Nicole Maines
{{short description|American actress and transgender rights activist (born 1997)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Nicole-maines-at-cw-network-s-fall-launch-in-burbank-10-14-2018-9.jpg
| caption = Maines in 2019
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1997}}
| birth_place = Gloversville, New York, U.S.{{cite book |last=Nutt|first=Amy Ellis|title=Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family |year=2016|location=USA |publisher=Random House|page=14|isbn=9780812995435 }}
| education =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|activist{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pride50-nicole-maines-tv-s-first-transgender-superhero-n1007996|title=#Pride50: Nicole Maines — TV's first transgender superhero|website=NBC News|date=June 3, 2019 }}}}
| years_active = {{hlist|2015–present}}
| known_for = {{ublist|Susan Doe in Maine Supreme Court case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26|Supergirl}}
}}
Nicole Amber Maines (born 1997) is an American actress, writer, and transgender rights activist.{{Cite web|url=https://www.shape.com/celebrities/interviews/nicole-maines-transgender-activist-supergirl|title=Nicole Maines Shares Her Story About Coming Out As Transgender|website=Shape|access-date=January 23, 2020|archive-date=June 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607232606/https://www.shape.com/celebrities/interviews/nicole-maines-transgender-activist-supergirl|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.conwaydailysun.com/things_to_do/movies/being-nicole-transgender-activist-supergirl-star-subject-of-one-book/article_3b53d166-e559-11e9-95e6-eb7753258138.html|title=Being Nicole: Transgender activist, 'Supergirl' star subject of One Book One Valley community read|first=Alec|last=Kerr|website=The Conway Daily Sun|date=October 3, 2019 }} Prior to her acting career, she was the anonymous plaintiff in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26, in which she argued her school district could not deny her access to the female bathroom for being transgender.{{cite news |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/actress-and-activist-nicole-maines-will-be-tvs-first-transgender-superhero |title=Actress and Activist Nicole Maines Will Be TV's First Transgender Superhero |last=Lopez |first=Julyssa |work=Glamour |access-date=July 22, 2018}} The court ruled in 2014 that barring transgender students from the school bathroom consistent with their gender identity is unlawful, the first such ruling by a state court.
As an actress, Maines played Nia Nal on The CW superhero series Supergirl (2018–2021) in the fourth through sixth seasons. She is the first to portray a transgender superhero on television. She currently plays the recurring role of Lisa in the second season of Yellowjackets (2023{{ndash}}present).
Early life and education
Maines and her brother Jonas were adopted at birth as identical twins by Kelly and Wayne Maines in 1997; one of their biological parents was Kelly's second cousin.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/10/19/becoming-nicole/ |title=They were born identical twin boys, but one always felt he was a girl |last=Ellis Nutt |first=Amy |date=October 19, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 23, 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/books/review/becoming-nicole-by-amy-ellis-nutt.html|title='Becoming Nicole,' by Amy Ellis Nutt|last=Miller|first=Lisa|work=The New York Times|date=November 6, 2015 |access-date=July 23, 2018}} Though they spent their early years in Gloversville, New York, they grew up in Portland, Maine. Maines was assigned male at birth and started showing signs of gender variance at a young age; when she was two years old, Maines reportedly asked her mother questions like "When do I get to be a girl?" and "When will my penis fall off?" She preferred playing with toys intended for girls and identified with female characters in cartoons and movies.{{Cite web|title=Nicole & Jonas Maines {{!}} Americans Who Tell The Truth|url=https://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/nicole-jonas-maines|access-date=2021-11-28|website=www.americanswhotellthetruth.org}} Maines herself said she knew she was not a boy as young as three years oldEllen, 9 October 2018. and started explicitly telling her family who she was by the age of four. Her brother, Jonas, accepted her gender identity from a young age. While the two were still in elementary school, Jonas reportedly told their father, "Face it, Dad, you have a son and a daughter."
Maines says she chose the name Nicole (Nikki for short) after the character Nicole Bristow, one of Zoey's sidekicks on the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/im-nicole-incredibly-happy-born-identical-twin-boys/story?id=34526553|title=How identical twin boys became brother and sister|date=October 19, 2015|website=ABC News|access-date=July 23, 2018}} She initially wanted to be called Quinn from the same show, but she kept making spelling errors when writing the name, so she settled on Nicole. She chose her middle name, Amber, just because she liked how it sounded. Maines did not officially change her name until later because of the Maine law that any name change must be announced in the newspaper, and she and her family wanted to keep her identity private for her safety. The judge accepted their petition to the name change law, meaning that Nicole was exempt from having to publish her name change in a newspaper. A few days later, she officially became Nicole Amber Maines.
In July 2015, Maines had gender-affirming surgery in Philadelphia, a month after graduating from high school.
