianbookshop.com . Delivery charges may apply.

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Elliot Page: Embracing My Trans Identity Saved Me

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I’d always been told I was gay, made fun of for it. I felt comfortable in environments with queer women. But something in me knew that I was transgender . It was something I had always known but didn’t have the words for, wouldn’t permit myself to embrace.

“I was never a girl. I’ll never be a woman. What am I going to do?” I used to say. Have always said.

The first time I acknowledged I was trans, in the properly conscious sense, beyond speculation, was around my 30th birthday. Almost four years before I came out publicly.

“Do you think I’m trans?” I’d asked a close friend. They answered hesitantly, knowing no one can come to that conclusion for someone else, but they looked at me with a quiet recognition and said, “I could see that . . .” It was a light shining through from under the door.

Read More: Elliot Page Is Ready for This Moment

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Then there was the time when I wasn’t the one to bring it up. I was having a small party. People jumped in the pool and huddled together on outdoor furniture. My friend Star and I sat off alone, catching up on the patio. I met Star when we were making the first season of Gaycation —she worked at a San Francisco clinic run by trans women that offered health care and support for those in the LGBTQ+ community who needed it.

Star and I connected, in that way where the future flashes, an auspicious beginning. We stayed in touch and became good friends. She has experienced far more obstacles and barriers than I have, yet she holds space for me, supports me, sees me. She’s a singer, and I remember being mesmerized by her voice when I first listened to her album, Star. The lyrics of her song “Heartbreaker” played on repeat in my mind for weeks after:

I run away from feeling too good

I’m scared as hell you’d leave me if you knew I run away from feeling too good

I’m scared as hell you’d leave me if you knew

At my party, we sat together on an oversize chair, the splashes and music blending together in the background. We spoke about gender. I shared the degree of my discomfort, how even when I was playing a role, I couldn’t wear feminine clothes anymore. How I always struggled in the summer when layers were not an option and the presence of my breasts under my T-shirt forced me to incessantly crane my neck, sneaking quick peeks down. I would pull on my shirt, my posture folded. Walking down the sidewalk, I’d glance at my profile in a store window, my brain consumed. I tried to avoid my reflection. I couldn’t look at pictures, because I was never there. It was making me sick. I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be lifted out—the gender dysphoria slowly crushing me.

“It’s a role, you’re an actor. Why are you complaining?” people would say. “I would wear a skirt,” a straight, cis man said to me, playing devil’s advocate. I kept trying to explain the difficulty I was having. But he kept spitting out his unwanted opinions, then berating me for getting “too emotional.” I believe hysterical was the word he used.

His words triggered a deep shame I’d held since I could remember. I was puzzled too—invalidating my own experience. How was I in so much pain? Why did even slightly feminine clothing make me want to die? I’m an actor, there shouldn’t be a problem. How could I be so ungrateful?

Imagine the most uncomfortable, mortifying thing you could wear. You squirm in your skin. It’s tight, and you want to tear it off your body but you can’t. Day in and day out. And if people learn what is underneath, who you are without that pain, the shame will come flooding out, too much to hold. The voice says you deserve the humiliation. You are an abomination. You are not real.

Read More: Biden Vowed to Protect the LGBTQ Community. But What’s Really Changed for Transgender People?

“Do you think you’re trans?” Star asked me, locking eyes.

“Yes, well, maybe. I think so. Yeah.” We exchanged a soft smile. I was so near, almost touching it. But I panicked, and it burned away like the joint I was smoking, becoming an old roach left to rot in a forgotten ashtray. It all felt too big—the thought of going through this publicly, in a culture that is so rife with transphobia and people with enormous power and platforms actively attacking the community .

The world tells us that we aren’t trans but mentally ill. That I’m too ashamed to be a lesbian, that I mutilated my body, that I will always be a woman, comparing my body to Nazi experiments. It’s not trans people who suffer from a sickness, but the society that fosters such hate . As actress and writer Jen Richards once put it:

It’s exceedingly surreal to have transitioned ten years ago, find myself happier & healthier than ever, have better relationships with friends & family, be a better and more engaged citizen, and yes, even more productive … and to then see strangers pathologize that choice. My being trans almost never comes up. It’s a fact about my past that has relatively little bearing on my present, except that it made me more empathetic, more engaged in social justice. How does it hurt anyone else?

Sitting with Star by the pool, I couldn’t quite touch the truth, but I could talk about my gender without bawling. That was a step. It had taken a long time to allow any words to come out. When the subject came up in therapy, I got lost in sobs. “Why do I feel this way?” I’d plead. “How can I have this life and be in such pain?”

Not long after my 30th birthday, I did a U-turn. I bailed—I stopped talking about it. I closed my eyes and hid it away.

I met my ex-spouse Emma around that time. Meeting Emma let me leave it behind, a foggy memory. Falling madly in love, the energy was indisputable—just a hug would make my body shake. I threw myself in, and we got married quickly.

If a part of you is always separate, if existing in your body feels unbearable, love is an irresistible escape. You transcend, a sensation so indescribable that philosophers, scientists, and writers can’t seem to agree on what the f-ck it is—if it even is. I often wonder if I have actually experienced deep love. I feel as though I have, but is it real if you’ve numbed yourself to the truth about who you are?

Love was an unwitting emotional disguise, and my relationship to it is another muscle to be transformed. I’m working on it. I don’t want to disappear. I want to exist in my body with these new possibilities. That sense of possibility is one of the main components of life lost when we lack representation: options erased from the imagination, narratives indoctrinated that we spend an eternity attempting to break. The unraveling is painful, but it leads you to you.

During my marriage, I ignored therapy . And when we moved to New York City from Los Angeles at the end of 2018, I virtually stopped going to therapy altogether. It wasn’t until our relationship was falling apart two years later and my gender dysphoria was so extreme that I sought out someone in the city. I was ready to talk.

I could barely find the words, but I did. As if they moved on their own, wriggling through and up my body, pouring out. My body knew, deep down I knew, and something had shifted. It was now or never. It was alive or not.

From Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page, Copyright © 2023 by the author and reprinted by permission of Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental-health crisis or contemplating suicide, call or text 988 . In emergencies, call 911, or seek care from a local hospital or mental health provider.

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Elliot Page opens up about his emotional journey and the fight for LGBTQ equality in new interview

By Li Cohen

March 17, 2021 / 7:10 AM EDT / CBS News

For actor Elliot Page, the journey to living authentically has been, and continues to be, an emotional one. In his first interview since coming out as transgender in December, Page spoke with  Time Magazine about the "deep gratitude" he felt "to have made it to this point in my life," and about his fight to ensure that all transgender individuals have the support they need.

"I want to live and be who I am," Page, who is well-known for his role in Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy," told Time. "...It's a complicated journey, and an ongoing process."

Page is the first transgender man to be on the cover of Time Magazine, according to Reuters .

Despite coming out just three months ago, Page, 34, said in the interview that he has felt like and has wanted to identify as a boy since he was a child. But he said that being a professional actor, a career he started at age 10, required him "to look a certain way."

When he decided to tell the world that his name is Elliot, he said he anticipated a lot of support and love — but also a "massive amount of hatred and transphobia." 

"That's essentially what happened," Page told the magazine. But despite the criticism he's faced, he told the magazine that he believes he has a privilege and responsibility to be honest and live authentically. 

"Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric — every day you're seeing our existence debated," Page said. "Transgender people are so very real." 

Much of this debate has been political. So far in 2021, there have been more than 100 bills proposed that would negatively impact the LGBTQ community, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. More than 60 of those bills specifically target transgender youth, the ACLU said. 

Since he came out, Page has primarily used his social media pages to raise awareness about crimes and legislative actions that are hurting the LGBTQ community. One of the issues he's focused on is access to non-discriminatory health care for transgender individuals. 

One of the most comprehensive surveys of transgender individuals in the U.S., released in 2016, found that one in three transgender individuals who saw a doctor within the year had reported at least one negative experience related to being transgender, including harassment and refusal of treatment. Those who are transgender were also more likely than the general population to be uninsured. 

"My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today," Page told Time, "and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can." 

Even when tweeting about his interview in Time, Elliot used his platform to raise awareness about the discrimination transgender individuals face. "With deep respect for those who came before me, gratitude for those who have supported me & great concern for the generation of trans youth we must all protect, please join me and decry anti-trans legislation, hate & discrimination in all its forms," he tweeted.

With deep respect for those who came before me, gratitude for those who have supported me & great concern for the generation of trans youth we must all protect, please join me and decry anti-trans legislation, hate & discrimination in all its forms. pic.twitter.com/5yr8TYywTn — Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) March 16, 2021

"We know who we are," Page told Time, in reference to the debate about rights transgender individuals. "People cling to these firm ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place."

Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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Column: The survival of Elliot Page

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All was calm there, deep in the woods of Nova Scotia, but Elliot Page could not find peace.

He’d withdrawn to a remote cabin hoping it would serve as a balm. He and his wife had separated, and he’d given up his apartment in New York City. Then a friend offered up their sparsely furnished retreat in the Canadian forest. It was 2020, the height of the pandemic. The border was shut, but he was a citizen, born in Halifax. So he drove.

It was an extraordinary place, the cabin. Down a dirt road familiar only to wildlife. Pears and apples from an abandoned orchard littered the grounds. But alone in the stillness, Page started to crack. All of the self-hatred he’d been pushing down for years — the discomfort he felt in his body, the anger toward those who’d told him to repress his identity — spilled out.

Who are the people shaping our culture? In her column, Amy Kaufman examines the lives of icons, underdogs and rising stars to find out — “For Real.”

One night, he tried to knock himself out. Took his knuckles to his face and pounded over and over until bruises formed. For days after, he sat in a lawn chair on the porch, ashamed, his face sore. And then he heard a voice.

“You don’t have to feel this way.”

It was a small voice, barely discernible. But it kept echoing in his head. A way out.

“It was as if something in my brain turned around,” recalls Page, now 36. “The agonizing voice saying, ‘No, you’re not,’ ‘No, you can’t’ just switched and became very gentle and loving. ‘Oh, maybe I’m trans. Why don’t I explore that?’”

Within weeks, he’d scheduled a Zoom consultation with a doctor to discuss top surgery. The procedure was scheduled for November. A month later, he announced to fans on Instagram, who have known him since the release of “Juno” 13 years prior, that his name was Elliot.

Entertainment & Arts

‘Umbrella Academy’ star Elliot Page announces he is transgender in powerful statement

“I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self,” wrote “Juno” actor Elliot Page.

Dec. 1, 2020

The writers of “The Umbrella Academy,” the Netflix superhero series on which he’d played a female character for two seasons, immediately began rewriting the role to make him trans. After shooting the third installment of the show in early 2021, Page sat down with Oprah Winfrey to discuss his transition.

Within a span of a few months, he had become the most famous transgender man in the world.

And there was so much joy. In his new body, which he shared for the first time online, grinning in a pair of swim trunks. He presented at the Oscars in his outfit of choice, a tuxedo. Casting directors reached out in droves, saying they’d love to work with him. His mind clear of distressing thoughts, he regained his ability to focus while reading. He even decided to write a book of his own, “Pageboy,” a memoir in which he reckons with his journey to self-acceptance. Raw, harrowing and often heartbreaking to read, it comes out this week.

But there has also been this weight. The constant reminder that the vast majority of trans people face a reality drastically different from his own. When asked to pose for a magazine cover under a headline about his “euphoria,” Page wants to take the opportunity. Because representation makes a difference. But there’s also this worry, he says, that the glossy pictures “allow people to go, ‘Oh, well, look. They’re fine.’”

But trans people are not fine. Page’s book arrives, as if on cue, in a moment when the trans community is facing even more danger than when he started writing it just over a year ago.

In the U.S., Republicans have ramped up efforts to establish anti-trans bills on the state level. Nineteen states — including Florida, Arizona and Tennessee — have enacted laws or policies banning gender-affirming care for minors. Legislation has also targeted young trans athletes participating in school sports and trans people in gender-segregated spaces like restrooms and locker rooms .

As he prepares for the 2024 presidential election, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has enforced many of these issues — even signing a bill last month restricting preferred pronouns from being discussed in schools. Former President Trump, meanwhile, has referred to gender-affirming care for those under 18 as “child sexual mutilation” and “child abuse.”

Page’s visibility means that he — a man who wears Nike shoes from the boys section because the ones in the adult department are too large for his feet — shoulders the weight of a roiling, often very ugly cultural conversation.

“I’m such a rare example of what it means to be trans,” Page says. “I’m just in this strange position where it’s like, yeah, my journey has really not been easy. At moments, I thought: ‘I don’t know what my future is. I don’t know if I see it.’ But I also just have this amount of privilege that so many trans people do not get.”

And yet here, downstairs at his Sunset Strip hotel, he is less than a mile from the spot where a man on the street threatened to assault him just last year. As he describes in his book, Page, who lives in New York, was standing at the corner of Sunset and La Cienega, taking a quick walk to the Pink Dot convenience store, when a stranger approached.

“I’m going to f—ing gay bash you, faggot,” the man threatened. Terrified, Page began running toward the Pink Dot, where employees ushered him inside. From the other side of the door, the man yelled: “This is why I need a gun!”

“Now when I’m in Los Angeles, I don’t feel comfortable like I used to going for walks,” Page says.

How this man — the one who has just speed-walked apologetically to greet me, even though we are both early — inspires such vitriol is difficult to metabolize. This man whose emails are filled with the phrase “No worries if … .” This man who can barely go a sentence without bringing attention to those who have it worse than him.

Even after the Pink Dot incident, he had a fancy hotel room to go back to, he says. Should he have a significant safety risk like a death threat, he can afford to hire security.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not traumatic,” Page says. “But I have resources that, in every instance that is difficult, protect and can shield me from these things.”

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But it’s taken years for Page to even acknowledge that he’s experienced severe mental and physical anguish. When he started going to therapy at 23, the analyst responded to the stories from his upbringing by telling him he’d “had a fair amount of trauma.”

“Trauma?” Page says he responded. “What are you talking about? I haven’t had trauma.”

But in writing “Pageboy” — which he did himself, eschewing a ghostwriter — he for the first time grasped the totality of what he’d been through. It was helpful, he says, realizing: “Jeez, Elliot, this was a lot.” And that in excavating his past, he was able to confirm just how long he’d struggled with his gender identity.

Since age 4, when in the bathroom at his YMCA preschool he tried to pee while standing up. At age 6, asking his mom if he could be a boy.

