Daniela Vega

Daniela Vega is a transgender Chilean actress and singer who made history as the first openly transgender person to present an award at the Academy Awards ceremony (2018). She is best known for starring in Sebastián Lelio's "A Fantastic Woman" ("Una mujer fantástica," 2017), playing Marina Vidal — a trans woman whose grief over her partner's death brings her into conflict with his family. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was the first film with a transgender lead to do so, an unprecedented milestone for trans representation in international cinema. Vega served as a consulting producer on the film, ensuring its portrayal of a trans woman's experience was grounded in lived reality rather than cliché. In Chile, where trans rights remained deeply contested at the time, her visibility and articulacy made her a national figure in the fight for trans legal recognition and dignity. She has continued to act and perform music while remaining one of the most prominent trans advocates in Latin America.