Assigned male at birth, Indya Moore is a Bronx native of Haitian, Puerto Rican, and Dominican ancestry.[8] At the age of 14, they left their parents' home due to their parents' transphobia, and entered into foster care.[9] They moved around frequently during this time, eventually living in all five boroughs of New York City. After being frequently bullied, Moore dropped out of high school during their sophomore year.[10] They began working as a model at the age of 15, and eventually earned their General Equivalency Diploma (GED).[10][11]
Career
Early work
Moore became a model at the age of 15, and began working shoots for Dior and Gucci, despite the fashion industry's initial treatment of them as a risky choice.[10]
Although Moore was booking modeling gigs, they became increasingly disenchanted with the fashion industry and its emphasis on body image. Moore met ballroom dancer Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza while doing background for the television series The Get Down. He encouraged them to pursue acting and sent Moore to an audition for the independent film Saturday Church.[10] Moore landed the role of Dijon, and the film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.[12]The Hollywood Reporter called it "sweet and soulful".[13] The film was later released on January 12, 2018, by Samuel Goldwyn Films.[14]
The series premiered on June 3, 2018.[22][23] The first season boasted the largest cast of transgender actors ever for a scripted network series with over 50 transgender characters.[19][24] On July 12, 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which premiered on June 11, 2019.[25]
Present projects
In 2018, Moore signed a contract with IMG Models and William Morris Endeavor (WME). Moore was WME's first signed contract with a trans actor.[26] Moore also started the production company Beetlefruit Media, which provides a platform for stories about disenfranchised groups.[27]
Moore has appeared in J.View's 2017 "Don't Pull Away" music video, and in Blood Orange's 2018 "Saint" video.[28]
In May 2019, Moore became the first transgender person to be featured on the cover of the U.S. version of Elle magazine.[29]
Moore had been cast in the psychological thriller film Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, the sequel to the 2019 film Escape Room. The film was released on July 16, 2021.[33]
In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named Moore among the fifty people "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".[34][35]
Moore will appear in the upcoming horror television series, Magic Hour, a gender-bending recreation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, directed by Che Grayson and filmed in Tokyo, on which they also serve as an executive producer.[21][38] Moore is set to appear in the short film Spot.[39] They will appear in the second season of The Sandman.[40]
Personal life
Moore is transgender[41] and non-binary[5][6] and goes by they/them and she/her pronouns.[7] Moore has spoken openly about their lifelong struggles with the bullying and transphobia that caused them to leave home at 14 and drop out of school in the 10th grade.[9]
In an interview with Pose co-star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Moore discussed how, despite identifying as non-binary, being seen as a woman means they are still subjected to the same "surveillance and scrutiny" as women, and to a desire to use fashion to take back that power:[5]
MOORE: I feel like that about fashion. I feel like that about us having the autonomy to express ourselves. I'm non-binary but I don't really talk about it that much. I don't feel like people really are there yet for understanding it, which I don't mind, but I also acknowledge the way people see me as a woman. And because I'm seen as a woman, a cis woman or binary presenting, people are going to hold me up to those same standards that women are held up to.
RODRIGUEZ: Which you're saying you shouldn't be, right?
^Steve Loter [@steveloter] (February 11, 2023). "yes" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
^Steve Loter [@steveloter] (February 11, 2023). "Brooklyn!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