As a kid, he hid out in his room playing with Batman and Robin action figures and Barbies from Happy Meals whose hair he had chopped off. In the imaginary love letters he wrote to a fake girlfriend, signed, “Love, Jason.”

“That private play let me experience a gender euphoria, because I wasn’t being seen by anyone else,” he says. “I was just in my own world as the boy that I was. It was crystal clear to me.”

But growing up in Halifax in the ’90s, Page had no examples of what it meant to be transgender. He didn’t even learn the word until he was a senior in high school.

When he started to explore the idea that he might be gay, his family was not accepting. His mother, a minister’s daughter, told her son that homosexuality didn’t exist. When he started acting as a teenager, he once had to shave his head for a role; his grandmother responded to the look by asking Page’s father what he would do if his daughter was a “dyke.”

At 16, Page’s dysphoria began manifesting in self-destructive behavior. He restricted his calories. Smashed his head with a hairbrush. Cut his shoulder with a knife. Hoisted his body onto the spike of his mother’s bed frame in an effort to impale himself.

Video: Watch Elliot Page discuss ‘Pageboy’ at the L.A. Times Book Club

Actor Elliot Page joined the Los Angeles Times Book Club to discuss his new memoir, ‘Pageboy,’ in Hollywood.

June 15, 2023

Writing about all of this was hard. Often, he’d start to sweat profusely. But he forced himself to stick to a strict routine. Wake up at 5:30 a.m. Write for two hours. Walk the dog. Write for a couple more hours. Eat lunch, maybe work out. Return to the desk until 4 p.m.

It was necessary, he says, to meet his deadline, turning in 5,000 words to his editor, Bryn Clark, every Wednesday.

Clark, an executive editor at Flatiron Books, had been chasing a book by Page since 2019. That’s when she slid into his Instagram DMs to ask if he was open to writing. The message went unread, but when Page sent out a proposal in February 2022, Clark made sure her company was ready to make an offer.

“I’d always had that feeling that he had a book to write, and not just any book, but a book that could have the ability to move the needle in a much needed way right now in our society,” says Clark, who worked at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition before getting into publishing.

“Pageboy” also offers stark insights about how Page was treated by Hollywood.

After working steadily as a young performer in Canada, he became known to American audiences first as a vigilante stalking a sexual predator in the 2005 film “Hard Candy” and then, more widely, in 2007’s “Juno.” In the latter film, written by Diablo Cody, Page played a wisecracking teenager who finds out she’s pregnant and then develops an unusual relationship with the couple she plans to let adopt her child. The role earned Page an Oscar nomination and led to a near-unified sense that he was a performer to watch; he went on to secure parts in movies like “Inception,” “Whip It” and the “X-Men” franchise.

Even though he had to wear a fake belly in “Juno,” Page felt more at ease in the film than many of the dozens of others in which he starred. He liked that Juno wasn’t hyper-feminized, that the producers let him pick out the character’s wardrobe — hoodies, flannels, baggy jeans — at used clothing stores in Vancouver.

“How she dresses really resonated with people, I think, particularly young women who were constantly seeing something else at the time,” says Page. “What’s so unfortunate and gross is that the people who were profiting massively off of the movie squashed that part of what made it so special by telling me to promote it while wearing dresses and heels.”

In his memoir, Page writes about how he wanted to wear jeans and a western shirt to the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. But the publicity team at Fox Searchlight rejected the idea, rushing him to a local department store to find something they deemed more feminine. Jason Reitman, the film’s director, “insisted that I play the part,” Page writes, though he notes that the filmmaker has since apologized.

“Michael Cera rocked sneakers, slacks, and a collared shirt. He looked fancy to me,” Page writes of his co-star in the film. “I wonder why they didn’t take him to Holt Renfrew. I guess he had nothing to hide, he was approved. He fit the part.”

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A few months later, at the 2008 Academy Awards, Page was even more uncomfortable. He was dating a woman at the time but had been urged by his manager to hide this relationship from the press, so he did not have his partner by his side.

It would be six more years before Page came out as queer in a speech at a Human Rights Campaign event.

“Clearly that wasn’t ultimately where I needed to get to, but it was a massive step forward and a whole bucket of bricks off my shoulders, honestly, overnight,” Page says. “It wasn’t that I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m trans, but that’s too much.’ Feeling significantly clearer about that came later.”

Still, Page faced discrimination from his industry peers. Once, while doing a screen test at a studio, he was asked to wear hair extensions because executives thought longer locks would make him look “more soft.” While making 2017’s “Flatliners,” Page asked that his character not wear a skirt; a member of the production team asked him: “Are you mad that this character isn’t gay?”

But perhaps most vile is the story he recounts in the chapter “Famous Asshole at Party.” In 2014, Page writes, a man who “was and still is one of the most famous actors in the world,” approached him at a Hollywood house party and hissed: “I’m going to f — you to make you realize you aren’t gay,” the star said, going on to graphically describe a sexual act he planned to perform on Page.

Page says he decided not to name-check the actor because he didn’t want the story to turn into a media frenzy in which clickbait eclipses the actual conversation. But he’s not afraid to call people out. In 2017, he wrote in a Facebook post that the director Brett Ratner had outed him as gay and sexually harassed him on the set of 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.”

In that same message, Page revealed that when he was 16, he was propositioned by a director and sexually assaulted by a grip — abuse that did not stem from his gender or sexual identity.

He thought it was important to share more about these instances in “Pageboy” because he found himself frozen in the midst of these assaults — an experience “that’s so prevalent and insidious that it really stays with you.”

He froze when, at 17, a man who’d worked on “Hard Candy” took him back to the Oakwood Apartments, laid him down, removed his pants and expressed a desire to give him oral sex. He froze when a crew member on another film took him to look for a place to live and, during the tour, suddenly started kissing and dry humping him.

“I didn’t say no, I did not resist, I just stiffened,” Page writes.

“That behavior was happening on sets when I was so young that you don’t talk about it,” Page says now. “I used to just shove it away. Like, ‘Oh, what are you complaining about? It’s no big deal.’ It took time to go, ‘Oh, wow, that actually caused damage.’”

Eventually, the trauma — compounded by his unease in his own skin — caught up with him. By his late 20s, he was racked with anxiety. He dove into relationships, clinging to partners in the hope that love might provide him solace. But he wasn’t choosing people who were emotionally available. At one point, he began dating the actor Kate Mara while Mara was in a relationship with Max Minghella. Minghella gave Mara his blessing to explore her connection with Page, but ultimately Page was unable to handle Mara being in love with him and someone else.

He started to back out of important obligations. Sometimes, he’d be on his way to a meeting, start panicking and have to turn around. And his colleagues weren’t always understanding.

“They’d be like, ‘Well, part of the reason the film is at that festival is because you said you’d go,’” Page recalls. “I can imagine people being, like, ‘God, get over yourself. Pull it together.’”

He’d watch his friends tackle daily tasks with aplomb and grow baffled by their ability to self-discipline. “What do you do when you wake up in the morning?” he once asked an ex. Because he couldn’t just wake up and sit with a cup of coffee, read for a bit, start work.

“It felt like crawling,” he says. “I guess that’s probably what depression is.”

He thought that coming out as queer would be the solution. He finally felt emboldened to go out, socialize with others in the LGBTQ+ community. But when he did, he felt so disconnected that it actually made him feel worse. The things his peers found relaxing — sunbathing, lying on the beach — filled him with dread. “I need to get out,” went the refrain in his head. But no. Because it was too big. He was too well-known to transition in public. “You just need to learn to be comfortable,” he urged himself. “You’re fine.”

