Rain Valdez (born 1981) is an American actress, writer, and producer who rose to prominence with her award-winning short film, ''Ryans''. She stars in the web series ''Razor Tongue'', which she created and which has earned her a

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nomination in Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. Valdez got her start playing Coco in season 2 of

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...

's '' Lopez''. She consulted on '' Transparent'' and guest starred in the show's fourth season. She has written for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' and ''

Popsugar PopSugar Inc. is an American media and technology company that is the parent to the media property PopSugar (stylized POPSUGAR) and a monthly subscription business PopSugar Must Have. The company was founded in 2006 by married couple Brian and Lis ...

''.

Early life

Valdez was born in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and was raised by her mother and stepfather in

Dededo Dededo (; Spanish: ) is the most populated village in the United States territory of Guam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dededo's population was just under 45,000 in 2020. The village is located on the coral plateau of Northern Guam. The gr ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. She began writing poems and short stories as a

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

student. She attended Simon Sanchez High School in

Yigo Yigo, Guam (; ) is the northernmost village of the United States territory of Guam, and is the location of Andersen Air Force Base. The municipality of Yigo is the largest village on the island in terms of area. It contains a number of populated pl ...

before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2000, waiting tables and modeling to support herself while studying acting.

Career

Valdez began her career as a producer's assistant in 2006. In 2010, she wrote and starred in her first short, ''Silly Games''. In 2017, she wrote and starred in her breakthrough short film, ''Ryans'', which premiered at

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

and was given the Jury Award for Best

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

Short. The same year, she was cast in

's ''Lopez'', with a recurring role. Also in 2017, Valdez was cast for

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

's ''Transparent''. In 2019, Valdez created ''Razor Tongue'', an indie episodic romantic comedy, and co-starring such actors as

Alexandra Grey Alexandra Jordan Grey (born January 4, 1991) is an American actress, singer, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her roles as Melody Barnes on the Fox music drama series ''Empire'', Elizah Parks on the comedy series '' Transparent ...

, Sterling Jones, Sarah Parlow, Carmen Scott, and Shaan Dasani. The 7-part web series, which she wrote and stars in, had its international premiere in Toronto at InsideOut Film Festival, its US premiere in San Francisco at Frameline Film Festival of June 2019, as well as, premiering in LA at the Outfest Film Festival. Her writing and performance in the romcom short film ''Ryans'' earned her a Best North American Short Film Award at OUTSouth Queer Film Festival and ''Hexed'' earned her 3 nominations for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Short at the Madrid International Film Festival. She is the Trailblazer Award recipient at the 2021 Outfest Legacy Awards. In 2020, Valdez appeared as a commentator in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary ''Disclosure'' alongside actors

Laverne Cox Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBTQ advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series '' Orange Is the New Black'', becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a ...

, Jen Richards,

Zeke Smith Roger Duane "Zeke" Smith (September 29, 1936 – July 22, 2016) was an American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants. He played college football at ...

, Leo Sheng,

Alexandra Billings Alexandra Scott Billings (born March 28, 1962) is an American actress, singer, and teacher. A trans woman, Billings played one of TV's first openly transgender characters in the 2005 film '' Romy and Michele: In the Beginning''. She is also know ...

, and others. In July 2020, she was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her work on ''Razor Tongue''. In October 2020, she co-starred in the short film '' The Great Artist'', which qualified for the Best Live Action Short Film shortlist for the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...

. She is currently working on her first feature ''Re-Live.'' “Re-Live” tells the story of Rowena, a transgender movie star who returns to her home in Guam for her high school reunion’s “do-over week.”

Activism

Valdez has been a featured speaker at conferences such as

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

's The Festival of the New, and WrapWomen's BE Conference. Rain is also the founder of ActNOW, the first and only acting class in Los Angeles prioritizing a safe space for LGBTQIA actors and teaches beyond the binary.

Personal life

Valdez is a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

. She initially began her career closeted, eventually deciding to live as an openly trans individual, with her stint on '' Transparent'' as her first role as an openly trans woman. On being an out trans woman, and her experience being closeted she had this to say, "My years living stealth were a privilege. Safety and ignorance is a privilege. If not everyone in my community can have that choice, then why should I? This is the moment I felt proudest as an out trans woman. The moment I realized I can never go back because of the stamps I've been creating for myself. Instead of fear or disappointment, it gave me peace to know that there can no longer be room in my heart and soul for my own internal transphobia. There's no more room for hesitation when it comes to my part in our fight for equality. Going stealth would not solve anything, at least not for me."

Podcasts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdez, Rain 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American women screenwriters American television writers Actresses from Manila American television actresses Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino transgender actresses Guamanian LGBTQ people 21st-century Guamanian people LGBTQ film producers Transgender women writers Transgender screenwriters Transgender rights activists American LGBTQ rights activists American LGBTQ screenwriters American transgender actresses American transgender writers 1981 births Living people American LGBTQ people of Asian descent 21st-century American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from California