Described as “The voice of a generation” by i-D magazine, and “the fearless, vital voice we need” by Dazed, Lees is a multi-award winning writer and campaigner, widely known for igniting a much-needed discussion about trans rights in Britain. A Contributing Editor at British Vogue, she has written everywhere from the Guardian to the Telegraph, the Sun to Attitude magazine. She was the first trans woman to present on BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4 – and also the first to appear on the BBC's flagship political discussion programme Question Time, where she drew praise from across the political spectrum.
She also is the co-founder of All About Trans, an initiative to improve media representation. Through her work there she has met with hundreds of media professionals leading to £1.5 million worth of television being commissioned, including the BBC’s first sitcom to feature a trans character as a lead role, Boy Meets Girl. In 2016 she was made an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Brighton for her work to educate the public about gender diversity, an institution at which she graduated with a degree in English literature just a few years previously. In 2019 she was named as one of Pantene’s three new brand ambassadors, going on to become the first openly trans woman to feature in a mainstream television campaign in the UK. Her debut book, What It Feels Like for a Girl, will be published by Penguin in 2021.
Having been a frequent reader of the Gay Times, Paris became their acting assistant editor after graduating from university. She then became a columnist for the Gay Times and Diva before hitting huge national newspapers including The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian. She also founded the first British magazine aimed at the trans community, META. She ventured into a big career within the media presenting for both television and radio, she became the first trans woman presenter on both BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4 as well as the first trans columnist for Vogue Magazine. Wanting to give more depth to her contribution to change outdated attitudes, Lees produced a BBC Radio 1 Stories documentary entitled The Hate Debate in which the attitudes people have towards minority groups were considered, along with transphobia, homophobia, racism and Islamophobia which was received with critical acclaim.
This was followed by another documentary called My Transgender Punk Rock Story, in which she interviewed transgender rock star Laura Jane Grace and in doing so she introduced teenage audiences to trans concepts of identity both within and outside of the binary. Now a keen activist, Lees has worked with a whole variety of media corporations in order to give training on the coverage of transgender people. She has also appeared on British soap, Hollyoaks in order to highlight the issues of the trans community as well as launching social media campaigns in a bid for equality. She was also been consulted on UK legal issues when in May 2016 she was asked to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee investigating prostitution laws in Britain and specifically about conditions for sex workers in the UK. The committee implemented the suggestions put forward and as a result, criminal records of those arrested for prostitution-related crimes were eliminated.
In recognition of her efforts, she was named the most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender figure within the UK and later made a judge for the award in 2011 and 2012. She topped the Independent on Sunday's 2013 Pink List, came second in the 2014 Rainbow List, and was awarded the Positive Role Model Award for LGBT in the 2012 National Diversity Awards. A determined and powerful public figure, Paris Lees is the ideal addition to any event in need a motivational speaker who can encourage the drive to make a difference.
