Paris Lees

Author, screen-writer and journalist

Paris Lees is an author, screen-writer and journalist. She has been described as “the voice of a generation” by i-D magazine, “the fierce and fearless voice we need” by Dazed and one of Britain’s seven “new Suffragettes” by British Vogue. Though it sounds like hyperbole, her career has been truly ground-breaking. As well as being a contributing editor at British Vogue, she has written everywhere from the Guardian to the Telegraph, the Sun to Attitude magazine and she is both Channel 4 and Radio 1’s first transgender presenter.

Her debut book, What It Feels Like for a Girl, a memoir based on her life aged 13 to 18, was published by Penguin Books in 2021 and was commissioned as an eight-part series for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer which came in in June 2025, adapted by Paris, to rave reviews. Her documentary, The Hate Debate, earned critical acclaim as BBC Radio 4’s Pick of the Week, not to mention a BBC Radio Awards nomination. Broadsheet critics praised her for doing "a fine job of provoking her listeners" and for seeming "genuinely interested in the opinions of the young people she interviewed.”

She also co-founded All About Trans, a project to introduce media professionals to young trans people in a bid to combat ignorance and improve media coverage. All About Trans has met with hundreds of media professionals over the past few years, leading the BBC to commission the first sitcom starring a trans actor playing a lead role, Boy Meets Girl.

In 2013, the Independent on Sunday named her the most influential person in Britain’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Despite a troubled upbringing in a working class area including years of violent bullying for being different, she graduated with a first class degree in English Language and Literature in 2009.

She was Question Time’s first openly trans woman panellist. Her debut appearance earned praise across the political spectrum, from John Prescott to Iain Dale. She was also the first openly transgender woman in Britain to appear in British Vogue - and made headlines again in December 2018 when she was named the publication’s first columnist from the transgender community.