Sara Ramirez Is Non-Binary: Icon Instagrams Capacity to Be “Girlish Boy, Boyish Girl, Boyish Boy, All, Neither”

This morning the incredibly talented multi-hyphenate actor, singer bisexual icon and advocate Sara Ramirez announced a new profile picture on their Twitter and Instagram.

With the Instagram photo — a selfie of the star with their signature haircut, a purple shirt, and classic small triangle earring — came the following caption:

“In me is the capacity to be
Girlish boy
Boyish girl
Boyish boy
Girlish girl
All
Neither
#nonbinary
♥️💜♥️”

Ramirez quietly updated their pronouns to she/they on Twitter and Instagram a while back (though we don’t have calendar days in front of us, as Autostraddle’s resident Sara Ramirez “celebrity expert” my guestimation is pretty close to a year now). They’ve also updated their bio to include “non-binary human” right at the top! But this is the first major post since then — that we can remember — to address their gender directly.

Of course, at this point, in our community, the legend of Sara Ramirez enters the door before they do. First there’s the Tony Award for playing Lady of the Lake in 2005’s Spamalot. Then there’s Callie Torres who stole our heart on Grey’s Anatomy, clocking in more than 240 episodes and becoming the longest running queer character in television history. After leaving Grey’s in 2016, Ramirez came out as bisexual in a speech that I’ve personally memorized, saying that they were committed to embracing all of their intersections as an multiracial, immigrant, queer person of color. And of course there’s the butch dreamboat Kat Sandoval on who basically stopped time itself with a quirk of an eyebrow on Madam Secretary.

Since publicly coming out as bisexual, Sara has been nothing short of a show-stopper — working closely with Latinx, immigrant, people of color, queer and trans communities, activists, and artists. At every turn, using their platform to uplift those most marginalized and the voices that we need to hear from most.

And now, with Sara Ramirez coming out as non-binary, we get to add another chapter to our history books.

I’ve told this story before, but when Callie Torres first entered my life, I was still telling myself that I was straight. The last fifteen years have been a journey; for myself, for the character, and for the actor who played her.

I could have never guessed in 2006, sitting cross legged on my dorm room, stuffing my face with popcorn, that one day I would be an out queer woman, let alone the Deputy Editor of this publication (ha!). Never could have known that the character on screen who already captured my attention would soon become the mirror through I gained the courage to come out. I could have never imagined that the actor who played her would also come out and then show out, giving back to our community so generously and willingly.

In every moment and in every way, Sara Ramirez has proven to be loving to their community, never afraid of speaking up, never afraid to a beacon. Being courageous and grappling publicly with the hard questions of social justice and privilege and how to best create change. And today, we’re stopping for a moment to say, Thank You.

When Sara Ramirez first came out as bisexual, they made me feel a little less alone in this world. It helped light a path that brought me to this website. And today, less than five days away from their 45th birthday, I know that by proudly being non-binary — damn, they are lighting that path for so many more.

And for real, this isn’t easy! It shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are so few out non-binary actors in Hollywood right now, fewer still with the widespread name recognition of Sara Ramirez. Working in an industry that praises cis-hetero normalcy, and instead continuing to bust through those confining, bland, beige walls so that you can be yourself? That’s superhero business. And they’re doing it for us. For all the little Sara’s who are coming up behind us.

So on behalf of everyone at Autostraddle:

Dear Sara,
We’re so happy you’re living more authentically every year! (and also hotter every year, too!) We love you today, tomorrow and always.

— Team AS

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Carmen Phillips

Carmen Phillips is Autostraddle's former editor in chief. She began at Autostraddle in 2017 as a freelance team writer and worked her way up through the company, eventually becoming the EIC from 2021-2024. A Black Puerto Rican feminist writer with a PhD in American Studies from New York University, Carmen specializes in writing about Blackness, race, queerness, politics, culture, and the many ways we find community and connection with each other.  During her time at Autostraddle, Carmen focused on pop culture, TV and film reviews, criticism, interviews, and news analysis. She claims many past homes, but left the largest parts of her heart in Detroit, Brooklyn, and Buffalo, NY. And there were several years in her early 20s when she earnestly slept with a copy of James Baldwin’s “Fire Next Time” under her pillow. To reach out, you can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram, or her website.

Carmen has written 716 articles for us.

13 Comments

    • TYPING TOO FAST AND TOO EXCITED TO REMEMBER MY SHAPES!!! Hahahahahaha.

      I’ll update the post. Thank you!

  1. Yes yes yes! Sara Ramirez continues to be honestly one of the most incredible people. Thrilled with their courage and grateful for how much of themselves they’ve shared with us.

  2. Congrats, it’s great to see more non-binary celebs out in the world, especially celebs of color! I can only imagine how much it would have helped me as a kid know there are out non-binary & trans celebs in the world.

  3. My little queer heart absolutely SOARS for Sara. They were so important to my coming out, and I can’t wait for generations of queer kids to get to have them as an icon.

  4. So much love for Sara. What a babe. I hope they know how much queer joy they bring to this world.

  5. Obviously I don’t know Sara personally, but I definitely feel lately we’ve been getting dabbles off her most true authentic self which I greatly appreciate as a long time fan.

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