Qween Jean Makes History as First Openly Transgender Tony Winner

Qween Jean is the cat’s meow! The Cats: The Jellicle Ball costume designer is the first openly transgender person to win a Tony Award in the 79-year history of the honors. She was also nominated this year for her work on Liberation. This marks her first Tony win and first Tony nominations.

The victory marks a milestone for transgender representation at the Tony Awards. In 2022, L Morgan Lee became the first openly transgender performer nominated for a Tony Award for her role as Thought 1 in A Strange Loop.

"This experience has been monumental," Qween Jean said in her acceptance speech. "We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people. We are taking up space! We have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm."

She designed her own gown for the ceremony as well as 2026 Tony-nominated Liberation director Whitney White's look.

Although Liberation marked Qween Jean's Broadway debut, the designer has built an extensive resume in off-Broadway theater. She won a Lucille Lortel Award earlier this year for her work on New York Theatre Workshop’s Saturday Church. Her other credits include Angry Alan, Wedding Band, soft, Corsicana, Black No More, Semblance, What to Send Up When It Goes Down and The Fever.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the Ballroom-inspired reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, was nominated for nine Tony Awards in 2026.

Get tickets to Cats: The Jellicle Ball!