Ian Alexander, born April 20, 2001, in Salt Lake City, Utah, is an American actor known for their groundbreaking roles in television and video

     Alexander was born to an American father and a Vietnamese mother. Due to their father's work with the Department of Defense, their family moved frequently, living in places such as Hawaii, Japan, and Washington, D.C.. They participated in community theater and chorus during elementary school, which sparked their passion for acting.

     Raised in a Mormon family, Alexander later distanced themselves from the faith and identifies as agnostic. They came out as transgender in 2014, initially identifying as trans masculine and using he/him pronouns. In September 2020, they adopted they/them pronouns and publicly identified as non-binary.

     Alexander’s breakthrough role came in 2016 when they were cast as Buck Vu in Netflix’s The OA. Buck, like Alexander, is a Vietnamese-American transgender youth, and the role was partially based on Alexander’s real-life experiences. They landed the role through an open casting call that spread online.
In 2018, Alexander starred in the film Every Day, based on the novel by David Levithan, playing Vic, a trans teen inhabited by the spirit "A" for a day. That same year, they were cast in The Last of Us Part II, voicing Lev, a transgender character in the critically acclaimed video game.
In 2020, Alexander joined the cast of Star Trek: Discovery, playing Gray Tal, the first transgender character in Star Trek history portrayed by a transgender actor. Their performance was widely praised for bringing authentic representation to the franchise.

     Alexander has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, using their platform to promote trans visibility in entertainment. In 2019, they were named one of Queerty’s Pride50, recognizing trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ community. They also appeared on the cover of them. magazine’s Pride issue, spotlighting rising queer artists.

     Alexander continues to expand their career, starring in the independent film Daughter and voicing Tai in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, a character revealed to be non-binary in the episode Check Yourself.