Daniella Carter
Irvin Rivera / Getty Images
Daniella Carter was born June 10th, 1995.
She was placed in foster care when she was 1 1/2 years old.
She left foster care at 14 years old when her foster family refused to accept and recognize her as a woman.
She first rose to prominence as one of the subjects of Laverne Cox’s 2014 Emmy award winning documentary, The T Word.
The T word followed seven transgender youth as they talked about their lives, the support they’ve received, as well as the difficulties, bullying, and violence they’ve experienced due to being transgender.
In the documentary, Daniella revisited the sidewalk where she was raped and details how emergency responders initially saw her as a victim and were helpful until realizing she was trans and asking her if she was a “prostitute.”
Danielle was recognized on the 2015 Trans 100 list.
Speaking in 2023 about that time in her life, she told GLAAD’s Shar Jossell in an interview, “At that time, I was just getting out of foster care. I had just dealt with rape and from that opportunity, by sharing that truth, I did get public speaking engagements … but in all transparency, it was very limited opportunities that came in.”
In 2016, she gave a Tedx Talk titled, “The real pain and tragedy faced by transgender youth.”
In 2017, she was named a youth ambassador for the Human Rights Campaign and continued to champion LGBTQIA+ youth as well as speak locally, nationally, and internationally about her life as a Black trans woman.
In collaboration with creative agency SpecialGuest, she launched a digital film festival, Daniella’s Guestbook.
She writes on the website, “Rather than perpetuating the cycle of limited access and opportunities, I enact change in this time of uncertainty for many BIPOC, trans and queer individuals. DGB is pedestalizing the work of BIPOC, trans and queer creatives, showcasing beautiful projects created by a community that is overdue for support and resources from the creative industry at large.”
Daniella’s Guestbook also featured interviews with established and underrepresented talent.
Around that time, filmmaker and Grammy winning producer, D.Smith approached her about being in the documentary she was making about four Black transgender sex workers, Kokomo City
D.Smith transitioned in 2014 and according to her, “things just kind of went left really quickly – a lot of my relationships in the industry were no longer available.” She had previously worked with artists including Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry, Andre 3000, and Lil Wayne.
Her work producing and singing on Lil Wayne’s “Shoot Me Down” from his “Tha Carter III” album earned her and the other collaborators the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.
Following a brief stint on season 5 of Love and Hip Hop Atlanta, a homeless D.Smith started working on Kokomo City.
Speaking on being cast in Kokomo City, Daniella told Glaad, “I was balancing sex work and getting opportunities in so-called corporate America and I wanted other trans youth and other trans people to know it’s OK do what you have to do and you don’t have to carry shame for it.”
Kokomo City was released in 2023 and won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival.
That year, she worked on a committee that successfully organized and campaigned to have Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza’s home in Jersey City declared a historic landmark.
Daniella is currently working on a film.