And then the cabin. That lightning bolt of clarity. He knew he needed to act before the electricity left his body.

He had three months until the third season of “The Umbrella Academy” was set to start shooting in January 2021. Steve Blackman, the showrunner, was one of the first people Page told about his plan to get top surgery. The show creator said he wanted to support Page by also making his character trans, and said he would get the wheels moving while the actor recovered from his procedure.

On Nov. 17, 2020, Page paid $12,000 out-of-pocket for his surgery at a clinic in Canada. His childhood friend Mark Rendall volunteered to help him during recovery, when Page was often emotionally overwhelmed.

“It was really intense for him at that time,” says Rendall. “I don’t know if it was regret about not having done it sooner or having felt this way for so long. But there was a process of mourning for what could have been — for all the years that he held things in and felt like he couldn’t express himself.”

And then, as soon as he had physically recovered, Page had to jump into production. Blackman hired Thomas Page McBee, a trans man who’d worked with Page on 2019’s “Tales of the City,” to help rewrite “The Umbrella Academy” scripts. McBee let Page guide the experience, basing the new storyline on his conversations with the actor.

Elliot Page is ‘proud’ and ‘excited’ to debut trans character on ‘Umbrella Academy’

Elliot Page said the showrunner of ‘Umbrella Academy’ was ‘excited’ to make his character, Viktor Hargreeves, trans after he came out in real life.

June 22, 2022

“His performance just felt like it was an opening up,” says McBee. “There’s so much light and kind of joy that comes through. I remember my early transition was such an excruciatingly vulnerable time. I definitely, like many trans people, did not want to be visible in any way in that period. So I thought that was incredibly brave of Elliot.”

Last month, Page wrapped filming on the fourth and final season of the show. After our first meeting in L.A. in April, he flew back to Toronto for his final weeks in production.

“I just feel so much better on set,” Page says, video chatting from his rental apartment during a weekend off. “More centered. More patient. There’s an ability to enjoy the work that I haven’t felt for a very, very long time.”

Page hasn’t acted in any project other than “The Umbrella Academy” since coming out as trans, largely because all of his free time in 2022 was devoted to writing “Pageboy.” But moving forward, he’s open to playing both cisgender male and trans roles — though the latter excites him more.

“I want to play queer characters. Like, why would I not? I’ve been playing all the other ones,” he says, noting that he has two projects lined up in which he’ll portray trans men. “That’s what I want to do. That’s who I am, and we need those stories.”

He’s also trying a new approach to dating. After years of being codependent, Page says he’s joined some dating apps and is resisting the urge to jump into relationships.

“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had dating,” he says. “Interacting with people feels so much easier and more connected, because I’m not feeling lost in myself and not seen in the right way. … In the past, I always had an intense crush or fixated on an ex. Right now, there’s none of that. Like, ‘Whoa, I’m alone, and it feels really good.’”

He is open to getting married again. (His first marriage, to dancer-choreographer Emma Portner, lasted from 2018 to 2021. ) But he doesn’t know if he wants kids — at least not “ones of my own, like, a baby and that whole thing. But in the future, who knows? I’d adopt someone who is older and needs a home and someone to love them.”

Family is a tender spot for Page. After years of resisting her son’s identity, Page’s mother has finally come to accept him. It was almost as if she experienced a sense of relief when Page came out as trans, he says, because she was able to watch him at ease with himself. She still expresses guilt to Page about her past intolerance, but Page says he’s forgiven her. “I think it’s really inspiring that she’s changed and become such an advocate and ally,” he says. “It took her time to break out of the ideas she grew up with.”

His father, however, is a different story. Page declines to speak about their relationship, but in his book, he writes that he and his dad haven’t communicated in 5½ years — and he can’t envision them ever talking again. Much of the strain has to do with the fact that his dad supports “those with massive platforms who have attacked and ridiculed me on a global scale,” Page writes.

“When [right-wing author] Jordan Peterson was let back on Twitter after he’d made a horrific tweet about me, he posted a video, just his head filling the frame. Staring menacingly into the camera, he said, ‘We’ll see who cancels who.’ My dad ‘liked’ it.”

Despite Peterson’s rants about Page daring to share shirtless pictures of himself, Page says he’s feeling more confident than ever in his body. He’s obsessed with “Supernatural,” a virtual reality fitness game that allows users to do cardio or boxing while in a Norwegian fjord or on the surface of Mars. He loves how strong his body has become, and he also likes how it looks. During photo shoots, he used to catch a glimpse of himself in a monitor and start to spiral. Now, he says, his publicist will share some images and his first thought is: “Oh, that’s kind of cool. He’s kinda cute.”

“There was this heavy presence — almost like a ghost — that existed prior to him coming out and now it’s not there,” says Rendall, his longtime friend. “It’s like, ‘Oh, hello. There you are. There you are without all of this unnameable pain.’ It’s beautiful, seeing someone have liberation from that specter unnamed.”

Part of that liberation, Page says, came with writing his memoir. He found the experience cathartic and says it’s helped to heal many relationships in his life. Clark, his editor, believes the book has the ability to bring the transgender struggle to a human-size scale.

“This is an insider view into somebody’s thoughts about what it is like to navigate a society that’s constantly telling all of us who we’re supposed to be — and what the cost is if we are not that person,” says Clark.

Which is not to say that Page is suddenly living some perfect, pain-free life. He is not, as he says, “singing in a meadow” every day. A lot of what dogged him before, including his persistent anxiety, is still part of his makeup. It’s just that now, there’s more space. Room to think about who he can be now that he’s allowed Elliot Page to exist.

When he used to take his rescue dog, Mo, on walks to the park, he was never present, he says. He’d check his watch to see how long he’d been gone. Start thinking about what he wanted for dinner and then decide he shouldn’t eat that. Check his reflection in passing windows to see if he could flatten his chest further.

“Now, you’re walking, and the leaves are so f—ing green,” he says. “The sounds of the birds make you melt. The air on your skin — the beauty just blows you over. You’re fully embracing the sensation of being alive.”

L.A. Times Book Club: Elliot Page

What: Elliot Page will be in conversation with Kate Mara about “Pageboy” at the L.A. Times Book Club .

When: June 8 at 7 p.m. Pacific .

Where: The Montalban Theatre in Hollywood. Get tickets .

Join us: Sign up for the Book Club newsletter for the latest events, books and news.

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Amy Kaufman is a columnist at the Los Angeles Times, where she writes a monthly A-1 column, “For Real With Amy Kaufman.” The series examines the lives of icons, underdogs and rising stars to find out who the people are shaping our culture — for real. Since joining The Times in 2009, she has profiled hundreds of influential figures, including Stevie Nicks, Kevin Hart, Joan Rivers, Michael B. Jordan and Lady Gaga. She also works on investigations and was part of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist team that covered the tragic shooting on the “Rust” film set. Her work often shines a light on the darker side of the entertainment business, and she has uncovered misconduct allegations against Randall Emmett, Russell Simmons and Chris D’Elia. In 2018, her book “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure” became a New York Times bestseller.

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Elliot Page speaks out in 1st interview since announcing he is transgender

"My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through..."

