Among many things, Ivory Aquino is a transgender herself and the niece of a former Philippine president.
Hollywood is adding more LGBTQIA+ representation with the announcement of Batgirl’s newest cast member, Ivory Aquino, who will be playing the first transgender character in a DC Comics franchise.
Her casting was leaked earlier this month by her costar Leslie Grace, who is playing Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl. However, the studio only officially announced it on Monday, January 24.
Aquino’s character, Alysia Yeoh is “Barbara’s best friend, bartender” and one of the first major contemporary trans characters in mainstream comic book history first appearing in 2011.
Both Aquino and Yeoh are openly transgender.
Aquino was born and raised in the Philippines and is the niece of former President Corazon Aquino.
Despite being a new actor, Aquino has appeared on television, previously appearing in FBI: Most Wanted, New Amsterdam, Lingua Franca, Tales of the City, among others.
She is most recognized for her role as Cecilia Chung in the 2017 miniseries When We Rise about the history of LGBT rights advocacy in the US.
The HBO Max-exclusive film Batgirl has been in production since 2017 but filming only began in November 2021 with the plot being highly confidential.
The film is set to premiere later this year with returning characters Michael Keaton as Batman, JK Simmons as James Gordon, and the villain Firefly to be played by Brendan Fraser.
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