Today in Star Trek history: actor Blu del Barrio's birthday!
Pictured Blu Del Barrio of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Photo Cr: James Dimmock/CBS ©2019 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
24 years ago, on September 15th, 1997, actor Blu del Barrio was born. Del Barrio’s only major screen credit to date is their appearance as Adira Tal in Star Trek: Discovery season three. Tal, a human implanted by a Trill, is the first Trek character to identify as non-binary and del Barrio is the first openly non-binary performer in the franchise.
Del Barrio is of Argentinian descent, but was born in Topanga, California. They have been acting in short films and theater since the age of 7 and also studied ballet as a child. They were a finalist for the 2016 National YoungArts Foundation Awards in the theater category and graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2019.
Del Barrio realized they might be non-binary after seeing Lachlan Watson, a non-binary actor on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and chose their name based on their favorite color from childhood. Playing the role of Adira helped them find the courage to come out about their own gender identity to their parents.
“I was still going through my coming out process when I got this role,” they told People magazine in a 2020 interview. “The show gave me space to figure myself out. It was a really beautiful thing to be doing it in this duality.”
Please join us at Daily Star Trek News in wishing Blu del Barrio a happy 24th birthday.
T is the Managing Editor for Daily Star Trek News and a contributing writer for Sherlock Holmes Magazine and a Shakespeare nerd. He may have been the last professional Stage Manager to work with Leonard Nimoy, has worked Off-Broadway and regionally, and is the union Stage Manager for Legacy Theatre, where he is currently working with Julie Andrews. after which he’ll be working on Richard III at Elm Shakespeare Company.
