Jake Graf is an English actor, screenwriter, director, and transgender rights activist. Graf specialises in short films dealing with transgender issues in an effort to normalise queer and trans experiences to a wider, more mainstream audience.[1] Many of Graf's films emphasise the daily lived experiences of trans men.
From the age of two, Graf knew that he was different from other kids. As a young child, he was very vocal about his feelings and tried telling anyone who would listen that he was a boy.[2] Graf spent much of his youth "trying my best just to 'pass' as male".[3] He has repeatedly talked about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Graf believed he "was the only person in the world that felt like he did"[4] and did not know trans men existed until he was nearly 16.[3] This lack of representation that he experienced as a young person made him feel "lonely and isolated".[5] He decided to start transitioning in 2008 at the age of 28.[6] With the emotional and financial support of his mother, Graf started hormone treatment.[6]
Career
Graf's first work within the industry was a screenplay dealing with his experiences as a trans man in making a female-to-male transition.[7] In 2015 Graf visited the White House to take part in a Q&A and viewing of the film The Danish Girl with U.S. president Barack Obama.[8] That year, he became the first trans man to appear on the cover of QX magazine and, in the following year, was featured on the covers of GNI, LGBT Weekly, and FTM Magazine.[5] In 2015 Graf was one of 101 people nominated for a Rainbow Award, which recognises prominent LGBT+ people in Britain. The nomination acknowledges Graf's work in raising awareness of trans and queer issues through film.[9] Alongside nominations for his work, Graf has been included in judge positions for festivals and award ceremonies. In 2019 he took a chair in the Iris Prize Jury, an LGBTQ+ film festival.[10] Three years later, Graf also became a judge in the 2022 National Diversity Awards.[11]
Personal life
Graf is married to Hannah Winterbourne. The couple went on a date on 30 December 2015 after being introduced by a mutual friend. After three years of dating and receiving Winterbourne's father's blessing, Graf proposed in New York in September 2017. Their wedding took place on 23 March 2018 at Chelsea Old Town Hall in London.[12] Approximately six years after starting transitioning, Graf decided to have his eggs frozen so that he would have the opportunity to have children in the future. In April 2020, their daughter was born via surrogate.[13] Two years later, the couple announced the birth of their second child in June 2022.[14]
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