Harmony Santana

Harmony Santana is a transgender actress born in the Bronx in 1991, known for Gun Hill Road (2011), in which she played a transgender teenage girl navigating her transition and her relationship with her recently released, formerly incarcerated father. Her performance earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female at the 2012 ceremony, making her the first openly transgender performer nominated for a major U.S. acting award. She has been openly trans throughout her career, and her work in Gun Hill Road was widely praised for its naturalistic, deeply felt portrayal of a young trans woman finding her footing in the Bronx. Santana's nomination remains a milestone frequently cited in discussions of transgender representation in American independent film.