Five times Olivia Colman proved she’s an amazing LGBTQ+ ally
Olivia Colman (2nd Right) attends the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards held at the Theatre Royal (Getty)
Olivia Colman (2nd Right) attends the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards held at the Theatre Royal (Getty)
Happy birthday Olivia Colman! The Oscar-winning Heartstopper star turns 52 today (30 January), and to mark the occasion, we thought it would be a good time to highlight her inspiring LGBTQ+ allyship over the years.
Olivia Colman first rose to fame in cult comedy Peep Show (2003-2015), but her major breakthrough came with the hit drama series Broadchurch (2013-2017), where she starred alongside David Tennant.
Since then, her career has gone from strength to strength, racking up awards along the way. She won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite (2018) and her acclaimed performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown bagged her both a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
But despite her ever-increasing fame, she has stayed loyal to the LGBTQ+ community, and has always been an outspoken supporter of the queer community. Here are five examples of her excellent allyship:
She condemned ‘violence and hostility against trans women’
In November 2020, Olivia Colman signed an open letter condemning “hostility and violence” against trans women, alongside other famous names such as Paloma Faith, to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.
The open letter said: “We are feminists and we write, on international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls, to express our solidarity with trans women, particularly trans women of colour, who experience violence and hostility so frequently it is almost a way of life.
“Trans women are more likely to be murdered, more likely to be victims of violent attacks in their own homes, and more likely to be homeless, again increasing the risk of violence, than their cis sisters.
“Those who use hostile, crude or mocking language towards trans women, demeaning their bodies, and refusing to accept that they are who they say they are, contribute to the culture which creates those discriminatory disparities, a culture which de-humanises trans women and girls thereby legitimising prejudice and violence against them.
“Those people, many of them in high places of fame, wealth and power, absolutely do not speak for us.”
She wishes she could work with the LGBTQ+ community ‘on every film’
Speaking to Vanity Fair in January 2025 about her film Jimpa, in which she plays the mother of a non-binary teenager, Colman shared her experience with working within LGBTQ+ spaces.
“The people on the film were all from the queer community, and I don’t know if it’s because they’ve had to all have a journey of their own to get to where they are—seen and confident—but I’ve never felt more welcomed by a group of people,” she said.
“I find it so upsetting and so mystifying that there is such hatred towards any group of people,” Colman continued. “But clearly, hatred can only come from people that just don’t know any of these people, because I don’t know how you could hate people that are so kind and lovely. It’s just about acceptance and love. How can that p*ss people off? I will never understand.”
She also shared that she loved being surrounded by the LGBTQ+ community on set. “If I could work with the queer community and trans people on every film, I’d have the happiest life,” she said.
She backs LGBTQ+ inclusive education
In 2019, Olivia Colman backed LGBTQ+ inclusive education in a quick-fire video interview with Vogue for its ’73 Questions’ series.
In the video, filmed at the Ritz in London, she humorously answered questions over “high tea.”
But when she was asked: “Is there any particular cause that is important for you to get behind?” Colman responded: “I would like all children to have relationship classes in schools.”
From September 2020, in spite of protests, inclusive relationships and sex education became statutory in the UK. Primary school children learn about different types of families, including those with same-sex parents, while secondary school students learn about sexual orientation and gender identity.
She blasted ‘bullies’ who forced Kit Connor to come out as bisexual
In 2022, Olivia Colman made it very clear that said she was “so proud” of Heartstopper co-star Kit Connor for the way he handled coming out as bisexual amid accusations of queerbaiting.
Colman, who plays the 21-year-old’s mother on the Netflix series, shared her admiration for Connor at the LA premiere of her drama Empire of Light.
“I am so proud of him, but I am not proud of how people bullied him,” Colman told Variety at the time.
“I think people should be allowed to have their own journey,” she added, “but I’m incredibly proud of him as a young man to deal with all of that and be in the spotlight. It’s unfair.
“But he’s amazing. He’s a very beautiful human being.”
She said ‘gay rights’ at the 2019 BAFTAs
Comedy-drama The Favourite, which stars Colman as a lesbian Queen Anne, cleaned up at the 2019 BAFTAs on winning a total of seven awards, but despite having a very busy night, the proud ally still took time out of her evening to interact with an LGBTQ+ fan.
A young woman called Grace, who goes by @lgbtdisney on what was then Twitter, approached Olivia Colman and her co-star Rachel Weisz on the red carpet, and asked them to say “gay rights” into the camera.
They did, and the clips of the stars repeating the phrase racked up nearly half a million views between them.
Happy birthday Olivia Colman! Hope you have a fantastic day…. from all of your queer fans.