Elliot Page is opening up in his first interview since announcing he is transgender in December 2020.

In a new interview with TIME released Tuesday, the actor discussed his transition, his struggles with identity from an early age and his life now.

Page, known for starring in projects including "Juno" and "The Umbrella Academy," said he felt that he "wanted to be a boy" from as early as 9 years old. "I would ask my mom if I could be someday," he shared, adding that he also did things to modify his physical appearance, like cutting his hair shorter.

MORE: Elliot Page thanks supporters in 1st post since coming out as transgender

As he was breaking into the industry, he found roles where he "had to look a certain way," he said, explaining that he had to wear a wig sometimes for parts.

During his time promoting "Juno," the 2007 film in which he played a pregnant teen, he said he "never recognized" himself, adding, "For a long time I could not even look at a photo of myself."

During that period of his life, he said he was battling with mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, and struggled with "how to explain to people that even though [I was] an actor, just putting on a T-shirt cut for a woman would make me so unwell."

After announcing his transition, Page said he now has "this feeling of true excitement and deep gratitude to have made it to this point in my life … mixed with a lot of fear and anxiety."

He also spoke about why he chose to open up about his transition so publicly.

The Oscar nominee, who came out as gay in 2014, shared a note on Instagram in December in which he stated his name is Elliot, uses the pronouns he/they and is trans.

"I had a lot of time on my own to really focus on things that I think, in so many ways, unconsciously, I was avoiding," he said of his time spent during the COVID-19 pandemic. After seeking out literature from trans writers and drawing courage from trans activists, he said he "was finally able to embrace being transgender and letting myself fully become who I am."

Page said he expected mixed responses to his announcement.

"What I was anticipating was a lot of support and love and a massive amount of hatred and transphobia," which he said he encountered.

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Now, he is devoted to spreading awareness for trans visibility, equality and rights. "My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today ... and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can," he told TIME.

In a report focusing on violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people in 2020, The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation found that at least 44 transgender and gender non-conforming people were killed. This is the highest tally the organization has ever recorded since it started tracking this data in 2013.

Page is using his platform to call out trans discrimination and violence across the U.S.

"Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric—every day you’re seeing our existence debated," he said. "Transgender people are so very real."

MORE: Transgender Day of Remembrance honors lives lost while marking staggering milestone

In response to the TIME interview, GLAAD issued a statement commending Page for using his voice to speak on trans representation and more.

"Not only is Elliot Page a fine actor, he is also an advocate for equality and justice who continues to educate the world about who trans people really are and about why the current barrage of anti-trans bills promoted by fearmongering politicians are so harmful and unnecessary," Nick Adams, GLAAD’s director of transgender representation, said.

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Elliot Page

Who Is Elliot Page?

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1987, Elliot Page got his start in Canadian television before generating buzz for his powerful performance in the 2005 indie thriller Hard Candy . From there, Page went on to star in X-Men: The Last Stand , and his much-heralded role as the teenage star of Juno . Although Juno became one of his best-known roles, he also appeared in several popular films, including Smart People , Inception , Super and X-Men: Days of Future Past , later starring in the domestic drama Freeheld .

Early Life and Career

Actor Elliot Page was born on February 21, 1987, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Page took an interest in theater from a young age. He performed in his first local production in the fifth grade and won Canada's prestigious Gemini nomination for his role in the made-for-television movie Pit Pony in 1997.

The busy actor went on to appear in several Canadian television series, including the Pit Pony spin-off, Trailer Park Boys (2001-02) and ReGenesis (2004), as well as the award-winning film Marion Bridge (2002) .

Though Page was first introduced to American audiences in the Lifetime movie Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), his role in the provocative 2005 indie thriller Hard Candy launched him into the spotlight . His haunting performance as a 14-year-old victim-turned-attacker caught the attention of director Brett Ratner, who cast him as Kitty Pryde in Page's first big-budget feature, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

Even after having filmed the big-budget X-Men film, Page didn't gain international critical acclaim for his acting until he played a pregnant teen in the heralded indie dramedy Juno (2007). His quick wit and hidden vulnerability as the wise yet innocent Juno McGuff earned the young star an Academy Award nomination for his performance.

After appearing in Juno , Page continued his success on film as the star of films like Smart People (2008) and Whip It (2009)—the former film showcased Page as Dennis Quaid's secluded and emotional daughter, while the latter film, directed by Drew Barrymore, put Page in a helmet and knee pads as part of a roller derby league. Sidestepping his usual quirky, comedic roles for something more serious, he starred in Inception alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 2010.

Not long after Inception , Page began participating in a string of voiceover work. He lent his voice to the television series Glenn Martin DDS in 2011 and to the popular cartoons Family Guy and Out There in 2012 and 2013, respectively. He also brought the main character in the video game Beyond: Two Souls to life as the voice actor for protagonist Jodie Holmes. Following his stint as a voiceover actor, Page reprised his role in the film X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

In 2015, Page co-starred with Julianne Moore in Freeheld. The following year he began hosting Gaycation , a travel series exploring LGBTQ cultures around the world, and in 2017 he starred in a remake of the 1990 horror flick Flatliners .

Personal Life

Page publicly came out as gay during a conference in Las Vegas in February 2014. The conference, named Time to THRIVE, was focused on addressing issues within the LGBTQ community.

In January 2018, Page announced his marriage to girlfriend Emma Portner, a dance instructor and choreographer. Posting a photo of their wedding bands on Instagram, the actor wrote, "Can't believe I get to call this extraordinary woman my wife. @emmaportner." They divorced in 2021.

In March 2022, Netflix announced Page's character on 'The Umbrella Academy' would also come out as transgender , mirroring real life.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth Year: 1987
• Birth date: February 21, 1987
• Birth City: Halifax
• Birth Country: Canada
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Canadian actor Elliot Page first gained attention with the film 'Hard Candy,' then garnered accolades as the title character in 'Juno.'
• Astrological Sign: Pisces
• Interesting Facts
• Before filming 'Whip It,' Elliot Page went through a three month training period to do all his own skating and stunts.

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Elliot Page Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/elliot-page
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: April 5, 2022
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
• I'm here today because I am gay. And because... maybe I can make a difference.
• I suffered for years, because I was scared to be out.

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Elliot Page couldn't imagine telling his own story — here's why he's sharing it now

In a q interview, the canadian actor opens up about his new memoir, pageboy.

Social Sharing

When he was 20, Elliot Page became the fourth-youngest person to be nominated for the best actress Oscar for his role in Juno , a film about a young woman facing the decision of what to do about an unplanned pregnancy.

But Page couldn't enjoy the feeling of reaching a major career milestone because he was facing a deep inner struggle.

"In that time after Juno came out, I felt guilty about feeling any negative emotion," Page told Q 's Tom Power in an interview . "I just felt, 'Oh, you're so ungrateful. This is this thing so many people want.' 

"[You're] being told your dreams are coming true all the time when, quite frankly, I was not feeling that way. That was not a celebratory time for me whatsoever, and I was quite miserable."

It took Page years to come out as gay, which he did in a speech at the Human Rights Campaign's 2014 Time to Thrive conference, and then in 2020, he came out as trans in an emotional Instagram post . Now, the Canadian actor has written a memoir, titled Pageboy , that details the fears and obstacles he faced while negotiating his identity in the public eye.

