Yasmin Finney speaks openly about the importance of her role in Heartstopper.
She talks about the importance to have a trans character who is not just exploring the difficulties of being transgender – depression, bullying, dysphoria.
Instead, her character in Heartstopper displays the positives of being transgender, showing everything that is positive and natural about the experience.
Who Is Yasmin Finney?
Yasmin Finney is an actress from Manchester, England. She was born on August 30, 2003. This makes her 18 years old.
Yasmin Finney is initially known for her TikToks which show what its like to grow up as a transgender woman in Manchester.
She has over 290,000 followers from all over the world and her videos have been viewed over 12 million times.
She is one the biggest influencers on TikTok.
Her followers are from all over the world, and she has a fanbase both within the LGBTQ+ community and outside of the community.
This is great for raising awareness and visibility for the transgender cause and experience.
Yasmin Finney’s Rise To Fame
While she was already very popular on TikTok, with over 290,000 followers and millions of views on her videos, her fame skyrocketed when she landed the role of Elle in the Netflix show Heartstopper.
This show came out in April 2022. She started out at The Sackville Theater when she decided that she wanted to become an actress.
She spent many years performing in productions. She has performed for The Waterside Theater and many other different theaters.
If you want to find the TikTok where Yasmin Finney initially found her fame, you should search for her and watch back some of her videos!
Yasmin says that she made TikTok content back then to cheer herself up because her life was very difficult when she was transitioning and during high school.
What Was Yasmin Finney’s Childhood Like?
Yasmin Finney has experienced bullying because of her queer identity. Even before she realized she was trans, she was bullied.
She has discussed the difficulties of her experience.
Specifically, she remembers a time that she almost got expelled from her high school because of the length of her hair.
Yasmin was a star on TikTok before she transitioned, and she documented her experience on the social media platform.
Yasmin claims that if it wasn’t for her TikTok followers, she wouldn’t have known about the role in Heartstopper. She thanks her fans for alerting her to the opportunity.
She was shocked and excited by the chance to play a black transgender girl as they are not commonly represented on British TV.
How Tall Is Yasmin Finney?
Yasmin Finney is reportedly around 5ft 10 inches tall. She is a similar height to her co-star Kit Connor who plays Nick in Heartstopper.
GLAAD Nomination
Yasmin Finney’s efforts and success landed her a nomination for GLAAD.
She was nominated for the ‘20 Under 20 List’ which promotes and celebrates LGBTQ+ individuals who are doing lots for the community.
While she sees her successes, and the success of Heartstopper as a great step, Yasmin Finney thinks it is very important to highlight that high school is not like that for 90 percent of queer students around the world.
It is a fantasy that provides an escape for queer teens, providing them with some hope for the future.
It is not the reality right now, and this is something that she hopes to work on for other queer children.
Finney Advocates For Queer People Playing Roles That Don’t Highlight Their Gender Orientation
Finney talks about the importance of having shows like Heartstopper because it shows a realistic view of what it’s like to live day by day as a trans person.
She looks back to her difficulties during high school and states that it would have meant so much to her to have seen someone like Elle on TV shows when she was growing up.
She is very happy that there is now young, black, queer representation out there on a popular show.
She is happy with this step but she also hopes to see transgender people playing cis roles or roles where their sexuality or gender is not highlighted.
She believes this is the next step to improving representation.
Elle In Heartstopper
Yasmin Finney plays the role of Elle Argent in Heartstopper.
Elle is transgender on the show, however, the series focuses on other aspects of Elle’s life and does not make her identity as transgender the main plot point.
Yasmin talks about how refreshing this is as it is not something that has been seen many times before.
What Else Has Yasmin Finney Been In?
Heartstopper is Yasmin Finney’s debut on-screen role. She has acted on stage during her teenage years, but she didn’t land her TV role until this year.
Since then, Yasmin has gone on to land a role in Doctor Who alongside Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa. She will play a character named Rose.
Filming is currently underway for this role which was announced in May 2022.
It is not known whether her character of Rose will be linked to Rose played by Billie Piper in a previous series. The show will air in 2023.
Yasmin was also cast to play the lead in Billy Porter’s drama ‘What If?, however, she had to pull out of the role because of COVID restrictions last year.
Final Thoughts
So, Yasmin Finney is a young, black, transgender woman who is doing amazing things for the visibility of the young transgender community.
If you want to see her TikTok videos which gained her a brilliant fan base both within the LGBTQ+ community and outside of it, search for her on the platform.
There are many videos out there to watch. You might even catch her goofing around with her Heartstopper co-stars!
Hello, my name is Gay Worlley - no, really - and I love learning about all things queer. I am also a qualified gardener and enjoy traveling in my spare time.
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