Olivia Kwon

Transgender, LGBTQ + activist and new hero of the Marvel Project.

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Livy

Born on June 21, 2010, Olivia Valentini Kwon was adopted shortly after her birth by Moon Kwon and Alexander Valentini. Her birth gender is male and was first adopted under the name Joseph. In 2021, the family finally managed to legally change its name to Olivia, as the child always wanted.

After being an activist in LGBTQ + demonstrations even at a young age, her life had great repercussions after her brothers and mother posted a photo of her holding a sign “I am the scary transgender that the media warned you about”.

In November 2019, she became Marvel’s new heroine and works closely with the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In addition, she enjoys musical theater, dancing and playing hockey, always getting good grades at school.

PERSONAL DATA

CHILDHOOD

Since Olivia started talking, her favorite color was pink and she was attracted to things that were typically “feminine”. She loved to paint her nails and wear her sisters’ clothes. The whole family gave him the certainty that colors and clothing were for everyone. She could be the kind of boy she wanted! Except, at first, they didn’t realize she wasn’t a boy.

Ethan was the first to identify what was going on and after an intense period of anxiety and depression, Olivia was able to articulate her gender identity with the help of her family and professional doctors. She made her social transition at the age of eight, when she changed her name and pronouns. When that happened, everyone in the Valentini-Kwon clan started to educate their friends, her school and the community.

ACTIVISM

Olivia came across public advocacy in 2017, when she agreed to speak publicly with her after the Trump administration reinstated the rules for transgender students. She told an audience of 200 people that transgender children like her deserved support and safe access to schools. Her brothers made posts about her speech and it went viral.

When she realized that not all transgender people receives support, she started doing her best to help the community. Olivia went on to make speeches in front of politicians. She actively works with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, supporting the cause in politics, schools and society. Art education classes became protest sign creation classes and her essays became speeches.

In June 2018, Olivia, her mother Moon and her brother Ethan spoke to 31,000 people. In the same year, in December, she testified before the state legislature in support of a project that would require Los Angeles schools to include the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ people in what is taught in all disciplines. The project was approved by the Senate and the Assembly, and the governor signed the law in 2019. It goes into effect in the 2020-2021 school year.

In February 2020, Olivia published her first article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. She wrote about why the Babs Siperstein Act was important to kids like her when it came into effect, allowing her to change the gender marker on her birth certificate to match who she knows to be.

Through lectures, appearances in the media and on her social platforms, she spreads messages of hope to her LGBTQ + community. Together with her family, she defends policies in local, state and federal levels that protect and support these people.

She also feels honored and excited to be one of the newest heroines in the Marvel Universe as part of Marvel’s Hero Project, a series launched at Disney+ in November 2019. The series follows young heroes who are making remarkable and positive changes in communities, dedicating their lives to selfless acts of bravery and kindness and is excited to represent transsexual children.

This is just the beginning for Olivia. She plans to continue to advocate, educate and inspire.