Yasmin Finney: Movies & Filmography

Yasmin Finney (born 30 August 2003) is an English actress and internet personality who has rapidly risen to prominence in both the entertainment industry and the social media landscape. Born to a Jamaican mother and an English father of Irish and Italian descent, Finney was raised alongside her half-sister on a council estate in Trafford, Manchester, by her single mother. Her multicultural heritage and working-class upbringing have significantly shaped her identity and perspective as a performer. She attended Ashton-on-Mersey School, which was part of The Dean Trust, where she discovered her passion for performing arts, later studying the subject at The Manchester College. From a young age, she participated in numerous local theatre productions, including performances at the University of Manchester's Sackville Theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre, and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, honing her craft on various prestigious stages.

Finney initially gained a following starting in 2019 through her TikTok videos, where she documented her experiences as a Black British teenage trans woman, amassing over 1.9 million followers on the platform under the username yazdemand. At the age of 17 in April 2021, she was cast in two significant roles: Kelsa in the Billy Porter film Anything's Possible (later renamed What If?) and Elle Argent in the Netflix series Heartstopper. Although she had to withdraw from Anything's Possible due to COVID-19 travel restrictions preventing her from obtaining a United States work visa, her performance in Heartstopper, which premiered in 2022, became a breakout success and earned her a Children's and Family Emmy Award nomination. Her portrayal of Elle Argent, a trans character, has been widely praised for its authenticity and contribution to trans representation in media. In August 2022, Finney starred in the short film Mars as the character Charlie Acaster, which premiered at the London Film Festival in October of the same year. On 30 August 2023, she appeared as a guest judge during the fifth series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, and in November 2023, she joined the BBC series Doctor Who in a recurring role as Rose Noble, the trans daughter of former companion Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate), during the show's 60th anniversary specials, continuing through 2025. She has also been featured on GLAAD's second annual 20 Under 20 list, and her upcoming films include LifeHack (2025), further establishing her as a versatile and influential young actress in contemporary cinema and television.