Nicole Amber Maines (born 1997) is an American actress, writer, and
transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
rights activist.
Prior to her acting career, she was the anonymous plaintiff in the
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Between 1820 and 1839, justices served lifetime ...
case ''
Doe v. Regional School Unit 26'', in which she argued her school district could not deny her access to the female bathroom for being transgender.
The court ruled in 2014 that barring transgender students from the school bathroom consistent with their
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...
is unlawful, the first such ruling by a state court.
As an actress, Maines played
Nia Nal on
The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
superhero series ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
'' (2018–2021) in the
fourth through
sixth seasons. She is the first to portray a transgender superhero on television. She currently plays the recurring role of Lisa in the
second season of ''
Yellowjackets'' (2023present).
Early life and education
Maines and her brother Jonas were adopted at birth as
identical twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
by Kelly and Wayne Maines in 1997;
one of their biological parents was Kelly's second cousin.
Though they spent their early years in
Gloversville, New York
Gloversville is a city in the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate New York, United States. The most populous city in Fulton County, it was once the hub of the United States' glovemaking industry, with over 200 manufacturers there and the adjacent ...
, they grew up in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...
.
Maines was
assigned male at birth
Sex assignment (also known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the baby's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the v ...
and started showing signs of gender variance at a young age; when she was two years old, Maines reportedly asked her mother questions like "When do I get to be a girl?" and "When will my penis fall off?"
She preferred playing with toys intended for girls and identified with female characters in cartoons and movies.
Maines herself said she knew she was not a boy as young as three years old
[''Ellen'', 9 October 2018.] and started explicitly telling her family who she was by the age of four.
Her brother, Jonas, accepted her gender identity from a young age. While the two were still in elementary school, Jonas reportedly told their father, "Face it, Dad, you have a son and a daughter."
Maines says she chose the name Nicole (Nikki for short) after the character
Nicole Bristow, one of Zoey's sidekicks on the Nickelodeon show ''
Zoey 101
''Zoey 101'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. It aired from January 9, 2005, to May 2, 2008, spanning a total of 61 episodes across four seasons.
It focuses on the lives of Zoey Brooks ( J ...
''. She initially wanted to be called Quinn from the same show, but she kept making spelling errors when writing the name, so she settled on Nicole.
She chose her middle name, Amber, just because she liked how it sounded. Maines did not officially change her name until later because of the Maine law that any name change must be announced in the newspaper, and she and her family wanted to keep her identity private for her safety. The judge accepted their petition to the name change law, meaning that Nicole was exempt from having to publish her name change in a newspaper. A few days later, she officially became Nicole Amber Maines.
In July 2015, Maines had
gender-affirming surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associated ...
in Philadelphia, a month after graduating from high school.
Maines attended high school at Portland, Maine's
Waynflete School, and attended the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...
alongside her brother Jonas.
However, according to her father, Maines chose not to return in the fall of 2018 in order to pursue acting.
Maines was popularized by the 2015 book ''Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family'' by ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' writer
Amy Ellis Nutt which tells the story of her family coming to terms with her gender identity. Many articles about the Maines family were published, many focusing on how one identical twin can be transgender and one can be
cisgender
The word ''cisgender'' (often shortened to ''cis''; sometimes ''cissexual'') describes a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth, i.e., someone who is not ''transgender''. The prefix '' cis-'' is Latin and ...
.
Soon after
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's second inauguration as
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
in 2025, ''Becoming Nicole'' was included in a list of books banned from schools operated by the
Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
for the education of students of U.S. military personnel.
''Doe v. Regional School Unit 26''
Maines used the name Susan Doe in the landmark case ''Doe v. Regional School Unit 26'', which is also referred to as ''Doe v. Clenchy''. In 2007, when Maines was in 5th grade in elementary school at Asa Adams Elementary School in Orono, Maine, the grandfather of a male classmate complained about Maines using the girls' bathroom.
Following that incident, she was barred from using the female bathroom and forced to use the staff bathroom. With the help of the Maine Human Rights Commission, Maines and her family filed a complaint against the Orono school district, which is now called RSU 26, claiming the school was discriminating against her. The school district did not take any action to address the complaint, so the family filed a lawsuit against the district.
The case eventually made its way up to the state Supreme Court in Bangor, and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders of Boston represented Maines and her family.
The oral arguments were mainly focused on the tension between a law passed in the 1920s that requires gender-segregated bathrooms and a 2005 provision in the Maine Human Rights Act that prohibits sexual orientation-based discrimination.
