'Glamorous' Star Miss Benny Comes Out as Trans

Miss Benny, who stars opposite Kim Cattrall in the new Netflix comedy "Glamorous," came out as transgender in a moving essay, written ahead of the show's premiere, that recounts her home-schooled Christian roots as a child growing up in Texas, and her early struggles.

"The gap is quickly closing between now and June 22," the actor wrote in the essay, which was published in Time Magazine, "the day that my television series 'Glamorous' will come out on Netflix.

"And along with it, I too will come out as the transgender woman I've been privately living as for the last few years."

"By 8 years old, I was praying every night to wake up and somehow be like my sisters," CNN quoted from the essay. "In the morning I would wake up in the same body, and cry" – an early life experience that many transgender people could identify with.

"Over time I became highly aware of how unwelcome LGBT topics would be in my hometown," the actor continued. "And so I kept my head down and looked for an immediate escape."

Eventually, CNN reported, "she moved to Los Angeles to 'establish my own identity, and, hopefully, make a career as an actor.'"

"But, instead, she was met with rejection, she said, because it 'wasn't time for someone like me.'"

That time has arrived with "Glamorous." Miss Benny described the moment she heard about the part of Marco: "My manager told me, 'There's this show in development called "Glamorous" and the producers have you in mind for it.' The show was a coming-of-age comedy about a gender-nonconforming queer Latino makeup fanatic."

Miss Benny talks about arriving at the interview prepared for "the usual rejection," only for things to take a different turn.

"But this time, I was met with the encouragement to be myself and let my full femininity shine," she wrote. "This was the first time in my life somebody looked at me and said, 'Yes, it's time for you.'"

Between the time the pilot was filmed and Netflix – which was not the originally intended outlet for the show – picked up the series, Miss Benny had decided to move forward with a personal matter.

"I privately transitioned in my day-to-day life," she said in her essay. "And now, I too can breathe and enjoy my life the same way everyone else does."

"Glamorous" features Miss Benny as Marco, an influencer who posts makeup tutorials on YouTube and becomes an assistant to Cattrall's character, Madolyn Addison, the CEO of a major makeup company who's looking to freshen the firm's image.

The series is unapologetic about its main character's look and persona, even making a story point about Marco's boyfriend being bothered that Marco is "femme." The show features a number of other queer major characters in addition to Marco, including Madolyn's hunky son Chad (Zane Phillips), who becomes a workplace rival out of jealousy, and Ben (Michael Hsu Rosen), an adorable designer who represents the prospect of an office romance.

Behind the scenes, too, acceptance was the order of the day.

"Netflix came onboard" to Miss Benny's suggestion that Marco transition on the show, just as she was transitioning in real life. In the first season's final episode, Marco goes in for a consult on gender affirmation care.

Netflix was so supportive, Miss Benny wrote, that "the only concern was ever about my own personal comfort and, funnily, whether or not the pitch of my voice would change over the course of filming (lol!)."

Miss Benny's essay went on to note the difference between the accepting world of "Glamorous" and the real world's increasingly hostile political rhetoric.

"In the year since we shot the series, the political space – and specifically the anti-trans movement – has been so overwhelming. I've started to feel a sense of, 'Wow, this show is going to come out, and with that, I too will be coming out. I don't know if I'm ready to be this vulnerable,'" Miss Benny disclosed.

"But then I am reminded that this fear is exactly why I wanted to include my transition in the show: Because I know that when I was a terrified queer kid in Texas, it was the queer joy I found in droplets online that guided me to my happiness. And if someone like me is out there feeling the weight of being othered, I want them to have a place they can see someone like us thrive and be celebrated."