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Paris Lees is a powerful voice in the mental health and LGBTQ+ advocacy landscape, using her personal journey and public platform to raise awareness and challenge stigma. As someone who experienced significant mental health struggles linked to bullying, gender identity, and social marginalisation, Paris brings a deeply authentic and moving perspective to her speaking engagements. Her honesty and candour allow audiences to engage meaningfully with often difficult subjects, making her an in-demand speaker for events focused on mental wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion.
Her journey from a troubled upbringing in Nottinghamshire to becoming a celebrated public figure has been nothing short of inspirational. After facing discrimination and suicidal ideation during her transition, she found support through specialist care and began to rebuild her life. This transformation has not only informed her work but fuelled her advocacy. Paris was awarded the Positive Role Model Award for LGBT at the 2012 National Diversity Awards, and went on to be named No.1 on The Independent on Sunday’s Pink List in 2013, affirming her impact as a trailblazer in British society.
Professionally, Paris has shattered numerous barriers. She became the first transgender columnist for British Vogue and the first transgender presenter on BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4, paving the way for better representation of trans voices in mainstream media. Her literary memoir, “What It Feels Like for a Girl”, released in 2021, quickly became a bestseller and was adapted into a BBC drama in 2023, for which Paris served as Executive Director. These achievements have solidified her role as not only a cultural commentator but also a fierce mental health advocate.
Beyond her writing and broadcasting accolades, Paris is the Co-Founder of All About Trans, an organisation working to improve media portrayals of transgender people. She also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Brighton and was chosen as a Pantene Ambassador in 2019, symbolising her influence in promoting diversity. Paris Lees is not just a speaker—she is a change-maker whose life and work continue to inspire hope, courage, and acceptance.
“Paris really resonated with our audience and she spoke so eloquently and honestly. She held the room spellbound. Her talk generated lots of questions in the room and she responded to each question in a truly professional manner and was very willing to share her insights.”
“Many thanks for all your assistance over the past few weeks, we’ve had a load of positive comments back from folks already.”
“We were delighted to have Paris Lees join us at our NHS Diversity & Inclusion event to deliver the keynote speech. Paris shared her experiences in a very raw and honest way which was eye-opening for delegates in attendance but also very inspirational. Delegates were not short of questions when Paris opened the room up to Q&A and we want to thank her for sharing her story with us. Paris really helped bring in some perspective of why we are wanting to make a positive change for D&I in the NHS!”
“Paris was so amazing! Friendly, engaging- everything! The event went even better than I anticipated. Thank you so much for your help and please send all of my thanks to Paris as well. I’ve already spent the last hour talking to employees who reached out to tell me how much they loved her and the event”
The Mental Health Speakers Agency has been one of the UK’s leading bureaus for emotional wellbeing experts since 2020. We supply speakers for corporate and public events across the world, and cater to both in-person occasions and online webinars. Our roster includes athletes, psychologists, celebrities and more, to ensure that audiences of all demographics receive tailored, impactful mental health guidance.
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