Marcella Maia talks about the challenges faced by trans women in the entertainment industry

The multi-artist Marcella Maia took advantage of Trans Visibility Month to open up about the challenges faced by trans women in the entertainment industry.

She who already starred in the soap opera The More Life the Betterparticipated in films, recorded an original EP and even dubbed a project for a streaming platform, he said that the invisibility of his talents and work is something that recurs in his life.

“I’m an actress, songwriter, singer, voice actor, I’ve been working since I was young, I’ve traveled the world, I’ve worked for different brands as a model, but unfortunately when I’m approached by the press or even by some important person in entertainment, they make my entire career invisible and sum me up. just the ‘trans woman’. There was a time when I started to not even say that I was not a cisgender woman and I felt that the initial approach changed, they wanted to hear about my life, career and dreams, but once they found out about my gender identity the entire conversation/interview was summarized. the operation, violence and prostitution”, said the actress who was one of the protagonists of the Rede Globo soap opera.

Born in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Marcella revealed that she moved from Brazil to internationalize her career and thus begin to be valued on the national scene.

“I grew up knowing about the mongrel syndrome present on the national scene, even though I didn’t understand it, but I felt firsthand how heavy it is. I did some work abroad as a model, such as the main fashion weeks: Paris, Milan and New York. Two weeks later, I received for the first time a flood of invitations from national brands wanting to include me in the casting and I was surprised.”, said.

She continued: “After participating as one of the Amazons in the film Wonder Woman, this happened again, I received invitations to audition for two broadcasters and also for a streaming platform in Brazil, and yes, I felt that it wasn’t about being able to see my talent after these episodes, but about being in agreement with the foreigner is finding it. These situations took me away from Brazil a lot and today I live abroad, I feel that unfortunately linked to this is the issue that we trans women in the industry generally occupy the place of actress with a single soap opera on our CV, just notice.”

Marcella said that she usually receives a lot of messages from girls who are starting the transition and who dream of the star and gave some advice.

“I don’t usually frustrate them with my perspectives on this market, but I always tell them to remain firm, courageous, not to give in to transphobia, which (unfortunately) is still very present in this market, and also not to be afraid to say ‘ no’ to proposals that are not related to work”, concluded the actress, who will play her first protagonist in a Hollywood production.