She began transitioning by her elementary school years (socially), and became the plaintiff in the case Doe v. Regional School Unit 26 over her use of the girl's bathroom (which was initially granted, then withdrawn over complaints to the school). She won when the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine ruled in her favor, setting a significant precedent on transgender rights.
Maines medically transitioned fully by age eighteen, while adopting the name of Nicole based on Nicole Bristow in Zoey 101. Her experience, along with her family's, is the subject of Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, a book by Amy Ellis Nutts. She also was interviewed for the documentary films The Trans List and Not Your Skin, about the experience of trans teens (plus their families).
Her debut in acting was as a teen trans girl on Royal Pains who's having difficulty with her hormone treatments. She has made history upon being cast as TV's first transgender superhero, Nia Nal, in Supergirl (2015), a role Maines continued to perform until the end of the series. Additionally, she's portrayed Nia on a crossover with Legends of Tomorrow and later in The Flash (2014). Also in 2019 she starred as Laurel, the protagonist in the vampire film Bit.
Along with her acting career, Maines is a staunch advocate for transgender rights, having spoken about them and her life experiences as a trans woman quite frequently. She has received a string of awards in recognition for both her acting and activist work. Further, she has written Dreamer's comic debut, moving her character from screen to page with DC Pride 2021, a special issue that's focused on LGBT+ superheroes. She's wrote a solo series on Dreamer in 2022 as well. She also co-wrote issue #13 of Superman: Son of Kal-El from 2021 which debuts Dreamer in the mainstream DCU.
Filmography:
Film roles
- The Trans List (2016) as herself
- Not Your Skin (2017) as herself
- Bit (2019) as Laurel (lead role)
- Darby and the Dead (2022) as Piper (supporting role)
Podcasts:
- Elfquest: Journey to Sorrow's End (2022) as Dewshine (main role)
TV roles
- Royal Pains (2015) as Anna (1 episode)
- Arrowverse (2018-2023) as Nia Nal
- Good Trouble (2022) as Liza Davis (4 episodes)
- Yellowjackets (2023) as Lisa (recurring)
Video Game roles
- Rainbow Six Siege as Osa
Bibliography:
- DC Pride 2021: "Date Night" short story (June 8, 2021)
- DC Pride 2022: Foreword (June 14, 2022)
- DC Pride 2023: "Bad Dream" (May 30, 2023)
- Superman: Son of Kal-El #13 co-written with Tom Taylor (July 12, 2022)
- Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1 co-written with C. S. Pacat, Frank Barberie and Leah Williams (July 12, 2022)
- Suicide Squad: Dream Team (March 12, 2024)
Tropes associated with her work include:
- Nice Girl: Most of her characters are kind, sweet people, at least until pushed significantly.
- Queer Character, Queer Actor: Nearly all of her characters are transgender like her.
- Speculative Fiction LGBT: Some of her most well known roles have been playing trans women who also have a fantastic or sci fi element to them.
- Nia Nal on Supergirl (2015) is a Half-Human Hybrid and Supernaturally-Validated Trans Person who becomes a superhero. The women of Nia's family all have dreaming abilities. Nia also gets them. Although they accepted her gender, her family didn't expect she would have them, instead of her cisgender sister (who is not happy at all about this). Nia also is motivated to help not just other trans people as a superhero but the downtrodden generally as a result of her background, since she's all too familiar with how not only them but other minorities can be persecuted.
- Her character Laurel in Bit is a lesbian trans woman who becomes a vampire. She's accepted into a group of other lesbian vampires (after one turned her) and joins their fight against an evil vampire king.
- Starmaking Role: Her performance as Nia Nal on Supergirl (2015) and Legends of Tomorrow. Before that she had only one minor TV role. Since then she's grown famous as TV's first transgender superhero.
- Supernaturally-Validated Trans Person: Nia Nal in Supergirl (2015) (along with Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash (2014) and comics) is a trans woman who has superpowers which are passed down in her family only to women, confirming her womanhood.
- Trans Tribulations: Her characters usually have been mentioned if not shown as going through difficulties due to being trans, of varying degrees.