Maines attended high school at Portland, Maine's Waynflete School, and attended the University of Maine alongside her brother Jonas. However, according to her father, Maines chose not to return in the fall of 2018 in order to pursue acting.{{cite web |last1=Routhier |first1=Ray |title=Nicole Maines, who played big role in fight for transgender rights, will star in vampire flick |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2018/07/10/nicole-maines-whose-family-won-a-maine-court-case-over-transgender-rights-will-star-in-vampire-flick/ |website=Press Herald |access-date=July 23, 2018 |date=July 12, 2018}}
Maines was popularized by the 2015 book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Washington Post writer Amy Ellis Nutt which tells the story of her family coming to terms with her gender identity. Many articles about the Maines family were published, many focusing on how one identical twin can be transgender and one can be cisgender. Soon after Donald Trump's second inauguration as President of the United States in 2025, Becoming Nicole was included in a list of books banned from schools operated by the Department of Defense for the education of students of U.S. military personnel.{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/07/defense-department-hegseth-books-schools/ | title=Trump DEI crackdown targets books in Pentagon schools | newspaper=The Washington Post | author=Lamothe, Dan | date=February 7, 2025 | access-date=February 19, 2025}}
= ''Doe v. Regional School Unit 26'' =
{{main|Doe v. Regional School Unit 26}}
Maines used the name Susan Doe in the landmark case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26, which is also referred to as Doe v. Clenchy. In 2007, when Maines was in 5th grade in elementary school at Asa Adams Elementary School in Orono, Maine, the grandfather of a male classmate complained about Maines using the girls' bathroom.{{Cite web|last=Harrison|first=Judy|date=2014-01-30|title=Maine Supreme Court rules in favor of transgender girl in Orono school bathroom case|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/30/news/bangor/maine-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-transgender-girl-in-orono-school-bathroom-case/|access-date=2021-11-28|website=Bangor Daily News|language=en-US}} Following that incident, she was barred from using the female bathroom and forced to use the staff bathroom. With the help of the Maine Human Rights Commission, Maines and her family filed a complaint against the Orono school district, which is now called RSU 26, claiming the school was discriminating against her. The school district did not take any action to address the complaint, so the family filed a lawsuit against the district. The case eventually made its way up to the state Supreme Court in Bangor,{{Cite news|title=Rotten Tomatoes: Movies {{!}} TV Shows {{!}} Movie Trailers {{!}} Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicole_maines|access-date=2021-11-28|newspaper=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en}} and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders of Boston represented Maines and her family. The oral arguments were mainly focused on the tension between a law passed in the 1920s that requires gender-segregated bathrooms and a 2005 provision in the Maine Human Rights Act that prohibits sexual orientation-based discrimination.
In June 2014, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled 5–1 that the school district violated the state's Human Rights Act, and prohibited the district from barring transgender students access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Maines and her family were provided compensation of $75,000 following the discrimination lawsuit.{{cite court |litigants= JOHN DOE et al. v. REGIONAL SCHOOL UNIT 26 |vol= |reporter= |opinion= |pinpoint= |court=Maine Supreme Judicial Court |date=January 30, 2014 |url=https://www.glad.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/doe-v-clenchy-decision-1-30-14.pdf |access-date=July 22, 2018 |quote=}}{{cite news |url=https://time.com/3615599/transgender-student-restroom-lawsuit-maine/ |title=Transgender Teen Awarded $75,000 in Lawsuit |last=Stout |first=David |date=December 3, 2014 |magazine=Time |access-date=July 23, 2018}}{{cite news | first = Eric | last = Russell| date = October 15, 2015 | website = Press Herald | title = With release of new book, transgender Maine teen finds her voice| url = https://www.pressherald.com/2015/10/18/with-release-of-new-book-transgendered-maine-teen-finds-her-voice/}} It was the first time in the nation that a court ruled it unlawful to force a transgender student to use the bathroom associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and the first time Maine's Supreme Court interpreted amendments to the Maine Human Rights Act as prohibiting sexual orientation based discrimination.
