Alexandra Billings

Alexandra Billings (born March 28, 1962) is an American actress, singer, teacher and activist who has become one of the most visible transgender performers in contemporary media. Born in Schaumburg, Illinois to a multiracial family with European American, African American and Native American ancestry, she was introduced to the stage early by her father, Robert Billings, a music teacher and musical director. After struggling with homelessness, addiction and sex work in her early adult years, Billings began performing under the name Shanté at the Baton Show Lounge in Chicago, where she won numerous beauty‑pageant titles such as Miss Wisconsin and Miss Florida. Her stage career blossomed in the 1990s and 2000s with acclaimed work at The Bailiwick Theater, Light Opera Works, Court Theatre and Steppenwolf, earning a Joseph Jefferson Award and five After Dark Awards. In addition to acting, she recorded the CD The Story Goes On (2003) and received the New York MAC Hanson Award for Cabaret Artist of the Year in 2004. Billings broke new ground on screen when she portrayed one of television’s first openly transgender characters in the 2005 film Romy and Michele: In the Beginning and later brought depth to the recurring role of Davina in the Amazon series Transparent. She has also appeared in ER, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, The Conners and the Broadway production of Wicked as Madame Morrible, becoming the first openly trans person to star in that show. As a professor, she teaches theater at the University of Southern California and previously at California State University, Long Beach, sharing her expertise in Viewpoints and performance. An outspoken advocate, she has received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award and uses her platform to promote LGBTQ rights, HIV awareness and trans equality. Her memoir This Time for Me: A Memoir (2022) documents her resilient journey from a gender‑transition in 1980 to a celebrated career that continues to inspire.