Nicole Maines

Nicole Amber Maines (born October 7, 1997) is an American actress, comic book writer and transgender rights activist. The court ruled in 2014 that barring transgender students from the school bathroom consistent with their gender identity is unlawful, the first such ruling by a state court.

As an actress, Maines played Nia Nal on The CW superhero series Supergirl (2018–2021) in the fourth through sixth seasons. She is the first person to portray a transgender superhero on television. She plays the recurring role of Lisa in the second season of Yellowjackets (2023present).

Early life and education Maines and her brother Jonas were adopted at birth as identical twins by Kelly and Wayne Maines in 1997; Though they spent their early years in Gloversville, New York, they grew up in Portland, Maine. Maines herself said she knew she was not a boy as young as three years old and started explicitly telling her family who she was by the age of four. She initially wanted to be called Quinn from the same show, but she kept making spelling errors when writing the name, so she settled on Nicole.

Maines was popularized by the 2015 book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Washington Post writer Amy Ellis Nutt which tells the story of her family coming to terms with her gender identity. Many articles about the Maines family were published, many focusing on how one identical twin can be transgender and one can be cisgender.

Doe v. Regional School Unit 26

Maines used the name Susan Doe in the landmark case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26, which is also referred to as Doe v. Clenchy. In 2007, when Maines was in 5th grade in elementary school at Asa Adams Elementary School in Orono, Maine, the grandfather of a male classmate complained about Maines using the girls' bathroom. Following that incident, she was barred from using the female bathroom and forced to use the staff bathroom. With the help of the Maine Human Rights Commission, Maines and her family filed a complaint against the Orono school district, which is now called RSU 26, claiming the school was discriminating against her. The school district did not take any action to address the complaint, so the family filed a lawsuit against the district. and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders of Boston represented Maines and her family. It was the first time in the nation that a court ruled it unlawful to force a transgender student to use the bathroom associated with the sex they were assigned at birth In June 2015, Maines appeared on the USA Network show Royal Pains as a transgender teen whose hormones might be endangering her health. In 2016, Maines was one of 11 individuals featured in an HBO documentary titled The Trans List. In the documentary, Maines and several other people relate their personal stories of being transgender.

In July 2018, it was announced that Maines would appear as a series regular in the fourth season of The CW series Supergirl. She appeared as Nia Nal / Dreamer, a distant relative of Legion member Dream Girl, and played the first transgender superhero on television. She would remain on the series until its end in November 2021, and reprise the role in a final season episode of The Flash in 2023.

In 2019, Maines starred in Bit, a horror movie about queer female vampires, winning the top acting prize at the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival.

Maines penned the comic book debut of her character from Supergirl, Nia Nal / Dreamer, for DC Pride #1 in 2021. It was announced that she would also pen a solo series on Dreamer in 2022. She co-wrote the script for Dreamer's debut in the comic Superman: Son of Kal-El as well, which was released on July 12, 2022.

In 2023, Maines was cast as Lisa in a recurring role in season two of the Showtime series Yellowjackets.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2016 The Trans List Herself Documentary 2017 Not Your Skin 2019 Bit Laurel 2022 Darby and the Dead Piper

Television Year Title Role Notes 2015 Royal Pains Anna Episode: "The Prince of Nucleotides" 2018–2021 Supergirl Nia Nal / Dreamer Main cast (Seasons 4–6); 61 episodes 2020 Legends of Tomorrow Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five" 2022 Good Trouble Liza Davis 4 episodes 2023–2025 Yellowjackets Lisa Recurring role 2023 The Flash Nia Nal / Dreamer Episode: "Wildest Dreams" Soul of a Nation Herself Episode: "The Freedom to Exist with Elliot Page - A Soul of a Nation Presentation" 2025 Clean Slate White Natasha Episode: "Mess and Magic"

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2021 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Osa Voice role, Crystal Guard expansion