Bel Priestley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 May 2003 |
| Education | Fashion Retail Academy |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2022–present |
| TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Followers | 1.4M |
| Last updated: 10 August 2025 | |
Bel Priestley (born 13 May 2003)[ citation needed ] is an English actress and internet personality. She began her career on the social media platforms YouTube and TikTok, where she documented her gender transition after coming out as a transgender woman. By 2023, she amassed over one million followers on TikTok. Priestly joined the cast of the second season of the British coming-of-age romantic comedy drama television series Heartstopper as the character Naomi Russell. In 2023, she appeared on the covers of Brick Magazine and Attitude . In 2025, she was feature on the cover of Glamour UK .
Priestley began studying musical theatre and dance when she was six years old. [1] She came out as transgender and began her gender transition when she was thirteen years old. [2] She cited the British model Munroe Bergdorf as one of her inspirations for coming out. [2]
She studied fashion in college and attended the Fashion Retail Academy for one week before dropping out. [1] She worked as a cleaner before beginning her entertainment career. [3] [4]
Priestley began her career on the social media platforms YouTube and TikTok, where she documented her gender transition and made makeup and beauty videos. [1] [5] By the time she was nineteen years old, she amassed a TikTok following of over 1.5 million people. [1] [2] She was one of the first openly transgender British women creators on TikTok. [6] On Instagram, she had over 130,000 followers by 2023. [7] [8] On YouTube, she garnered 43,000 followers. [8]
In November 2022, Netflix announced that Priestley would play the role of Naomi Russell in the second season of the British coming-of-age romantic comedy drama series Heartstopper . [9] [10] The second season aired on 3 August 2023. [3] She was the second transgender woman to appear in the show, following her co-star Yasmin Finney who plays Elle Argent. [2] [8]
She is signed with Margravine Management. [11]
In March 2023, Priestly partnered with ASOS and appeared on their Out & Out series for Transgender Day of Visibility. [12] In April of that same year, she joined the Paramount audience-led initiative Generation Change, focused on empowering women. [13]
She was featured on the cover, and in an editorial, of Bricks Magazine in June 2023. [1] [14] That same year, she also appeared on the cover, alongside her Heartstopper co-star Ash Self, of Attitude. [15] In 2025, Priesley was featured on the cover of Glamour UK's Women of the Year alongside Munroe Bergdorf, Ceval Omar, Danielle St James, Maxine Heron, Munya, Taira, Mya Mehmi, and Shon Faye. [16] [17]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–present | Heartstopper | Naomi Russell | Recurring role | |