Career
File:Nicole Maines by Gage Skidmore.jpg]]
In 2015, Maines and her family were the subject of Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, a book by Washington Post writer Amy Ellis Nutt. It chronicles the family coming to terms with Maines' being transgender.{{Cite news |url=http://bangordailynews.com/2016/03/25/news/bangor/pulitzer-prize-winning-writer-talks-about-becoming-nicole-at-bangor-library/ |title=Pulitzer-winning writer discusses book about transgender Maine teen Nicole Maines |work=Bangor Daily News |access-date=July 23, 2018}} In June 2015, Maines appeared on the USA Network show Royal Pains as a transgender teen whose hormones might be endangering her health.{{Cite news|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/667191/nicole-maines-to-guest-star-on-royal-pains-special-transgender-episode|title=Royal Pains Books Nicole Maines for Transgender Episode|date=June 17, 2015|work=E! Online|access-date=July 23, 2018}} In 2016, Maines was one of 11 individuals featured in an HBO documentary titled The Trans List. In the documentary, Maines and several other people relate their personal stories of being transgender.{{Cite news|url=https://www.centralmaine.com/2016/12/05/umaine-student-nicole-maines-shares-her-story-in-hbos-the-trans-list/|title=UMaine student Nicole Maines shares her story in HBO's 'The Trans List'|date=December 5, 2016|work=Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel|access-date=July 23, 2018|language=en-US}}
In July 2018, it was announced that Maines would appear as a series regular in the fourth season of The CW series Supergirl.{{Cite web |date=2020-06-05 |title=Supergirl star reveals why she struggled to play Dreamer at first |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a32779129/supergirl-nicole-maines-dreamer-struggle/ |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}} She appeared as Nia Nal, a distant relative of Legion member Dream Girl, and played the first transgender superhero on television. Her character is described as a "soulful woman with a fierce drive to protect others". The character is a reporter whom Kara takes under her wing.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2018/07/22/nicole-maines-to-have-recurring-role-as-transgender-superhero-on-supergirl/|title=Nicole Maines lands transgender superhero role on network TV series|last=Hoey|first=Dennis|date=July 22, 2018|work=Press Herald|access-date=July 23, 2018}} She would remain on the series until its end in November 2021, and reprise the role in a final season episode of The Flash in 2023.
In 2019, Maines starred in Bit, a horror movie about queer female vampires, winning the top acting prize at the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival.{{Cite web|date=2019-07-29|title=Nicole Maines's Outfest Award Is a Win for Trans and Horror Films|url=https://www.advocate.com/film/2019/7/29/nicole-mainess-outfest-award-win-trans-and-horror-films|access-date=2020-08-10|website=www.advocate.com|language=en}}
Maines penned the comic book debut of her character from Supergirl, Nia Nal/Dreamer, for DC Pride #1 in 2021. It was announced that she would also pen a solo series on Dreamer in 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://comicbook.com/dc/news/dc-new-dreamer-graphic-novel-supergirl-star-nicole-maines/|title=DC Announces New Dreamer Graphic Novel From Supergirl Star Nicole Maines|last=Anderson|first=Jenna|date=June 2, 2022|website=ComicBook.com|access-date=December 2, 2022}} She co-wrote the script for Dreamer's debut in the comic Superman: Son of Kal-El as well, which was released on July 12, 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/dreamer-makes-her-mainstream-dc-universe-debut-in-superman-son-of-kal-el-13/|title=Dreamer makes her mainstream DC Universe debut in Superman: Son of Kal-El #13|last=Marston|first=George|date=July 8, 2022|website=Gamesradar.com|access-date=December 2, 2022}}
In 2023, Maines was cast as Lisa in a recurring role in season two of the Showtime series Yellowjackets.{{Cite web |last=Wratten |first=Marcus |date=2023-04-24 |title=Yellowjackets star Nicole Maines explains why trans visibility is so 'radical' |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/04/24/yellowjackets-nicole-maines-trans-representation/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=PinkNews |language=en-US}} Her character is an associate of adult Lottie who is trying to recover from past traumas.
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
| 2016
| rowspan="2" |Herself | rowspan="2" |Documentary |
| 2017
|Not Your Skin |
| 2019
|Bit |Laurel | |
| 2022
|Piper |{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=March 3, 2022 |title=20th Century Studios' Darby Harper Wants You To Know Adds Wayne Knight & Nicole Maines |url=https://deadline.com/2022/03/darby-harper-wants-you-to-know-adds-wayne-knight-nicole-maines-1234969926/ |access-date=March 10, 2022 |website=Deadline Hollywood}} |
= Television =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2015
| Anna | Episode: "The Prince of Nucleotides" |
| 2018–2021
| rowspan=2| Nia Nal / Dreamer | Main cast (Seasons 4–6); 61 episodes |
| 2020
| Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five" |
| 2022
| Liza Davis | 4 episodes |
| 2023–2025
| Lisa | Recurring role |
| rowspan="2" | 2023
| Nia Nal / Dreamer | Episode: "Wildest Dreams"{{Cite web|title=Nicole Maines Brings Supergirl 's Dreamer to The Flash|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/nicole-maines-brings-supergirls-dreamer-to-the-flash/ar-AA15eyey|access-date=December 13, 2022|website=MSN}} |
