Ivory Aquino

Ivory Aquino is a first-generation immigrant and trans activist. Aquino, alongside Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael K. Williams and Rachel Griffiths, was part of the main cast of Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black's ABC miniseries 'When We Rise', which won the 2018 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Limited Series. Her portrayal of Cecilia Chung earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the 2017 POZ Awards, which spotlight the best representation of HIV/AIDS in media and culture. In an interview with The Frame, Mr. Black described Aquino’s performance as stellar, heartbreaking and inspiring, and called her one of the most brilliant actresses of her generation. Her performance was included in Emmy magazine’s 'In the Mix' as an Emmy contender, as well as in People magazine’s 'One to Watch' and The Hollywood Reporter’s 'Next Big Thing' features.

Additional television credits include HBO's 'High Maintenance', NBC’s 'New Amsterdam' and on Netflix, Ava DuVernay’s 'When They See Us' and the revival of Armistead Maupin's 'Tales of the City'. On the CBS drama 'FBI: Most Wanted' in the episode 'Silkworm' she played Cassie Zheng, the titular Silkworm.

Her feature film credits include: the Netflix film Lingua Franca which premiered at the 2019 Giornate degli Autori, the Venice Film Festival’s independent programming arm, and at the BFI London Film Festival where it was in competition for Best Picture; and Lapsis, which was selected for the Narrative Feature Competition at the 2020 South by Southwest Film Festival. Both films were nominated at the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Aquino made history with the announcement that she had been cast as Alysia Yeoh, best friend of Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl, in the unreleased Batgirl movie, in a milestone casting for Warner Bros.’ DC Films division, with Ivory playing the first openly transgender character in a live-action DC movie, starring alongside Leslie Grace, Oscar nominee Michael Keaton, and Oscar winners Brendan Fraser and J.K. Simmons.

In addition to acting, Aquino is also a singer (having graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music), a dancer (having been part of the Rainbow Tribe Dance Company) and an animal-lover (having the privilege of being human companion to her pup, Chewy-Bear). As a first-generation immigrant, member of the LGBTQIA+ community and trans rights activist, Aquino speaks for dedicates her work to 'anyone who feels different and out-of-place, but is truly special and one-of-a-kind'.