The world became aware of Elliot Page in a big way in 2007 when Juno came out of nowhere,
and racked up hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. But who was he before the
fame? And how has he changed? Here's the stunning transformation of Elliot Page.
In December 2020, Page came out as transgender in a statement on Instagram. Page announced
that his pronouns are he/they and that his name is Elliot. The actor expressed "overwhelming
gratitude" for those who have supported him, writing,
"I can't begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue
my authentic self."
Page added that he has "been endlessly inspired" by members of the trans community. He vowed
"to strive for a more loving and equal society," and also wrote about the difficulties that
the trans community faces, saying:
"To all the trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse and the threat of violence
every day: I see you, I love you."
Page received support after his announcement from celebs including Miley Cyrus, Kate Mara,
Ruby Rose, and Anna Paquin. Nick Adams, the director of transgender media for GLAAD, also
expressed his support for Page on the GLAAD website, writing,
"He will now be an inspiration to countless trans and non-binary people."
But what helped Page, as he put it, to "have arrived at this place" in his life? Let's
start at the beginning.
Page is a full-on American movie star, but he actually hails from Canada. Born in 1987,
the child of a French teacher and a graphic designer, Page grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Halifax is fairly remote, so Page enjoyed a relatively independent childhood, playing
soccer, riding his bike, and swimming in a lake. He said of his hometown in an interview
with The Guardian,
"You're just surrounded by so much beauty and stillness."
Page's parents divorced when he was very young, so he shuffled back and forth between their
houses for two weeks at a time. His mother had family in Toronto, so Page got to see
the big city on visits. On one trip, he saw the musical The Phantom of the Opera and fell
in love with it. He asked his mother what school he would need to attend to play Christine,
to which she told him that he'd have to go to college. But he was acting way before that.
Page joined his school's drama club, and was one day selected by a casting director to
appear in 1997's Pit Pony, first a TV movie and later a series. He wondered in an interview
with The Guardian,
"It's just mind-boggling, what I do now. I sometimes think, what if I was sick that day
the casting guy came into school?"
After that, he appeared in more Canadian films and television shows, and even a European
movie. Because his parents were both in the workforce full-time, Page learned how to be
an independent child. He wasn't supposed to be unaccompanied on set, but Page figured
out ways to have his freedom, saying,
"We'd finagle it so, say, the horse-wrangler's daughter was my chaperone."
When he turned 16, Page moved to Toronto to pursue acting. Soon after, he had to move
to Southern California for his first American film.
Hard Candy, Elliot Page's first major movie, is some heavy stuff. It's about a young girl
who kidnaps and tortures a man she believes to be a child abuser. Page played the starring
role in the film at the tender age of 16, with the blessing of his parents. He told
The Guardian,
"Yeah, Hard Candy was intense. My dad came with me to do that. But they were always cool
with the subject matter, they trusted me."
The movie is not for sensitive viewers, and some of the content is rather graphic. Page
said,
"I remember getting ready for those scenes, I was 16, and I was almost separate from myself:
shocked by it, and curious, and excited. It was a very exhilarating feeling, and very
addictive."
Page was nominated for a slew of awards for the film, and took home an acting award win
from the Austin Film Critics Association.
Within moments of reading the script for Juno, Elliot Page knew he wanted to cinch the title
role. He told Collider,
"When I read the script it just blew my mind, and I fell totally in love with it and I just
really wanted to be a part of it."
Juno was appealing to Page for a variety of reasons, but mainly because of the character's
authenticity. He said,
"I was excited about this character because I felt like it was a teenage female lead that
we've just never seen before. Although she was incredibly unique and witty and all of
these things, she was also very genuine and it all felt just very sincere."
"You're pregnant?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And if it is any consolation, I have heartburn that is radiating in my kneecaps."
Juno was a massive box office success, catapulting Page into the spotlight.
Elliot Page's next major project after Juno was 2009's Whip It, director Drew Barrymore's
movie about a Texas teenager who finds solace in a roller derby league. After that, Page
needed a little bit of space, so he left the hustle and bustle and headed to Oregon where
he spent a month at an eco-village. He studied permaculture, safely tucked away from the
bright lights of Hollywood. Page told The Guardian,
"We created giant composts. We'd pee in a bucket with hay in it, then put the pee buckets
on the compost."
Although Page started there among total strangers, he felt very bonded to the people there when
he left. He said,
"When I left and everyone in the class was holding hands in a circle, I was fully sobbing.
One of those kinds of cries where you're just... I would not have anticipated that's what my
response would have been."
Page met his now-BFF Ian Daniel there, whom he describes as his "soul twin."
