To be honest with everybody, I used the release of the Mean Girls musical movie as a guise to rant about queer girls that I like. This article exists since I wanted an excuse to talk about Reneé Rapp and Auli’i Cravalho for the millionth time. Both were born in the same year as me, so I have a parasocial connection to them as a result.
As I started contemplating, I realized that I want to broaden my focus to highlight other sapphic actors that I believe deserve recognition. A few movies released in the early half of 2024 have sapphic actors who are not necessarily A-list celebrities. However, all of them are beautiful individuals who have already excelled and have the potential to do even more talented work.
1. Reneé Rapp & 2. Auli’i Cravalho
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Reneé Rapp seems to be the queer it girl at the moment, and it has been fun to watch her rise from the sidelines. She went from making her Broadway debut in the Mean Girls musical at 19 years old to stealing scenes in the Mindy Kaling series Sex Lives of College Girls to taking a deep dive into the pop music scene with her EP and album. Rapp can effortlessly jump from one medium to the other, but her personality is what makes her stand out among her peers. People admire how unapologetically unfiltered she comes across in her music and interviews
On the other hand, Auli’i Cravalhlo is a quiet yet demanding presence. Most people know Cravalho from her breakout role as the title character in the Disney animated movie Moana. Not many people have the luxury of saying they performed at the Academy Awards at 16 years old. During her performance, Cravalho accidentally got hit and brushed it off as if she were a veteran in this industry. Since then, Cravalho has done other projects including NBC show Rise, Prime Video show The Power, and Hulu romantic comedy Crush.
Best Gay Moments
Reneé Rapp gave us one of the best coming-out scenes in modern television history in the first season of Sex Lives of College Girls, but I decided to go with her BuzzFeed thirst tweets video instead. This video is a good introduction for those not familiar with her personality.
I am a [redacted] for Renee Rapp like I really am. WTF is she doing to the gays
Coming out headlines blew up after Auli’i Cravalho posted a TikTok video of her lip-synching the lyrics to Eminem’s song “Those Kinds Nights.” Soon after, a random fan asked her to confirm on X, formerly known as Twitter, whether she likes girls, and she did exactly that.
If I may escort you to my tiktok... @auliicravalho QRT : @auliicravalho hey queen ur doing great in importance of being earnest :D do you like girls
Movie Trailer
Reneé Rapp and Auli’i Cravalho appear in Mean Girls, which is in theaters now.
3. Ariana Debose
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Ariana DeBose proved herself a force to be reckoned with in her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, which was better than it had any right to be. In 2023, DeBose went viral after her campy opening number rap at the BAFTAs where she notably proclaimed “Angela Bassett did the thing.” Recently, she also voiced the character Asha in Disney’s movie Wish celebrating the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Pictures.
Best Gay Moment
Ariana DeBose won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in West Side Story nearly fifty years after Rita Moreno did so for the same role. When DeBose received this award, she gave us one of the best Oscars speeches of all time stating “there is indeed a place for us.”
Movie Trailer
Ariana DeBose will appear in Argyle, which comes out February 2nd.
4. Isabela Merced & 5. Celeste O’Connor
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Isabela Merced has been in a few animated projects and action sequels from the Sicario and Transformers franchise. One of her first major starring roles was Dora in the live-action Dora and the Lost City of Gold movie, which did fairly well at the box office. I find it very amusing to see people discover that “Dora is gay.” Recently, Merced got cast as Dina for season 2 of The Last of Us.
Celeste O’Connor seems to be popping up in random movies lately as a supporting character. Their most recent projects include the drama A Good Person and the horror comedy Freaky. O’Connor has also made their stamp in the Ghostbusters franchise as Lucky. They seem to be reprising the role of Lucky in the franchise’s upcoming installment.
Best Gay Moments
After posting pictures of her partner, Isabela Merced celebrated Pride month in style by sharing the paragraph below on her Instagram story. Nothing beats fiercely defending your partner while also dropping bars like “I don’t exist to fulfill your hetero male fantasies.”
In 2023, fellow Madame Web co-star Sydney Sweeney celebrated her birthday with an ‘80s prom-themed party. Celeste O’Connor attended the party and posted about how it was “the gay prom [they] never had.”
Movie Trailer
Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor will appear in Madame Web, which comes out February 14th.
6. Katy O’Brian
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Katy O’Brian is just the type of actress who gives off badass energy without forcing it. I view her as a hidden gem in plain sight with large-scale Disney projects such as The Mandalorian and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Besides that, O’Brian has been in other comic book shows like Black Lightning and Agents of Shield. O’Brian is supposed to be part of the promising ensemble for Twisters, which is a sequel to the 1996 disaster film Twister.
Best Gay Moment
Katy O’Brian has experience participating in bodybuilding competitions, which makes her a perfect fit for her role opposite Kristen Stewart in Love Lies Bleeding. On occasion, O’Brian has shown off her figure on social media including this “obligatory lesbian” post.
Movie Trailer
Katy O’Brian will appear in Loves Lies Bleeding, which comes out March 8th.
7. Alexandra Shipp
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Mainstream audiences probably became more familiar with Alexandra Shipp once she got cast as the iconic superhero Storm in the X-Men franchise. Shipp seems to be able to slay in any genre: she can do musicals (Tick, Tick… Boom!), romantic comedies (Love, Simon), and dramas (Straight Outta Compton). In 2023, Shipp made a splash in Anyone But You (which unfortunately was not included in my sapphic movie recap since the movie came out around Christmas) and Barbie.
Best Gay Moment
Alexandra Shipp plays the love interest in Hayley Kiyoko’s music video for the song “Chance.” You cannot get any gayer than purposefully putting jam on Hayley Kiyoko as an excuse to lick the face of Lesbian Jesus.
Movie Trailer
Alexandra Shipp appears in Anyone But You, which is in theaters now.
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