Tessa Thompson is known for her roles in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, Dear White People, Selma, and the title character in the romantic drama Sylvie’s Love (2020). Thompson thus far has proven herself a superstar and now she is doing her best to help those in a community that is extremely unrepresented.
Thompson came out as bisexual in June 2018, stating that she is attracted to both men and women. When asked about her character’s journey in Thor: Love and Thunder, Thompson told Variety, that she thinks “a part of really being able to normalize queer characters, LBGTQIA+ characters, is to allow them to exist in their humanity and that doesn’t always mean that they’re in love or in a partnership because plenty of us know that sometimes you’re not. So, yeah, we’ll see if she finds love.” However, Thompson spoke more in depth in an exclusive interview with Variety where she said a lot of what she is doing and speaking out about personally is for the fans.
Courtesy of Gilbert Flores for Variety
At the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder, Thompson spoke openly to Variety about the impact that fans in the LGBTQIA+ community have had on her and how she is fortunate to work closely with people that want her to be herself. Thompson added that she is aware being in the entertainment industry can be a trigger for some specifically where sexual orientation is concerned.
Though Thompson believes that there is still a formidable amount of work to do, she acknowledges that she is lucky to have a supportive and loving network of people in her life, professionally and personally, who accept her for who she is. Mark Malkin, who interviewed her for Variety, spoke candidly about his own experience adding, “I will say this to you and I will say it to any artist who lives their truth as a queer person, you’re saving lives. I truly believe that.”
Thompson agreed with Malkin and added, “There is something powerful about seeing an image of yourself reflected in any way. But we know all too well there are some ways that really just matter because we don’t have enough of it.”
Thompson’s character Valkyrie is the MCU’s first openly LGBTQIA+ superhero, which was confirmed by a Marvel executive in 2019, and she joins the list of Marvel characters that are either suspected to be queer or confirmed to be queer in the comics and/or the MCU: Deadpool (suspected), Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio (Deadpool 2, 2018), Loki and Sylvie (Loki Disney+ Series, 2021), Phastos (Eternals, 2021), America Chavez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022), Wiccan and Hulkling (confirmed in Young Avengers comics), Iceman (confirmed in All-New X Men comics) and several more that have yet to be confirmed.
Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness;” Courtesy of Marvel Studios
Representation in media is critical- when stories are accurately and authentically told to audiences, they leave more educated about a community that may be different from their own. The visibility humanizes the LGBTQIA+ community and bolsters cultural acceptance, making the superhero genre more inclusive than it has ever been.
An Atlanta-based actress, model, writer, and screenwriter, Miranda started her career on stage in high school. She figured out that acting and writing were two passions of hers that allowed her to constructively express her emotions through character and narrative. In 2022, she packed up her cat and everything she owned to move across the US to Atlanta to further pursue opportunities in the entertainment industry. She is currently working on a novel and the screenplay adaptation for the novel, and enjoys designing graphics.
