Tourmaline

Bio

A Guggenheim Fellow and TIME100 Honoree, Tourmaline is an artist, filmmaker, and writer. Tourmaline’s history-making book MARSHA (May 2025) is the first definitive biography of the revolutionary Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. It has received a Starred Review by Publishers Weekly, was selected by The New York Times for the Nonfiction Spring Book Preview, and is already a national bestseller.

Tourmaline’s art is in the permanent collections of The Met, MoMA, Tate, and the Whitney. Her influence in contemporary art has also been showcased in the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial. Tourmaline’s award-winning films—including the critically acclaimed Happy Birthday, Marsha!—have been widely recognized for their unique blend of historical narrative and speculative futurism.

Tourmaline’s portfolio extends to fashion: her trans-inclusive swimwear line with Chromat debuted at New York Fashion Week. A former leader of the Trans Health Campaign at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Tourmaline has built a career rooted in community organizing and trans liberation, and is a transformative voice in movements for racial, economic, and gender justice.