English singer-songwriter and visual artist Anohni was BOTD in 1971. Born Antony Hegarty in Chichester, West Sussex, she was assigned male at birth, identifying as transgender from early childhood. She was raised in San Jose, California, where she attended high school, moving to New York City in 1990 to study experimental theatre at New York University. In 1992, she met trans activist Marsha P. Johnson, a week before Johnson was found dead. She performed as Antony Hegarty at nightclubs and bars in New York City, writing and performing the 1996 piece The Birth of Anne Frank/The Ascension of Marsha P. Johnson. In 1997, she co-formed the band Antony and the Johnsons, performing at venues in New York City, and releasing their debut self-titled album in 2000. They achieved global success with their 2005 album I Am A Bird Now, a collection of queer-themed torch songs showcasing Hegarty’s stunning contralto, duets with Lou Reed, Boy George and Rufus Wainwright and cover art featuring a photograph of trans actress Candy Darling. The album won the Mercury Prize and was hailed as a breakthrough for queer representation in alternative music. Their 2009 album The Crying Light, featuring contributions by Nico Muhly, debuted at No 1 on the European Billboard, followed by Swanlights in 2010. In 2015, she came out as transgender, adopting female pronouns and the name Anohni. Her 2016 album Hopelessness, the first released under new name, was a critical hit, earning another Mercury Prize nomination and a nomination for Best British Female at the Brit Awards. In the same year, she became the first transgender performer nominated for an Oscar for her song Manta Ray from the soundtrack of the film Racing Extinction. Reforming as Anohni and the Johnsons in 2023, she released a sixth album, My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross. A regular collaborator with other artists, she performed duets and backing vocals on Björk‘s albums Volta and Vulnicura, and has performed live with Reed and Yoko Ono. Her other projects including co-creating the performance piece The Life and Death of Marina Abramović, originally staged in 2011 and performed in Europe and New York, and Mourning the Great Barrier Reef, performed in 2025 at the Sydney Opera House. She has also staged exhibitions and art installations at galleries in New York, Brussels, Paris, Los Angeles and Copenhagen. Famously reluctant to discuss her personal life, her current relationship status is unknown.