Page jumped back into acting with a bang, alongside acting heavyweight Leonardo DiCaprio
in the 2010 film Inception. Page told Time magazine,
"I was looking around, and the idea of this film came up and I was absolutely excited
to learn more. So I went into an office at Warner Bros. to read the script, and it was
just one of those moments where you are absolutely floored."
Page had nothing but good things to say about working with DiCaprio, as well as director,
Christopher Nolan. Page said of Nolan,
"I'm just constantly blown away by all his films. Despite the visual magnitude, and all
the incredible action, there's this incredibly sincere base and this honesty that everything
is centered around."
After appearing in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, Page returned to the superhero franchise
in 2013 to reprise the role of Kitty Pryde in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Page was not
familiar with the character when he took the role the first time around, when he was just
18. He told Collider,
"When the first X-Men popped up it was awesome because that was the first time I read about
Kitty Pryde, and thought she was awesome."
Page was surprised to learn that they wanted him to appear in the sequel, as the project
was not on his radar.
"I didn't expect to play Kitty Pryde again, so when that came up... it was just awesome.
[...] I feel so grateful to be back."
In 2014, Elliot Page came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in an absolutely riveting
speech at the Human Rights Campaign. In it, he called out the toxic culture that marginalizes
LGBTQ+ people. He announced to cheers,
"And I am here today because I am gay." cheers
He added,
"And because maybe I can make a difference."
After the speech, Page appeared on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show to talk about what the experience
was like. He revealed,
"I was just so ready to do it, and quite frankly so excited to do it, so it was a combination
of just such thrill to finally be at that place in my life where I was able to do that."
When the Me Too movement kicked into high gear in 2017, people were sharing their stories
about abuse and harassment and finally being widely believed. Elliot Page took to Facebook
to discuss the harassment he endured in Hollywood from men. It ranged from directors saying
terrible things to him to grips sexually assaulting him, all before he was 18 years old. Page
wrote
"I want to see these men have to face what they have done. I want them to not have power
anymore."
Page called on everyone to be accountable for their actions and to pledge to do better,
writing,
"What I want the most, is for this to result in healing for the victims. For Hollywood
to wake up and start taking some responsibility for how we all have played a role in this.
I want us to reflect on this endemic issue and how this power dynamic of abuse leads
to an enormous amount of suffering."
2018 brought some serious sweetness into Page's life. That's the year he married Emma Portner,
which he announced in a post on his Instagram page, writing in the caption,
"Can't believe I get to call this extraordinary woman my wife."
Page is clearly smitten with Portner, a dancer from Canada. He often posts cute selfies of
the both of them. Portner is also obviously super in love with Page, and isn't the least
bit shy about the fact that they're super attached. Portner said in an interview with
Them,
"[He] and I have an indefatigable connection and this undying desire to be near each other.
[Elliot] is the best, and I still cry every time we part ways for work. I probably will
forever, and I'm okay with that."
Elliot Page has been totally candid about the difficulties of working in the entertainment
business. He said on a 2019 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,
"I mean, I've worked in this industry for a while, you know, I grew up in Canada, I
started working at 10... and in terms of the level of misogyny and homophobia I've dealt
with it's been really unfortunate."
When Colbert asked him what advice or words of wisdom he would give to his younger self
about handling it, he had a powerful answer, saying he would tell himself he's not alone,
and that he can reach out to people for help.
"And that behavior is not okay."
In February 2019, Netflix released The Umbrella Academy, adapted from the Dark Horse comics
series of the same name. The show has quite the cast, with big names like Mary J. Blige,
Tom Hopper, and Colm Feore, on board. The show follows the exploits of a dysfunctional
group of siblings with superpowers.
Elliot Page was front and center in the part of Vanya Hargreeves, a violin player and seemingly
the only sibling without super powers, a role he really identifies with. He revealed in
an interview with Glamour,
"I was immediately intrigued by Vanya because I immediately related to that feeling of folding
in on yourself, struggling with depression and anxiety, barely feeling like you can take
up any space in the room and what it took to get out of that, in my experience. I had
my own stuff to deal with and I related to Vanya, her pain, and I wanted to explore that."
Elliot Page is no longer the same person he was when Juno had everybody talking, and he's
truly come into his own. He's a LGBTQ+ icon, an environmental activist, and a vocal critic
of anyone hostile to marginalized people. This was abundantly clear in his 2019 interview
on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in which he barely mentioned the reason he was
there, which was to promote The Umbrella Academy.
Page took his time on the show to criticize the policies of the administration of President
Donald Trump. He advised,
"If you are in a position of power and you hate people, and you want to cause suffering
to them — you go through the trouble, you spend your career trying to cause suffering
— what do you think is going to happen?"
"Kids are going to be abused and they're going to kill themselves, and people are going to
be beaten on the street."
Page's activism is more on fire than ever, and it's clear that he will not be stopped.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.