Groundbreaker Award
Trace Lysette’s career has been breaking new ground for trans artists and storytellers since the very beginning.
After coming up through New York City’s ball scene, she turned her focus toward acting and booked her first on-screen role in a 2013 episode of Law & Order—now considered one of the first instances where a trans performer played a cisgender character on a mainstream TV show.
The following year, she came out to the world as trans through her work on the landmark family drama Transparent, and in the decade since has left her mark on television series like Pose and Drunk History, movies like Hustlers, and the eye-opening documentary Disclosure.
And her most recent project, Monica, just might be her most important work yet. But it was no easy task: Lysette first auditioned for the indie drama as far back as 2016. After getting the part and signing on as an executive producer, she’s fought for it every step of the way, through financing, through scheduling delays, through its historic premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it received an 11-minute standing ovation.
As if there was any question, Lysette’s stunning performance in Monica proves she’s a star—and, a decade into her career, she’s only just getting started. We’re proud of all she has accomplished and to present her with the Groundbreaker Award at the 12th annual Queerties Awards.