Cats costume designer Qween Jean becomes first publicly trans Tony Award winner
“The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change,” said Jean
By Aaron Sugg
Qween Jean, the costume designer for Cats on Broadway, has become the first publicly trans Tony Award winner at the 2026 ceremony yesterday (7 June).
Jean took home the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.
During her acceptance speech, the Haiti-born designer celebrated making history as the first publicly trans person to take home a Tony Award.
“We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people” – Qween Jean celebrated making Tony Award history
“This experience has been monumental,” said Jean. “We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people.”
Drawing on the current political climate and attacks on the trans community worldwide, she added: “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm.”
“The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change,” said Jean.
Cats: The Jellicle Ball directors took home the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
Broadway musical Cats: The Jellicle Ball received nine nominations at the 2026 Tony Awards, with Levingston and Rauch taking home the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
Jean was also nominated for Best Costume Design of a Play for Liberation, which won Best Play.
The 2026 Tony Awards were hosted by pop-rock sensation P!nk, who also referred to the political climate targeting the trans community in her opening monologue.
“This year, our trans siblings began to lose even more rights” – P!nk in her opening monologue
“This year, our country became more divided than ever, and we were given Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York,” said P!nk.
Stressing the importance of trans representation on Broadway, she continued: “This year, our trans siblings began to lose even more rights, and we were given Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”
As well as being an award-winning costume designer, Jean’s career spans LGBTQ+ advocacy, having co-founded the Black Trans Liberation protests in New York City with Joela-Abiona Rivera in 2020.