Photo: Rachel Kiki Tabizel

Bella Ramsey is the recipient of the GAY TIMES Honour for On-Screen Trailblazer.

At the age of 20, Ramsey has firmly established themselves as one of the most influential actors within the LGBTQIA+ community. Redefining our perception of an actor, Ramsey has carved a new path for non-binary talent and shaken up under-represented and often unexplored narratives on mainstream television.

Over eight million pairs of eyes tuned in to watch the final episode of HBO Max’s post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us, which is based on the best-selling Naughty Dog game of the same name.

The series stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, a smuggler who is forced to travel across the United States with Ellie, a teenager who is immune to the virus that is transforming the population into mutated, zombified creatures.

Alongside an acclaimed gay love story with stars Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, The Last of Us was faithful to the source material by depicting Ellie as queer. Episode seven memorably saw the beloved character embark on a romance with their friend Riley (Storm Reid).

Alongside their acclaimed acting career, Ramsey has continued to use their platform to leverage coverage and spotlight the LGBTQIA+ community.

The actor is no stranger to using their voice and 3.4 million Instagram following to raise awareness of gender diversity and the promotion of pronoun education through various posts. Most notably on Trans Day of Visibility, they took the opportunity to send “lotsa [sic] love to all of my trans, enby and gender funk friends.”

Recently, Ramsey has taken their first foray into fashion partnering with trans-owned brand Both&, whose apparel is designed for transmasculine, gender non-conforming and non-binary people.

Speaking to GAY TIMES exclusively about the campaign, they explained their belief that “everybody deserves to have clothes that fit their body, whether that’s plus-size clothes, petite-size clothing or clothing for transmasculine, non-binary people.”

GAY TIMES Honours 2023 celebrates the individuals and organisations who have had a profound effect on the lives of LGBTQIA+ people over the past 12 months.

This year’s line-up of Honourees acknowledges people making huge impact in music, TV, film, community and drag.

The new digital edition of GAY TIMES Magazine spotlights this year’s winners and is available to read now on the GAY TIMES app, Apple News +, Readly and Flipster.

To follow all of the action from GAY TIMES Honours 2023, check out our Instagram @GAYTIMES