Power noted some irony in the fact that with Juno , and other roles in films like Hard Candy and Whip It , Page had developed a reputation for playing confident and outspoken characters, while in real life, he felt pressured to hide his true self.

My queerness and my transness is a part of what made Juno cool. - Elliot Page

"Particularly in my late teens, in some ways, I really was confident and outspoken," said Page. "I could take the producer of Juno to used clothing stores in Vancouver and be like, 'This is what she's going to wear.' And felt able to communicate those things, at least from a creative standpoint. And then, in so many ways, I feel like that got squashed."

"When that movie became the surprise hit it became, and profitable, all of a sudden, they didn't seem to want the magic that I brought to that character that made that character special.… My queerness and my transness is a part of what made Juno cool. What made that character special and resonate in a new way, particularly with a lot of young audience members, you know? And then in terms of the actual promoting of the film and its success, that was apparently not allowed in that space."

• In Elliot Page's new memoir, Halifax is as much of a main character as Hollywood

Page had been working as an actor since he was 10, but being thrust into Hollywood was a new experience for him that came as a shock. He was shamed, dismissed and told not to be himself — or that if he were to be himself, he would never achieve success.

"I got veered off course in regards to my own personal trajectory and where I needed to get to in my life," he said. "Obviously, I made a choice to go along with it … but it didn't feel like I had that much of a choice though."

"In the moments in my life where I did try to come out on some level, or did try to make the first even tiny little steps to share who I was — whether in personal life with family or in the industry itself — some of the reactions and the feedback I got, understandably, just created this layer upon layer upon layer upon layer of shame and embarrassment that I swallowed, and it lived in my body, and it held me back."

WATCH | Elliot Page's interview with Tom Power:

A very public transition

Pageboy follows a non-linear structure that's intended to reflect the actor's experience of being a queer and trans person.

"I think a lot of people can relate to knowing who you are when you're really young, but not necessarily having the language for it, then getting older, a lot of noise getting in the way, people filling you with ideas and narratives that mislead you from your truth. Getting close, pulling back, getting close, pulling back," he told Power.

What does it mean to transition publicly? It just felt so big. - Elliot Page

He felt it was important to begin the book by exploring the impact the "pressure from the Hollywood machine" had on him after Juno was released, as that's when he became more widely known to audiences. Page said excavating the shame he felt when he was "so, so, so closeted" was cathartic and healing.

"I wanted to start with a period that was in a time when I felt like I was creeping closer to my truth, so to speak," he explained. "Or at least getting to a place where I was no longer going to allow shame to rule my life as much as it had growing up and in my adolescence."

• Commotion Review: Elliot Page's book Pageboy has everything you want out of a celebrity memoir

Around his 30th birthday, Page started to think about what it might mean for him to come out as trans. "That was the first time I, very much to myself and out loud to very few people, but was starting to say, like, 'I'm trans. I think I'm trans,'" he said.

"I allowed that to exist for a moment, and then I shoved that away. A big part of that reason was, well, clearly I wasn't ready, I guess. But also the sense of, 'How is this possible?' Like, just as a known actor, what does that look like? What does it mean to transition publicly? It just felt so big.

"I would kind of constantly talk myself out of it, you know? 'Oh, no, you just need to learn to be more comfortable. You just need to get tighter sports bras. You just need to dress this way. You just need to get this haircut.' And trying all these things because I was struggling to wrap my head around how would that look like? What would that mean? And then, of course, you know, it wasn't for a few more years till I actually made the steps I needed to make to be myself and live my life."

Trans narratives are not a monolith

The opportunity to write a book had come up before in Page's life, but he had never been able to wrap his head around the idea. "I didn't really think it was possible, quite frankly," he told Power.

"I was just so uncomfortable in myself. The thought of even being able to sit down for hours and create was not feasible. Like not a part of my reality at all. And since stepping into my truth, so to speak, and being in a body that feels like my own … the sort of creative energy and force that has come with that [and] through that, has just been kind of, you know, indescribable. Not something that I had imagined in my past. I did struggle to see a future. I did not know what my future would look like."

• Why Elliot Page is speaking out about being trans 'in this climate of such intense hostility'

Ultimately, Page chose to share his story because of the potential it had to help others.

"In this climate we've found ourselves [in], with such extreme anti-trans rhetoric, lies and misinformation about our lives, it felt like an opportunity to grasp," he said. "Having this platform that I have, in knowing how much stories have helped me, have changed my life, have offered me comfort and support. And I felt like by potentially sharing mine, if that could reach anyone and allow them to feel less alone or seen, that felt worth it to me, I suppose."

Still, Page noted that greater visibility for the trans community is complex — while it can bring people comfort to know they're not alone, it can also make those same people a target.

"Backlash comes with visibility, which disproportionately affects, of course, the most marginalized and vulnerable people in the community," said Page. "My life is not reflective of most trans people's experiences. People who disproportionately experience unemployment, experience homelessness, violence, incarceration — particularly Black trans people. And it's important that, you know, my story is not some sort of universalized story for potentially some people who might not be as familiar with the trans community or have not read a lot of the books by trans and queer authors that I most certainly wish people would read."

• Here & Queer Elliot Page has never felt better

Today, instead of contending with shame and guilt, Page wakes up feeling present, embodied and joyful.

"I feel so much joy when I'm hanging out with my trans friends, and we're just together and sharing space and laughing and doing karaoke, you know? Like when I was up here [in Toronto] shooting the fourth season [of The Umbrella Academy ], friends visited and [we'd] go to Canada's Wonderland and go on roller-coasters, and to High Park and wander around for hours and — community. To me, [what's] key right now for joy is community."

The full interview with Elliot Page is available on  our podcast, Q with Tom Power . Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Elliot Page produced by Lise Hosein.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vivian Rashotte is a digital producer, writer and photographer for Q with Tom Power. She's also a visual artist. You can reach her at [email protected].

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Elliot Page Slams ‘Devastating’ Crackdown on LGBTQ Rights at Juno Awards

By Karen Bliss

Karen Bliss

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Elliot Page  criticized Canada’s rollback of LGBTQ rights on the stage of the Juno Awards in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday night.

“If the world was not so hostile to LGBTQ2+ people, we would see ourselves purely as musicians,” Sara Quin told the audience, singling out the Canadian province of Alberta for proposing to restrict health care for transgender youth. “Advocating for our community’s rights is a great privilege and we are dedicated to confronting any form of discrimination that threatens the well-being of our community.”

Page talked with Variety about the duo earlier in the evening on the red carpet of the event, which is Canada’s equivalent of the Grammys. “I remember seeing them play in Halifax at a church nearby in my early 20s, and met them a few years later,” Page said. “They have inspired me throughout my life. They’re who I’ve admired and looked up to. What they’ve done with their foundation is extraordinary and deeply impactful and far-reaching.”

Tegan told Variety that one of the foundation’s key programs is “every summer camp that supports 2SLGBTQ people in North America, we are granting to all of those camps. It’s a hugely important part of the work that we do.” 

The Beaches also secured rock album (“ Blame My Ex”) ; Cardin, pop album; and McRae, best single (“Greedy”). Tobi scored rap album (“ Panic” ) and rap single (“Someone I Knew”); Aysanabee won his pair for songwriter and alternative album (“ Here and Now” ); and Everett was rewarded for his work with Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard in the producer and recording engineer categories.

Cardin had led this year with six nominations, and Caesar and Talk with five apiece.

