Marquise Vilsón Balenciaga (b. 1981) is an activist, actor, and a member of the House of Balenciaga. Born in 1981, Marques Vilsón grew up in the Bronx, New York City. He was raised in poverty during the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the crack epidemic, and the era was significant in shaping his life. As a young, Black, queer kid, Vilsón realized he could not afford to not be who he was and needed to live aloud. At the age of 16, Vilsón began dressing in clothing deemed masculine. He had entered the ballroom scene the year prior after meeting a youth program mentor from the House of Chanel named Michael. Michael mentioned to Vilsón he was doing a documentary film project on the ballroom scene and invited Vilsón to a ball. Immediately, Vilsón felt connected to and supported by the community. Vilsón began attending and participating in GMHC (formerly the Gay Men’s Health Crisis) Latex Balls in 1995/1996. He joined the House of Balenciaga and was quickly applauded for his walks and performances. Aligned with his personal goal to live fully and be seen, Vilsón agreed be a part of a documentary to have his personal experience as a young Black man of trans experience be documented from 1997 to 2001. The footage was used in The Aggressives (2005), a documentary following masculine queer people of color. At the same time, Vilsón became involved in activism, first by becoming a visible person of trans experience and then helping others find resources they may need. In the ballroom community, Vilsón became a respected leader and mentor. He’s received the Eric Christian Bazaar Award (2011) for his work as a sexual health coordinator and the Octavia St. Laurent Trans Activist Award (2018), was deemed a Transman ICON (2018), and inducted into the Dorian Hall of Fame (2020).  Not a stranger to performing and interested in music, art, and dance since a young age, Vilsón had not considered acting as a career until his adulthood when he landed a role in the off-Broadway play Charm in 2017. This opportunity led to a role in Ben is Black (2018) alongside Julia Roberts the following year. In 2018, Vilsón also landed his first television role as Sergeant Jim Preston in Law and Order: SVU’s episode, “Service.” Sgt. Preston is a witness to a case who is reluctant to testify as it would bring to light that he is a transgender man and could risk his military career. Marquise related to the role, not just because both men are trans, but Vilsón also had a short military career in 2001.Vilsón has continued to land television roles, most notably as a series regular named Isaac Vega in Tom Swift (premiered May 31, 2022), a CW spinoff of Nancy Drew.

Marquise Vilsón is an actor and activist of trans masculine experience. Marquise will be seen as this spring in the new series TOM SWIFT in the series regular role of Isaac, a trans, pansexual badass who is Tom’s bodyguard and right-hand man. Marquise was introduced to TV audiences when he guest-starred in the critically acclaimed episode of LAW & ORDER: SVU that addressed the issues faced by transgender military service members. He made his New York stage debut Off-Broadway as Beta in MCC Theatre’s CHARM, and his feature film debut as Leon in Peter Hedges’ BEN IS BACK, opposite Lucas Hedges, starring Julia Roberts. TV credits include, upcoming A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, BULL, THE BLACKLIST, Netflix’s TALES OF THE CITY starring Elliot Page and BLINDSPOT. Film Credits include: THE KITCHEN, starring Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish, BEN IS BACK starring Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges, and the upcoming B-BOY BLUES starring Brandee Evans and Ledisi. In FX’s new docuseries PRIDE (2021) Marquise lends his voice and shares his experiences of Black trans masculine visibility in its infancy, during 1990’s culture wars with the Oscar Award winning Yance Ford. Additionally, Marquise served as a creative consultant and was featured in the documentary film DISCLOSURE (Sundance Film Festival 2019), executive produced by Laverne Cox and directed by Sam Feder, and he was also featured in the documentary film NO ORDINARY MAN (Toronto Film Festival 2020), co-directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt. As a young person, Marquise was featured in the documentary film The Aggressives (2005), which explored his personal journey and some of his ball walking experience as a then ballroom ‘star’. Marquise will now serve as an Executive Producer for the follow-up film that is currently in production. A long-standing member and participant of the underground ballroom scene, Marquise is a force and well-respected leader in the ballroom community, having walked numerous categories over the last two (2) plus decades and is a known staple within the ballroom community. Acknowledged by his ballroom family and non-profit sectors alike for his visibility and community work, Marquise has been presented with the Eric Christian Bazaar Award, Octavia St. Laurent Trans Activist Award, the Masquerade Blue Print Award and deemed a Transman ICON and was inducted into the Dorian Corey Hall of Fame for all his contributions. Marquise actively sits on boards for AVP and GMHC, as a Board of Directors. As one of the earlier images of Black trans masculinity in both media/pop culture and activist/advocacy spaces, Marquise continues to be unapologetic and provide authentic representation and reflection of Black trans masculinity.