| Soul of a Nation
| Herself | Episode: "The Freedom to Exist with Elliot Page - A Soul of a Nation Presentation"{{Cite web|date=June 6, 2023|title=SOUL OF A NATION: THE FREEDOM TO EXIST WITH ELLIOT PAGE|url=https://www.tvinsider.com/show/soul-of-a-nation-the-freedom-to-exist-with-elliot-page/|access-date=June 7, 2023|website=TV Insider}} |
| 2025
| White Natasha | Episode: "Mess and Magic" |
= Video games =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2021
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege | Osa |
Bibliography
=DC Comics=
- DC Pride
- "Date Night" short story (with Rachael Stott, June 8, 2021){{cite web |last1=Rude |first1=May |title=DC Comics Previews 'DC Pride #1" Art, Includes 'Be Gay, Do Crimes' Story |url=https://www.out.com/pride/2021/5/07/dc-comics-previews-dc-pride-1-art-includes-be-gay-do-crimes-story |magazine=Out |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508000003/https://www.out.com/pride/2021/5/07/dc-comics-previews-dc-pride-1-art-includes-be-gay-do-crimes-story |archive-date=May 8, 2021 |date=May 7, 2021 |url-status=live}}
- Foreword (June 14, 2022){{Cite web |title=DC Comics' 2022 Pride Anthology Gets a Boost From the Best Batman Ever |url=https://gizmodo.com/dc-pride-anthology-2022-kevin-conroy-batman-lgbtq-1848788702 |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=Gizmodo |date=13 April 2022 |language=en-us}}
- "Bad Dream" preview (May 30, 2023)
- Superman: Son of Kal-El #13 (with Tom Taylor and Clayton Henry, July 12, 2022){{Cite web |last=Aguilar|first=Matthew|date=2022-04-14|title=Dreamer Makes DC Comics Universe Debut|url=https://comicbook.com/dc/news/dreamer-makes-dc-comics-universe-debut-superman-supergirl/|access-date=2022-04-14 |website=ComicBook.com|language=en-US}}
- Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1: "Gone Dark" (with Skylar Patridge, January 17, 2023){{Cite web |last=Doran|first=Michael |date=2022-10-21 |title=All of DC's January 2023 comics and covers revealed|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-comics-january-2023-solicitations-covers/|access-date=2022-10-21 |website=GamesRadar+|language=en-US}}
- Harley Quinn #30: "Everybody Hates Side Quests" (with Mindy Lee, May 23, 2023){{Cite web |title=Harley Quinn #30 Reviews |url=https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comic/4211819/harley-quinn-30 |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=League of Comic Geeks}}
- Titans: Beast World Tour - Metropolis #1: "Primal Pain" (with Steve Orlando and Fico Ossio, December 5, 2023){{Cite web |title=Titans: Beast World Tour - Metropolis #1 Reviews |url=https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comic/4783016/titans-beast-world-tour-metropolis-1 |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=League of Comic Geeks}}
- Action Comics #1060: "Squad Dreams" (with Steve Orlando and Fico Ossio, December 12, 2023){{Cite web |title=Action Comics #1060 Reviews |url=https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comic/7869752/action-comics-1060 |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=League of Comic Geeks}}
- Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1–4 (with Eddy Barrows, 2024){{Cite web |last=Schedeen |first=Jesse |date=2023-12-13 |title=Supergirl's Nicole Maines to Write Suicide Squad: Dream Team at DC |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/supergirl-nicole-maines-suicide-squad-dream-team-dc |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=IGN |language=en}}
- Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story (with Rye Hickman, April 2, 2024){{Cite web |last=Schedeen |first=Jesse |date=2023-03-14 |title=Supergirl's Nicole Maines Reveals Dreamer's Secret Origin in New Graphic Novel |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/supergirl-nicole-maines-dreamer-graphic-novel-bad-dream |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=IGN |language=en}}
- Secret Six #1–6 (with Stephen Segovia, 2025-present){{cite web|url=https://www.dc.com/blog/2025/03/04/flirting-with-villainy-nicole-maines-brings-back-secret-six|title=Flirting with Villainy: Nicole Maines Brings Back "Secret Six"|first=Tim|last=Beedle|website=DC Comics|date=March 4, 2025|accessdate=March 27, 2025|archive-date=March 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313010443/https://www.dc.com/blog/2025/03/04/flirting-with-villainy-nicole-maines-brings-back-secret-six|url-status=live}}
Awards
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{Twitter}}
- [https://aeispeakers.com/speakers/nicole-maines/ Biography] at AEI Speakers
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maines, Nicole}}
Category:Activists from New York (state)
Category:Activists from Portland, Maine
Category:Actresses from New York (state)
Category:Actresses from Portland, Maine
Category:American comics writers
Category:American television actresses
Category:American transgender actresses
Category:American transgender writers
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Identical twin actresses
Category:LGBTQ people from Maine
Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Category:People from Gloversville, New York
Category:Transgender history in the United States
Category:Transgender rights activists
Category:University of Maine alumni
Category:Waynflete School alumni