Emma Dumont knew in their early teens they weren't "like other girls".
The 'Oppenheimer' star came out earlier this month as trans masculine non-binary, using they/them pronouns, and they have now reflected on the "rewarding" but lengthy process it has taken to get to this point in their life.
They told Out in a statement: "Coming out to myself as trans has been one of the longest challenges I've faced in life. It has also been the most rewarding by a mile.
"I lived in an authoritarian household for many decades where it wasn't safe to be myself at home. I knew at 13/14 I wasn't 'like other girls,' I knew I liked girls and I knew I didn't feel right in my body.
"Around 19, I was cast as an AFAB trans teenager in a TV pilot. I looked at myself in my trailer in basketball shorts, bandage wrapped around my chest and I thought, 'damn I look good!
"A decade later, I found a safe community, figured out I was nonbinary. Now I'm out, have a life I could have only dreamed of as a kid, and I still get to play women at work."
Emma - who uses the name Nick in their personal life - "loves" being trans and is grateful to have so much support around them.
They added: "I'm trans. I love being trans. We're here. We've always been here.
"I'm grateful to be living in this time and place where I have safe spaces and support. Where I can go to the LA LGBT Center and get medical care without fear. That hasn't been the experience many have had. I truly owe a great deal of gratitude to the courageous queer people who have come before me.
"I didn't think I'd be out to everyone so soon but I made a promise to myself that if someone asked, I would share. Someone did ask and I shared…because I'm proud."
The 'Licorice Pizza' star's representative confirmed their 30-year-old client's gender identity last week.
A spokesperson told TMZ: “They identify as a trans masculine non-binary person. Their work name is still going to be Emma Dumont, but they will go by Nick with friends and family."
