Yasmin Finney is just 18 years old, but she’s just skyrocketed in popularity thanks to her role as Elle in Netflix’s Heartstopper, the new LGBTQ+ teen love story currently melting our hearts.
The eight-episode series follows the blossoming love story between ‘gentle’ Charlie and ‘rugby-playing’ Nick in an all-boys grammar school in the UK.
The heartfelt drama is an adaptation of the series of graphic novels of the same name by Alice Oseman, complete with Oseman-style illustrations and animations.
Most of the supporting cast is also comprised of newcomers, though Academy Award winner and national treasure Olivia Colman appears in a recurring role as Sarah Nelson.
Here’s what we know about the rising teen star who plays Elle Argent.
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Who plays Elle in Heartstopper?
Elle Argent is played by Yasmin Finney. Elle is one of Charlie Spring’s best friends from school. Elle is trans, and at the start of the show, we see that she’s moved from Truham Grammar School to Higgs School for Girls.
‘What I love about Elle is her bodacious-ness and unapologetic-ness,’ Yasmin told the Radio Times.
This is Yasmin’s screen debut, but she joined The Sackville Theatre after deciding to pursue a career as an actress. She spent years practicing and performing in popular theatrical productions such as DNA, Port, Antigone, and Page to Stage.
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Last year, it was announced she would be starring in the directorial feature debut from POSE star Billy Porter. She’s also a Tik Tok sensation, with over 290,000 followers and over 12million views on her videos about growing up as a Trans woman in Manchester.
Is Yasmin Finney trans?
Yasmin is a trans actress. ‘Too many times we see cis people playing trans roles and taking away the opportunity and credit. I’m just so happy and thankful Alice saw the Elle in me,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘ It really, really, really is such a rare story that we get a trans character that doesn’t delve into gender dysphoria, or depression, or bullying, but just the positive – the friendship, the chosen family, the moving from an all boys’ school to an all girls’ school.’
‘Just everything that is natural about being trans is highlighted, and I’m just so happy to be that positive representation that we’ve needed for so many years,’ she told PinkNews.
Yasmin already has legions of fans and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
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Heartstopper is available to stream on Netflix now.
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