Rape threats from a colleague and sex with famous actresses: what transgender actor Elliot Page went through and how he changed

On February 21, 1987, exactly 37 years ago, a girl named Ellen Page was born in Canada. From the time she was a baby, she felt uncomfortable in her own body. To alleviate it, Ellen wore jeans and tracksuits instead of dresses, and changed her long hair to a short "boyish" haircut. It took her 33 years to boldly declare her transgender identity to the world. Ellen became Elliot and an example for millions of people not to be afraid to be themselves.

On the occasion of the famous Hollywood actor's birthday, OBOZ.UA decided to tell what he went through. In this article, we have collected archival and recent photos of the transgender star to see how he has changed.

Childhood in a "wrong" body, prominent roles and depression

Elliot Page, then Ellen Page, got his first role at the age of 10. It was on the set that he first felt what it was like to not be allowed to be yourself. For the role, the young actress had to wear a wig because she cut her long hair because she didn't like it. Later, the directors made Ellen grow her long hair back.

Although Ellen was more comfortable in "boyish" clothes throughout her childhood, because of her new status as a star, she had to give up her own preferences, because on the red carpet the actress was expected to wear dresses and heels, with bright makeup and styling. Paige made these sacrifices, but even the photos show how uncomfortable she felt.

As a teenager, Ellen was sexually harassed by a famous director. Elliot told about this many years later in his memoir Pageboy. The director's name is not mentioned in the book.

"His frequent messages made me feel special, as did the books he gave me. He invited me to dinner at the Swan on Queen West. Stroking my thigh under the table, he whispered: "You have to make a move, I can't be the first," as Elliot Page described that episode in his life.

Paige is best known for her role in the movie Juno, for which she was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe. In 2010, she played one of the main roles in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller Inception. And in 2019, Netflix released the Umbrella Academy series starring Paige. The project later became one of the most commercially successful on the platform.

By the way, during the filming of Inception Ellen Page became friends with the lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio. They even went on a double date together - the Oscar-winning actor introduced his colleague to his friend.

"During the filming of Inception, a friend of Leonardo's came to visit, and we had a great connection. Peter treated everyone warmly, his eyes shone with care. When I saw Leo the next time, I told him that I liked his friend, and he replied that he liked me too. On our first date, we went to Universal Studios with Leo and his mom. Peter and I sat next to each other on the rides, our thighs barely touching," Page recalled in his memoirs.

Many years later, Elliot Page admits that in 2006-2011 he suffered from severe depression and chronic fatigue. The condition was so bad that the actor even planned to announce the end of his career.

Coming out, sex with actresses, rape threats

In 2014, Ellen Page announced her homosexuality. She began to appear on the red carpet exclusively in men's classic suits, and her hair became shorter and shorter.

In 2018, Paige announces her marriage to dancer Emma Portner, but unfortunately, this marriage was dissolved after 2 years.

In fact, Ellen has had sex with women (and famous ones at that) even before her coming out as a lesbian. In 2007, for example, she had an affair with her Juno co-star Olivia Thirlby.

In his memoirs, Elliot Page writes: "I was stunned when I saw Olivia Thirlby. We were standing in her hotel room. Billie Holiday was playing. She was about to start cooking dinner when she looked at me and said directly: "I'm very attracted to you." It was... we started having sex. All the time: in her hotel room, in our trailers at work, once in a tiny private room in a restaurant."

In addition, Paige had a relationship with the famous actress Kate Mara. According to the star, they met during the filming of the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past" in 2014.

The most significant page in the star's biography was his coming out as transgender. Then, on December 1, 2020, an appeal appeared on the celebrity's social media pages: "Hi, friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are 'he' or 'they', and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this." .... I cannot express how wonderful it feels to finally love who I am. I love that I am trans. And I love that I'm queer... To all the trans people who face harassment, self-hatred, bullying, and the threat of violence every day, I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to make a difference in this world."

From that moment on, the actor's life changed once and for all. Now he is Elliot and he speaks openly about his transgenderism.

"What I expected was that there would be a lot of support and love, but also a lot of hate and transphobia. And that's exactly what happened," Elliot once commented.

There was a lot of misunderstanding, but it got scary when it came to real threats. In the spring of 2022, the actor was attacked on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on the grounds of transphobia. Page said in his memoirs that one day, when he was walking to the store, a tall man noticed him. The unknown man started shouting at the actor and said that he needed a gun to "fuck him." The star was rescued by store employees, to whom he turned for help.

Another unpleasant incident occurred when Page first came out as a lesbian, in 2014. Back then, a well-known colleague threatened him with rape. The actor also decided to keep his name a secret.

Page shared: "It was a party in Los Angeles for my birthday. I was approached by an actor I knew who was openly homophobic. He threatened me with sexual violence. This actor said that I am not really a queer person, that it does not exist and I am just afraid of men. After that, he said: "I'm going to fuck you so that you realize that you are not homosexual".

Breast removal and self-acceptance

Elliot Page's transgender transition was accompanied by breast removal surgery. The actor himself later admitted that it was his "greatest happiness" and "saved his life."

After having his breasts removed, Page finally fully accepted and loved himself. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he said: "When you get out of the shower with a towel around your waist, you look at yourself in the mirror, and you're like: 'Here I am'. And there's no sense of panic."

As OBOZ.UA wrote, on February 20 this year, the iconic Kurt Cobain could have turned 57, but the life of the idol of millions ended in 1994, when the musician was only 27.

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