The Opening Night Awards, as they are officially called, sold-out the 1,300-person, 130-table industry gala dinner at the Halifax Convention Centre, while the Sunday event was open to the public at the 10,500-capacity Scotiabank Centre, hosted by Nelly Furtado.

Only six awards were presented over the performance-filled two-hour broadcast — album, group, breakthrough artist and Tik Tok Fan Choice — including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame Award to Maestro Fresh Wes, who also performed a medley of his hits.

“Run Away To Mars” singer Talk won as breakthrough artist of the year, bringing his mom to tears (as seen on camera).

Maestro’s induction was handled by “Dangerous” rapper and “Canada’s Got Talent” judge Kardinal Offishall who told Variety that Maestro asked him to do the honours last summer after they performed a show together. “It meant a lot, especially for me because, before anybody knew my name, Maestro was my first rap hero.”

Unlike the Grammy’s, Canada’s biggest music awards show moves around to a different host city each year, sometimes landing in cities so small the excitement from the locals is palpable. The Junos have only been held in Halifax once before, back in 2006. The maritime city has a population just over 400,000 and the main events were just a block from each other.

“When we first announced the Junos were going to be coming back here, everybody wanted to come,” said Allan Reid, president and CEO of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS). He also revealed that the trophies this year bear the name Stan Klees on the bottom, honouring the co-founder of the Juno Awards, who passed away in September. Klees’ partner Walt Grealis died in 2004; each year the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award is handed out to a member of the music industry, this year to Halifax’ Chip Sutherland, lawyer, manager and artist champion, whose main client is a Nova Scotia native Feist, who presented the honor to him.

Feist also scooped an award herself that evening, for the  adult alternative album category, for “ Multitudes .”  “The alterative to being an adult, I guess,” she quipped on the red carpet. “I think you just get to be alternative into your adult life.”

The Saturday night performances were reserved for new faces, this year Aqyila, Begonia, Jah’Mila, Lili-Ann De Francesco and Lu Kala.

Elisapie was awarded contemporary indigenous artist or group (Inuktitut); William Prince, who has had quite a breakthrough year, headlining soft-seaters in Canada and making his Grand Ole Opry debut, won contemporary roots album (“ Stand in the Joy” ); Bambii landed electronic album (Infinity Club); and Blond:ish’s “Call My Name” banked underground dance single.

Amanda Marshall’s long-awaited comeback, “ Heavy Lifting” — her first in 23 years — picked up the award for adult contemporary album; Cryptopsy’s “ As Gomorrah” grabbed metal/hard music album; Aqyila’s “ Hello” took home traditional R&B/soul recording; and Joel Wood won traditional indigenous artist or group (“ Sing. Pray. Love” ).

International album of the year — the only award for a non-Canadian — went to SZA for “ SOS .”

Sunday, the main night, is the true “get” because of the national television audience and potential global streaming numbers on all CBC’s platforms.

“Let’s get this party started,” began Furtado after opening the show with a medley of her hits, including her year 2000 breakthrough “I’m Like a Bird” to her recent “Eat Your Man.” The singer has notably returned to the spotlight since she was invited by Drake to perform at his OVO All Canadian North Stars club concert in 2022 and has a new album on the horizon.

After her performance, she threw to a surprise presenter for the first award, retired musical legend and Hall of Famer Anne Murray, the most awarded Juno recipient in its history with 25 statuettes, her first two in 1975. “Seeing that I’m a Nova Scotian who lives just up the street, the producers thought I’d be just the person to welcome you to Halifax. So here I am — and welcome to Halifax,” she said.

Maestro Fresh Wes, the man who paved the way for Drake and every Canadian rapper since he dropped his 1989 debut album, “ Symphony in Effect ,” became the first-ever hip hop artist inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The honor came 33 years after he received the inaugural rap recording Juno.

Long regarded as the “Godfather of Canadian Hip Hop,” Maestro is used to being first. He was the first Canadian Black artist to achieve a gold, then platinum-selling album domestically; had the first gold-selling Canadian rap single with his debut single, “Let Your Backbone Slide,” and was the inaugural winner of the Juno Award for best rap recording (1991).

The only award not voted on by CARAS members — ie. the industry — is TikTok Juno Fan Choice, which was won by Punjabi-Canadian Karan Aujla, beating out nine other worthy names, including the Weeknd and McRae. His music has up more than 100 million streams globally and 3 million on YouTube.

“Sometimes I can’t believe I’m that same kid who lost my parents when I was in India, made my way to Canada, and now I’m here,” he said onstage.

Aujla also performed on the show, along with Ikky. Other performers included Talk, Josh Ross, Cardin, and a moving tribute to the late Gordon Lightfoot, Robbie Robertson and Karl Tremblay of Quebec’s Les Cowboys Fringants by Alexandra Stréliski, Allison Russell, William Prince, Aysanabee Logan Staats, Shawnee Kish and Julian Taylor.

Head here for the full list of winners.

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Elliot Page

Updated by Andrew McIntosh

Published Online December 1, 2020

Last Edited December 1, 2020

Elliot Page (born Ellen Philpotts-Page), actor, activist, producer (born 21 February 1987 in Halifax , NS ). Elliot Page is a serious, soulful and intelligent actor, and one of Canada’s biggest movie stars. A seasoned child performer, Page started out in Canadian feature films and TV series, winning two Gemini Awards by the age of 18. Page’s intense performance in the American indie Hard Candy (2005) led to high-profile roles in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and the indie smash Juno (2007). Juno earned Page an Independent Spirit Award and an Oscar nomination. Adept at quirky comedy ( Whip It , Super ), intimate drama ( Marion Bridge , Mouth to Mouth ) and big-budget blockbusters ( Inception , the X-Men franchise), Page is equally well-known for environmental activism, advocacy for LGBTQ rights and a grounded, socially-conscious persona.

Elliot Page Elliot Page at an event for The IMDb Studio at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Personal Life

Elliot Page was born Ellen Philpotts-Page on 21 February 1987 in Halifax , Nova Scotia . His parents are graphic designer Dennis Page and teacher Martha Philpotts, who divorced when Page was a child. He was known as Ellen Philpotts-Page early in his career, and as Ellen Page from around 2001 until December 2020.

Page came out as a gay woman on Valentine’s Day 2014, at a Human Rights Campaign conference on LGBTQ youth in Las Vegas. Page began identifying as gay around 14 or 15 and came out to their family at 20, but had struggled for years with the effects that coming out might have on their public image and career. At the conference, Page told the attendees that, “I am here today because I am gay… Maybe I can make a difference, to help others have an easier and more hopeful time.… I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered.”

Page’s speech was viewed more than five million times on YouTube. Following that declaration, Page talked about the experience of coming out on such programs as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Good Morning America . Page also spoke openly about a years-long battle with depression and panic attacks. After coming out, Page was named one of the Advocate ’s “40 Under 40” and Out magazine’s Entertainer of the Year.

Page came out as a trans man on 1 December 2020, when he posted a statement to his social media accounts reading, “Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life…. I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. I’ve been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place. I will offer whatever support I can and continue to strive for a more loving and equal society.”

Education and Early Career

Elliot Page studied acting at Halifax ’s Neptune Theatre School. At age 10 he was cast in his first film, Pit Pony (1997), under the name Ellen Philpotts-Page. The TV movie about growing up in a Cape Breton mining town morphed into a CBC series (1999–2001), which earned Page a Gemini Award nomination in 2000.