In June 2014, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled 5–1 that the school district violated the state's Human Rights Act, and prohibited the district from barring transgender students access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Maines and her family were provided compensation of $75,000 following the discrimination lawsuit.
It was the first time in the nation that a court ruled it unlawful to force a transgender student to use the bathroom associated with the sex they were assigned at birth
and the first time Maine's Supreme Court interpreted amendments to the Maine Human Rights Act as prohibiting sexual orientation based discrimination.
Career

In 2015, Maines and her family were the subject of ''Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family'', a book by ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' writer
Amy Ellis Nutt. It chronicles the family coming to terms with Maines' being transgender. In June 2015, Maines appeared on the
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
show ''
Royal Pains
''Royal Pains'' is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series is based in part on contemporary concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies and follows Hank Lawson, ...
'' as a transgender teen whose hormones might be endangering her health. In 2016, Maines was one of 11 individuals featured in an
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
documentary titled ''
The Trans List.'' In the documentary, Maines and several other people relate their personal stories of being transgender.
In July 2018, it was announced that Maines would appear as a series regular in the fourth season of
The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
series ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
''. She appeared as
Nia Nal, a distant relative of Legion member
Dream Girl, and played the first transgender superhero on television.
Her character is described as a "soulful woman with a fierce drive to protect others". The character is a reporter whom Kara takes under her wing.
She would remain on the series until its end in November 2021, and reprise the role in a final season episode of ''
The Flash
The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
'' in 2023.
In 2019, Maines starred in ''
Bit
The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as ...
'', a horror movie about queer female vampires, winning the top acting prize at the
Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival.
Maines penned the comic book debut of her character from ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
'',
Nia Nal/Dreamer, for ''
DC Pride'' #1 in 2021. It was announced that she would also pen a solo series on Dreamer in 2022. She co-wrote the script for Dreamer's debut in the comic ''
Superman: Son of Kal-El'' as well, which was released on July 12, 2022.
In 2023, Maines was cast as Lisa in a recurring role in season two of the
Showtime series
''Yellowjackets''. Her character is an associate of adult
Lottie who is trying to recover from past traumas.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Bibliography
DC Comics
*
''DC Pride''
** "Date Night" short story (with Rachael Stott, June 8, 2021)
** Foreword (June 14, 2022)
** "Bad Dream" preview (May 30, 2023)
*''
Superman: Son of Kal-El'' #13 (with
Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literatu ...
and
Clayton Henry
Clayton Henry is an American comic book artist, known mostly for his work for Marvel Comics. His first known works were providing the art on ''Nine Rings of Wu-Tang'' and ''Area 52'', and has since worked on such series as ''Exiles (comic book ...
, July 12, 2022)
*''Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton'' #1: "Gone Dark" (with Skylar Patridge, January 17, 2023)
*
''Harley Quinn'' #30: "Everybody Hates Side Quests" (with Mindy Lee, May 23, 2023)
*''Titans: Beast World Tour - Metropolis'' #1: "Primal Pain" (with
Steve Orlando
Steve Orlando is an American comic book writer, known for his work for DC Comics writing characters such as Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman, and two series starring Midnighter, which were nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.
Early ...
and Fico Ossio, December 5, 2023)
*''
Action Comics
''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
'' #1060: "Squad Dreams" (with Steve Orlando and Fico Ossio, December 12, 2023)
*''
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
: Dream Team'' #1–4 (with
Eddy Barrows
Eduardo Barros (born October 29, 1974) is a Brazilian comic book artist, better known by his pen name of Eddy Barrows. He is best known for his work at DC Comics on such titles as ''Birds of Prey (comics), Birds of Prey'', ''Countdown to Adventure ...
, 2024)
*''Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story'' (with Rye Hickman, April 2, 2024)
*''
Secret Six'' #1–6 (with Stephen Segovia, 2025-present)
Awards
References
External links
*
*
Biographyat AEI Speakers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maines, Nicole
1997 births
Activists from New York (state)
Activists from Portland, Maine
Actresses from New York (state)
Actresses from Portland, Maine
American adoptees
American comics writers
American television actresses
American transgender actresses
American transgender writers
Date of birth missing (living people)
Identical twin actresses
LGBTQ people from Maine
LGBTQ people from New York (state)
Living people
People from Gloversville, New York
Transgender history in the United States
Transgender rights activists
University of Maine alumni
Waynflete School alumni
Writers from Maine
Writers from New York (state)
American twins
American LGBTQ rights activists