What Are Karen Olivo's Pronouns?
Karen Olivo is a Broadway actor known for their performances in "In The Heights," "West Side Story," and "Moulin Rouge!" (per Broadway World). Olivo is the first and only actor to win a Tony Award for their 2009 performance as Anita in "West Side Story." They have also gone on to guest appear in several TV shows, such as "The Good Wife" and "Law and Order" (via IMDb).
If you've read about the actor online, you might have seen multiple pronouns used in reference to them, making you wonder about their gender identity and preferred pronouns.
As explained on GLSEN, pronouns are a part of speech used to refer to someone in place of their proper name. Although you might not think about them, everyone has and uses pronouns, the most popular of which are she/her, he/him, and they/them. Using the incorrect pronouns for someone "can make them feel disrespected [or] invalidated," according to the University of Milwaukee, so understanding the language around gender and informing yourself about a person's preferred pronouns are important.
Karen Olivo uses they/them pronouns
Although Karen Olivo has previously gone by she/they pronouns (per Celebrity Shine), the actor currently includes they/them pronouns in their social media bios, as seen on Twitter. They also posted an Instagram story in 2021 announcing their identification as non-binary, and thanking the non-binary individuals that came before them (via Tumblr).
If you're unfamiliar, the LGBT Foundation explains that non-binary people are individuals who do not define their gender identity within the gender binary but instead think of themselves beyond the labels of male or female. Considered as part of the transgender community, non-binary individuals can understand their gender identity in a multitude of ways, including identifying as genderfluid, both male and female, or neither male nor female.
It's also important to keep in mind that an individual's pronouns can be different from their gender identity, so individuals who identify as non-binary may still use she/her or he/him pronouns or a combination with they/them pronouns (via LGBT Foundation). In the case of Olivo, though, they have made clear on their social media that they identify as non-binary and use they/them pronouns (per Twitter).
Karen Olivo has expressed much interest in social justice
In addition to being open about their involvement in the LGTBQIA+ community, Karen Olivo has also taken several stances on social justice issues. Most recently, the actor left the Broadway production of "Moulin Rogue!" in protest of the industry's silence following workplace allegations against Broadway and film producer Scott Rudin (per Celebrity Shine).
Reports of Rudin's violent and abusive behavior towards staff members have been allegedly documented for years, but The Hollywood Reporter's 2021 article featuring corroborated testimonies from ex-employees seemed to set off alarm bells for some members of the Broadway community. Notable stars like Rita Wilson have also spoken about their own experiences with Rudin. In a video, Olivo announced their decision to leave the "Moulin Rogue!" production, from which they earned a Tony Award nomination for their performance as Satine (via Instagram). "Social justice is actually more important than being the sparkling diamond," said the actor.
Olivo has also taken to social media to voice their opinion on and support of other social justice issues, as well. They have spoken on issues of racially-based police violence, racism in the Broadway industry, and being a better ally (per Instagram).