Tourmaline

Bio

A Guggenheim Fellow and TIME100 Honoree, Tourmaline is an artist, filmmaker, and national bestselling author whose work spans high art and pop culture.

Tourmaline’s art is in the permanent collections of The Met, MoMA, Tate, and the Whitney, among other museums. Her influence in contemporary art has also been showcased in both the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial. Tourmaline’s award-winning films — including the critically acclaimed Happy Birthday, Marsha!; Salacia; Atlantic is a Sea of Bones; and Mary of Ill Fame — have been widely recognized for their unique blend of historical narrative and speculative futurism. Tourmaline’s commercial film projects have premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards, and she has led the creative for brand campaigns with Fortune 500 companies, such as a film series presented by Unilever on the topic of LGBTQ+ communities in rural America.

Tourmaline’s portfolio also extends to fashion: her trans-inclusive swimwear line with Chromat
debuted at New York Fashion Week with glowing praise from Vogue. The latest collection launched
in April 2025.

Tourmaline’s new book MARSHA (May 2025) is the first definitive biography of the revolutionary
Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. It was named a National Bestseller, received a Starred
Review by Publishers Weekly, and was selected by The New York Times for inclusion in the
Nonfiction Spring Book Preview. Her children’s book ONE DAY IN JUNE (May 2025), also inspired
by Marsha P. Johnson’s life and activism, received a Starred Review by Publishers Weekly.
The recipient of the BlackStar Luminary Award, Stonewall Visionary Award, HBO Queer Art Prize,
and the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel, Tourmaline crafts worlds across a variety of media that center
pleasure, possibility, and transformation. She is a sought-after speaker at institutions like Princeton,
Yale, MoMA, The Met, UC Berkeley, Smith College, and Outfest, and has been frequently featured in
The New York Times, Vogue, Artforum, and TIME Magazine. A former leader of the Trans Health
Campaign at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Tourmaline has built a career rooted in community
organizing and trans liberation, and is a transformative voice in movements for racial, economic, and
gender justice.

Tourmaline is a graduate of Columbia University and lives in Miami with her partner Cameron and
their cat Jean.