Yona Speidel, also known as Our Lady J, is an American screenwriter and singer-songwriter, best-known for her work on Pose, Transparent, and American Horror Story. She is the first out trans woman to perform at Carnegie Hall, as well as the first out trans writer to be hired in a television writers' room.
Early life Speidel was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania in 1978, growing up in an Amish and Mennonite community. She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1994 to 1996, studying in classical piano and composition during her junior and senior years of high school.
Early career From 2000 to 2010, Speidel freelanced as a collaborative pianist and musical director in New York City for multiple classical and musical theatre institutions, including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2004, Speidel met Lady Gaga at the CAP21 musical-theater conservatory in New York, where she served as an accompanist and music director.
Speidel made her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus in 2004, and continued to perform as their pianist until 2007. In 2008, she returned to Carnegie Hall to perform with Justin Vivian Bond in The McGarrigle Christmas Hour concert.
Speidel toured and performed with pop singer Sia from 2012 to 2014.
Speidel released her first studio album in 2013, titled Picture of a Man.
From 2014 to 2015, Speidel performed as a guest musician on RuPaul's Drag Race seasons 6 and 7.
In 2014, Speidel coached Andrew Garfield for Arcade Fire's music video "We Exist". The video is described by Arcade Fire as telling "the story of a young person's struggle with gender identity", depicting Garfield as a gender-nonconforming person who is assaulted at a bar, but later finds acceptance at an Arcade Fire concert.
TV and film career In 2014, Joey Soloway hired Speidel as a staff writer for the hit series Transparent, making Speidel the first out trans person to be hired into a Hollywood writers' room. Speidel's episode, "If I Were a Bell", drew international critical acclaim for its authentic portrayal of a trans childhood. During her four seasons working on the series, she was promoted from staff writer to story editor, to co-producer, and then to producer.
In 2017, Ryan Murphy hired Speidel to write and produce the television show Pose. Her contributions to the HIV/AIDS storylines went on to become the center of both critical and audience acclaim.
On two seasons of Transparent and on all three seasons of Pose, Speidel made on-screen musical cameo appearances, performing with Billy Porter, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Patti LuPone, and Sandra Bernhard.
In 2020, New Regency teamed with Speidel to develop a pilot based on the life of Dante "Tex" Gill, called Rub & Tug. The story had previously been set up as a feature film with Scarlett Johansson attached, but after outcry from the LGBTQ+ community, Johansson left the project and Speidel was brought on to reimagine the story with authentic casting.
In 2022, Speidel continued her collaboration with Ryan Murphy by writing an episode for season two of American Horror Stories. She then went on to executive produce and write season eleven of American Horror Story, entitled NYC. Speidel made her directorial debut on AHS: NYC episode nine, "Requiem 1981/1987: Part 1".
In late 2022, it was announced that Speidel would develop a comedy series at Hulu with comedians Holmes and Caleb Hearon, on which she will serve as executive producer and showrunner.
Music career In 2024, Speidel made a return to music with her single, “Future Of Us,” featuring the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. The song made a notable debut at the 2024 Met Gala.
Personal life and activism In 2004, Speidel came out as transgender and adopted the name "Our Lady J" as a nod to Jean Genet's subversive novel, Our Lady of the Flowers.
In 2008, Speidel garnered the attention of Dolly Parton by performing her songs, and the two struck up a friendship. In 2010, Parton helped fund Speidel's top surgery, along with Jake Shears, Rosie O'Donnell, Margaret Cho, Tori Amos and others.
In 2009, Speidel became the subject of tabloid fodder for her relationship with actor Daniel Radcliffe. The two were featured in Out discussing their friendship and careers.
During Speidel's first appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race in 2014, RuPaul drew public criticism for using the term "she-male", quickly starting a firestorm about trans-inclusive language within the LGBTQ community. In an article for The Huffington Post, Speidel defended RuPaul, saying "As an artist, I love language, and I cherish free speech. Drag is punk and should never be subjected to politically correct ideals."
From 2015 to 2016, Speidel successfully spearheaded the initiative to include gender affirming care in the Writers Guild of America's health insurance coverage, the first arts guild to cover transgender healthcare. She was quoted in The New York Times as saying, "Having to battle for insurance and having to battle with doctors is overwhelming. Taking care of your health as a trans person can feel like a full-time job". About the season finale of Pose, Speidel said, "I was able to take my own experiences and bring them into this space. It was a challenge, but it was also healing to be able to give that knowledge. And I do hope that viewers are encouraged to get tested and to not be so afraid of what HIV once was." In 2019, she was featured on POZ Magazine's POZ 100 list of HIV/AIDS activists.
In 2019, Speidel joined the board of GLAAD. That same year, she slammed the LA Times for body-shaming her at the Golden Globes, thus ending the LA Timess long-standing history of criticizing women's appearances on red carpets. "When you judge women for what they're wearing, you're not only judging the fabric on their bodies — you are judging their actual bodies, the medical history of their bodies, and the emotional struggle they have with their bodies because of articles like this," Speidel said.
Speidel was a featured speaker at 2021's World AIDS Day National Observance, alongside Anthony Fauci, Office of National AIDS Policy Director Harold Phillips, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee. That same year, she was awarded the National Leadership Recognition Award by the National AIDS Memorial.
In a March 2026 interview with Jonah Platt, Speidel revealed that she had converted to Judaism the previous day. In 2026, she announced that she was now going by the name Yona Speidel.