As a tween and teenager, Page acted steadily in Canadian projects, including Trailer Park Boys (2001–02) and a trio of acclaimed Maritime films: Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s Marion Bridge (2002), which earned Page an ACTRA award; Andrea Dorfman’s Love That Boy (2003); and Daniel MacIvor ’s seriocomic Wilby Wonderful (2004), for which Page received an award from the Atlantic Film Festival. Page won his first Gemini Award in 2004 for the TV movie Mrs. Ashboro’s Cat (2004).

Page then relocated to Toronto and enrolled in Vaughan Road Academy’s Interact program, where his classmates included actor and singer Drake . Page received another Gemini Award in 2005 for best supporting actress in a drama for the first season of the popular sci-fi series ReGenesis . After returning to Halifax, Page graduated from the Shambhala School, a progressive school based on Buddhist principles of mindfulness and awareness.

International Breakthrough

Page could have settled into the relative safety of a television career with forays into moviemaking. But lead roles in Alison Murray’s Mouth to Mouth (2005) and David Slade’s Hard Candy (2005) raised the stakes. In the international co-production Mouth to Mouth , Page played a wandering Goth kid who falls in with anarchist cultists in Europe. In the confrontational American indie Hard Candy , Page offered a smart, scary performance as a 14-year-old girl who uses the Internet to lure a suspected pedophile into a trap. The controversial film earned mixed reviews, but Page’s performance received universal acclaim and led to Page being cast as Kitty Pryde in the blockbuster action movie X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

With his international star on the rise, Page still made time for Canadian projects, including veteran director Bruce McDonald ’s elliptical and semi-experimental The Tracey Fragments (2007) and Kari Skogland’s graceful The Stone Angel (2007), based on the novel by Margaret Laurence .

Juno (2007)

Page then co-starred opposite Michael Cera in Juno (2007) a record-breaking, critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning independent hit. Directed by Montreal -born Jason Reitman from Diablo Cody’s Oscar-winning screenplay, Juno showcased Page as a lovable, quick-witted oddball teenage girl who decides to find the right parents for her unborn baby. Budgeted at US$7 million, the film turned a huge profit, earning US$143 million in North America. It also garnered a number of honours for Page, including an Independent Spirt Award for best lead actress and nominations from the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards and Golden Globes.

In the idiosyncratic comedy, filmed in British Columbia , Page created a screen persona that countered the cultural obsession with glamour. Page’s diminutive body, hoodie-and-sneaker outfits and scrubbed prettiness appeared far removed from dysfunctional celebrity stars of the Twitter generation. (American political pundit Bill Maher described Juno in 2011 as “the anti-Kardashian”). Page created a character who, while childlike, possessed mature verbal skills and projected an aura of confident intelligence. Page displayed a gift for seeming unique yet representatively teenaged at the same time.

Acting Career Highlights

The Oscar-nominated role in Juno elevated Page to A-list status, resulting in such career milestones as an appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair ’s 2008 Hollywood issue and inclusion in Entertainment Weekly ’s “15 to Watch: Hollywood’s Next A-List.” Yet he continued to balance roles in offbeat and independent productions with the occasional blockbuster. Page played the daughter of Dennis Quaid’s dissolute college professor in Smart People (2008); whirled around as a beauty queen turned roller-derby contender in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It (2009); and played a tackily-costumed female sidekick to Rainn Wilson’s caustic wannabe-superhero in the violently eccentric comic book parody Super (2010). Page also co-starred in one of 2010’s biggest box-office hits, Christopher Nolan’s Inception , playing a genius architect who designs dream structures.

Page played a narcissistic seductress in Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love (2012); an unleashed anti-corporate activist in The East (2013); the psychic protagonist in the popular PlayStation 3 video game Beyond Two Souls (2013); and Kitty Pryde in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Page also worked as a spokesperson for Cisco Systems in whimsical commercials shot in Nova Scotia .

Elliot Page Elliot Page at the premiere of Super at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010. (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Other projects included Page’s first two movies as producer: Patricia Rozema ’s post-apocalyptic Into the Forest (2015), co-starring Evan Rachel Wood and Callum Keith Rennie ; and a story especially dear to his heart, Freeheld (2015), in which Page co-stars with Julianne Moore. Based on true events, Freeheld tells the story of a New Jersey police detective (Moore) who is dying of a terminal disease and must fight for the right of her life partner (Page) to receive her pension benefits. In 2016, Page also produced and co-hosted the Vice series Gaycation (2016–17), which explores “what it means to be lesbian, gay, bi or trans all around the world.” It received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program in 2016 and 2017.

Page then played a series of complex, flawed characters in challenging, critically acclaimed dramas. Page and Juno co-star Allison Janney offered a different take on accidental pregnancy in Tallulah (2016), in which Page’s character steals a baby and passes it off as her own to get support from her ex-boyfriend’s mother. In My Days of Mercy (2019), Page plays a woman whose father ( Elias Koteas ) is on death row, yet who falls in love with an advocate for capital punishment . Page also starred in The Cured (2018), a sci-fi drama about society’s attempts to reintegrate former zombies who have been cured of their affliction; Ann Marie Fleming’s award-winning animated film Window Horses (2017); and the Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy (2019–).

A star who has handled the demands of fame with a disarmingly casual poise, Page has used his celebrity to speak out frequently about numerous social and political issues, from his advocacy of Plan B contraception for women to gender stereotyping. A committed environmentalist , Page studied permaculture design at an eco-village near Eugene, Oregon. He also narrated the documentary Vanishing of the Bees (2009) and supports a number of organizations dedicated to sustainability. Page participated in a series of online ads in 2008 to bring attention to human rights abuses in Burma and has also supported the Lunchbox Fund, which provides food to disadvantaged children.

• Outstanding Performance – Female ( Marion Bridge ), ACTRA Maritimes Award (2003)
• Best Performance in a Children’s or Youth Program ( Mrs Ashboro’s Cat ), Gemini Awards (2004)
• Atlantic Canadian Award – Outstanding Performance by an Actor, Female ( Wilby Wonderful ), Atlantic Film Festival (2004)
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series ( ReGenesis ), Gemini Awards (2005)
• Best Actress ( Hard Candy ), Austin Film Critics Association (2005)
• Relationship from Hell ( Hard Candy , shared with Patrick Wilson ), Fangoria Chainsaw Awards (2006)
• Best Actress ( Juno ), Austin Film Critics Association (2007)
• Best Actress ( Juno ), Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2007)
• Best Performance by a Female – Film ( Juno ), Canadian Comedy Awards (2008)
• Canadian Award, Best Actress ( The Tracey Fragments ), Atlantic Film Festival (2007)
• Best Breakthrough Performance ( Juno ), EDA Female Focus Award (2007)
• Breakthrough Actress of the Year, Hollywood Film Awards (2007)
• Best Performance, Female ( Juno , tied with Julie Christie ), Toronto Film Critics Association Awards (2007)
• Best Female Lead ( Juno ), Independent Spirit Awards (2008)
• Best Scared-As-Shit Performance ( Inception ) , MTV Movie Award (2010)
• Best Kiss ( Inception , shared with Joseph Gordon-Levitt ), MTV Movie Award (2010)

• Genie Award
• Canadian actors
• Nova Scotia

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