Our Lady J

Yona Speidel, also known as Our Lady J, is an American screenwriter and singer-songwriter, best-known for her work on Pose, Transparent, and American Horror Story. She is the first out trans woman to perform at Carnegie Hall, as well as the first out trans writer to be hired in a television writers' room.

Early life Speidel was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania in 1978, growing up in an Amish and Mennonite community. She attended Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1994 to 1996, studying in classical piano and composition during her junior and senior years of high school. In 2004, Speidel met Lady Gaga at the CAP21 musical-theater conservatory in New York, where she served as an accompanist and music director.

Speidel made her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus in 2004, and continued to perform as their pianist until 2007. In 2008, she returned to Carnegie Hall to perform with Justin Vivian Bond in The McGarrigle Christmas Hour concert.

Speidel toured and performed with pop singer Sia from 2012 to 2014.

Speidel released her first studio album in 2013, titled Picture of a Man.

From 2014 to 2015, Speidel performed as a guest musician on RuPaul's Drag Race seasons 6 and 7.

In 2014, Speidel coached Andrew Garfield for Arcade Fire's music video "We Exist". The video is described by Arcade Fire as telling "the story of a young person's struggle with gender identity", depicting Garfield as a gender-nonconforming person who is assaulted at a bar, but later finds acceptance at an Arcade Fire concert.

TV and film career In 2014, Joey Soloway hired Speidel as a staff writer for the hit series Transparent, making Speidel the first out trans person to be hired into a Hollywood writers' room. Speidel's episode, "If I Were a Bell", drew international critical acclaim for its authentic portrayal of a trans childhood. During her four seasons working on the series, she was promoted from staff writer to story editor, to co-producer, and then to producer.

In 2017, Ryan Murphy hired Speidel to write and produce the television show Pose. Her contributions to the HIV/AIDS storylines went on to become the center of both critical and audience acclaim.

On two seasons of Transparent and on all three seasons of Pose, Speidel made on-screen musical cameo appearances, performing with Billy Porter, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Patti LuPone, and Sandra Bernhard. The story had previously been set up as a feature film with Scarlett Johansson attached, but after outcry from the LGBTQ+ community, Johansson left the project and Speidel was brought on to reimagine the story with authentic casting.

In 2022, Speidel continued her collaboration with Ryan Murphy by writing an episode for season two of American Horror Stories. She then went on to executive produce and write season eleven of American Horror Story, entitled NYC. Speidel made her directorial debut on AHS: NYC episode nine, "Requiem 1981/1987: Part 1".

In late 2022, it was announced that Speidel would develop a comedy series at Hulu with comedians Holmes and Caleb Hearon, on which she will serve as executive producer and showrunner.

Music career In 2024, Speidel made a return to music with her single, “Future Of Us,” featuring the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. The song made a notable debut at the 2024 Met Gala.

Personal life and activism In 2004, Speidel came out as transgender and adopted the name "Our Lady J" as a nod to Jean Genet's subversive novel, Our Lady of the Flowers.

In 2008, Speidel garnered the attention of Dolly Parton by performing her songs, and the two struck up a friendship. In 2010, Parton helped fund Speidel's top surgery, along with Jake Shears, Rosie O'Donnell, Margaret Cho, Tori Amos and others.

In 2009, Speidel became the subject of tabloid fodder for her relationship with actor Daniel Radcliffe. The two were featured in Out discussing their friendship and careers.

During Speidel's first appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race in 2014, RuPaul drew public criticism for using the term "she-male", quickly starting a firestorm about trans-inclusive language within the LGBTQ community. In an article for The Huffington Post, Speidel defended RuPaul, saying "As an artist, I love language, and I cherish free speech. Drag is punk and should never be subjected to politically correct ideals."

From 2015 to 2016, Speidel successfully spearheaded the initiative to include gender affirming care in the Writers Guild of America's health insurance coverage, the first arts guild to cover transgender healthcare. She was quoted in The New York Times as saying, "Having to battle for insurance and having to battle with doctors is overwhelming. Taking care of your health as a trans person can feel like a full-time job". About the season finale of Pose, Speidel said, "I was able to take my own experiences and bring them into this space. It was a challenge, but it was also healing to be able to give that knowledge. And I do hope that viewers are encouraged to get tested and to not be so afraid of what HIV once was."

In 2019, Speidel joined the board of GLAAD. That same year, she slammed the LA Times for body-shaming her at the Golden Globes, thus ending the LA Timess long-standing history of criticizing women's appearances on red carpets. "When you judge women for what they're wearing, you're not only judging the fabric on their bodies — you are judging their actual bodies, the medical history of their bodies, and the emotional struggle they have with their bodies because of articles like this," Speidel said.

Speidel was a featured speaker at 2021's World AIDS Day National Observance, alongside Anthony Fauci, Office of National AIDS Policy Director Harold Phillips, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee. That same year, she was awarded the National Leadership Recognition Award by the National AIDS Memorial. In 2026, she announced that she was now going by the name Yona Speidel. three American Film Institute awards, three Emmy nominations, three Writers Guild Award nominations, and two NAACP Image Award nominations. As a producer, her shows have garnered a combined total of 48 Emmy nominations, 12 Emmy wins, 13 Golden Globe nominations, 3 Golden Globe wins, 20 Critics' Choice nominations, and 3 Critics' Choice wins, among others.