Filmography
Television +YearTitleWriterDirectorExecutiveProducer2015–2017Transparent2018–2021Pose2021Fantasy Island2022American Horror StoriesAmerican Horror Story: NYC 2025 Doctor Odyssey 2026The Boroughs
Writing +YearShowSeasonEpisodeEpisode NumberOriginal AirdateNotes2015Transparent2"Mee-Maw"5December 11, 2015Written by2016"If I Were a Bell"3September 23, 2016Written by20174"Pinkwashing Machine"3September 22, 2017Written by2018Pose1"Pinkslip"3July 15, 2018Co-written with Steven Canals"Giving and Receiving"7June 17, 2018Co-written with Janet Mock20192"Butterfly/Cocoon"3June 25, 2019Written by"Love's in Need of Love Today"6July 23, 2019Co-written with Brad Falchuk"Life's a Beach"9August 13, 2019Co-written with Janet Mock20213"Intervention"3May 2, 2021Co-written with Steven Canals"Series Finale (Part I)"7June 6, 2021Co-written with Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy"Series Finale (Part II)"8June 6, 2021Co-written with Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Brad Falchuk, Ryan MurphyFantasy Island1"His and Hers/The Heartbreak Hotel"2August 17, 2021Story by and teleplay by Jane Espenson2022American Horror Stories2"Milkmaids"4August 11, 2022Written byAmerican Horror Story11"Bad Fortune"5November 2, 2022Written by"The Body"6November 2, 2022Co-written with Brad Falchuk and Manny Coto"The Sentinel"7November 9, 2022Co-written with Manny Coto"Fire Island"8November 9, 2022Co-written with Charlie Carver and Ned Martel"Requiem 1981/1987: Part 1"9November 16, 2022Written and directed by2026The Boroughs1"Time To Go"7May 21, 2026Written by
Directing + Year Show Season Episode Episode Number Original Airdate Notes 2022 American Horror Story 11 "Requiem 1981/1987: Part 1" 9 November 16, 2022 Written and directed by 2025 Doctor Odyssey 1 "Double Booked" 16 May 1, 2025
Acting +YearShowEpisodeRoleNotes2014RuPaul's Drag Race"Shade: The Rusical"SelfMusical appearance2015"Divine Inspiration"2015Transparent"Kina Hora"YornaMusical appearance2015"Oscillate"2015"Man on the Land"2017Transparent"Born Again"Miss Pico-UnionMusical appearance2018Pose"Love Is the Message"SherilynMusical appearance2019"Love's in Need of Love Today"2019Pose: Identity, Family, Community (Inside Look)Various episodesSelf2021Pose"Series Finale (Part I)"SherilynMusical appearance2021"Series Finale (Part II)"
Music videos +YearTitleArtistRole2024"Days of Girlhood"Dylan MulvaneyPianist
Awards Speidel has received two Peabody Awards, three American Film Institute awards, three Emmy nominations, three Writers Guild Award nominations, and two NAACP Image Award nominations. As a producer, her shows have garnered a combined total of 48 Emmy nominations, 12 Emmy wins, 13 Golden Globe nominations, 3 Golden Globe wins, 20 Critics' Choice nominations, and 3 Critics' Choice wins, among others.
AwardYearWorkCategoryResultRefPrimetime Emmy Awards2021PoseOutstanding Writing for a Drama SeriesNominee2021PoseOutstanding Drama SeriesNominee2019PoseOutstanding Drama SeriesNomineeWriter's Guild Awards2019PoseNew SeriesNominee2017TransparentComedy SeriesNominee2016TransparentComedy SeriesNomineeNAACP Image Awards2022PoseOutstanding Writing in a Drama SeriesNominee2017TransparentOutstanding Writing in a Drama SeriesNomineeGLAAD Media Awards2022PoseOutstanding Drama SeriesWon2020PoseOutstanding Drama SeriesWon2019PoseOutstanding Drama SeriesWon2018TransparentOutstanding Comedy SeriesNominated2017TransparentOutstanding Comedy SeriesWon2016TransparentOutstanding Comedy SeriesWon2015TransparentOutstanding Comedy SeriesWonGolden Globe Awards2022PoseBest Drama SeriesNominee2019PoseBest Drama SeriesNominee2017TransparentBest Musical/Comedy SeriesNominee2016TransparentBest Musical/Comedy SeriesNominee2015TransparentBest Musical/Comedy SeriesWonPeabody Awards2018PoseEntertainmentWon2015TransparentEntertainmentWonAmerican Film Awards2018PoseTop 10 Television ProgramsWon2019PoseTop 10 Television ProgramsWon2014TransparentTop 10 Television ProgramsWonCritic's Choice Awards2020PoseBest Drama SeriesNominated2019PoseBest Drama SeriesNominated2016TransparentBest Comedy SeriesNominated2015TransparentBest Comedy SeriesNominatedAmerican Film Institute Awards2014TransparentTelevision Programs of the YearWonBlack Reel Awards for Television2020PoseOutstanding Drama SeriesWinnerGALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics2019PoseTV Musical Performance of the YearWinnerInternational Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)2021PoseBest Writing for a Drama SeriesWinnerOutfest Legacy Awards2018PoseTrailblazer AwardWinnerGold Derby Awards2021PoseDrama EpisodeNominatedPena de Prata2021PoseBest Drama SeriesNominated
References
External links
– official site
Daniel Radcliffe and Our Lady J: The Odd Couple by Noah Michelson, Out (2010) Our Lady J on Giggling With Lady Gaga and Beyonce's Beauty Treatments, Paper (2013)