Leo Sheng

Leo Sheng was born in Hunan, China, on May 18, 1996, and was adopted and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan, by two social worker mothers. He publicly came out as transgender at the age of 12. Sheng earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology from the University of Michigan in 2017. He had initially planned to pursue a graduate program in social work but altered his career path when he received a casting opportunity for his first professional acting role in the film “Adam.”

Sheng gained early recognition at 17 by documenting his gender transition journey on YouTube and Instagram, becoming a vocal advocate for queer and trans communities. His acting career officially began with the film “Adam” in 2018, where he played the role of Ethan. This was followed by a role as a creative consultant for the documentary “Disclosure” (2020), a film exploring transgender representation in media. He also appeared as Bobbi in “The Matrix Resurrections” (2021).

His most notable role to date is Micah Lee on Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q,” a character who is also a transgender man, which he began portraying in 2019. Sheng’s portrayal of Micah is recognized for its nuanced exploration of a trans character’s life, moving beyond stereotypes to present a complex individual. He has also taken on producing roles, such as for the TV series “Skip a Beat” (2023), and voiced Koi Boi in the “Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show” (2022) podcast series.