‘Star Wars’ Actress Comes out as Queer: Kelly Marie Tran Opens Up

Kelly Marie Tran is living in her truth. The Star Wars actress spoke with Vanity Fair where she opened up about her sexuality. She says her role in the remake of Ang Lee’s queer romantic comedy The Wedding Banquet, inspired her to come out publicly. “I haven’t said this publicly yet, but I’m a queer person,” she shared.

In the film, Tran stars as Angela, a woman trying to have a baby through IVF with her girlfriend Lee. Their best friends, Chris and Min, live in their guest home. Min, under pressure to return to his native Korea for family business, conspires with Angela to have a fake wedding so Min can secure a green card and Angela could raise funds for IVF treatment, while also making their families back home happy.

Tran says she’s thrilled about the film. “The thing that really excited me about it was I got to play a person that I felt like I knew. I don’t feel like I’m acting at all in this movie,” she said. “I’m here doing this amazing movie with these amazing people. I’ve never been in a queer space before. I’ve never truly felt this accepted before.”

She shares that there are many similar experiences between herself and her character in the movie. “I came out to my mom in a very specific experience. The scenes that I have with Joan Chen in this movie are very similar to the experience that I had,” she explained.

Tran has used her platform to fight for LGBTQ+ inclusion. She made headlines when she revealed that she believes her character in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon is queer and that she would be “overjoyed” to do a queer sequel. “I think if you’re a person watching this movie and you see representation in a way that feels really real and authentic to you, then it is real and authentic,” Tran told Vanity Fair in 2021. “I think it might get me in trouble for saying that, but whatever.”