iO Tillett Wright
IO Tillett Wright (born September 2, 1985) is an American author, photographer, public speaker and advocate.
iO Tillett Wright
Zorah Olivia · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- iO Wright
- Born
- 2 September 1985
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Author
- Nationality
- United States.
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IO Tillett Wright (born September 2, 1985) is an American author, photographer, public speaker and advocate.
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iO Tillett Wright (born 1985) is an American activist, actor and artist, among other activities. The activist was born in New York City.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q5972933 · wikipedia · IO Tillett Wright
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — iO Wright • Born — 2 September 1985 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Occupation — * Author • Speaker • Advocate
Early life
Early life
Wright grew up in New York City with his mother, Rebecca Wright, a poet and actress. He documented the struggles of his upbringing in his memoir Darling Days.
Editor
Editor
In 2002, at the age of 17, Wright founded and served as editor-in-chief of a street art magazine, Overspray, until 2009.
Speaker
Speaker
In 2012, Wright delivered a talk at TEDxWomen in Washington, DC, called Fifty Shades Of Gay, discussing sexuality and gender as a spectrum. The talk has been viewed over 3 million times.
Actor
Actor
As an actor, Wright appeared in several independent films, including in a 2004 appearance as a McDonald's worker in Sex and the City, and after an over decade long hiatus, with a part in the feature film Holy New York (2020).
Television host
Television host
In 2016, Wright co-hosted the MTV show Suspect with Nev Schulman. In 2017, Wright was a co-host with Max Joseph, on Episode 6 of Season 6 of MTV's, Catfish: The TV Show.
Podcaster
Podcaster
In 2019, Wright produced and hosted The Ballad Of Billy Balls, a true crime investigation of the murder of the love of his mother's life. In 2021, Wright produced and hosted Cover Story: Power Trip, an investigation of abuses within the world of psychedelic therapy, for New York Magazine.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1985
iO Tillett Wright was born on 2 September 1985.
Blogger and writer
From 2010 to 2012, Wright was a featured columnist for T Magazine, at The New York Times where he had two blogs called Notes From The Underground—for which iO reviewed underground performances—and The Lowdown. Wright's first book, Darling Days, A Memoir was released on September 27, 2016, by Ecco Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Wright's second book, Self Evident Truths: 10,000 Portraits of Queer America, was published on September 15, 2020, by Prestel. Wright's third book, Oasis: Modern Desert Homes Around The World, was published in November, 2020, by Clarkson Potter.
Photographer
Wright is a self-taught photographer who, on September 22, 2010, opened Breedings, his first solo show of photographs, at Fuse Gallery in Manhattan. In August 2011, Wright debuted Camila, his second solo show, and Act Like You're Fine, a group show he curated at Tokyo's Vacant Gallery. From 2010 to 2020, Wright worked on a project called Self Evident Truths. To date, Wright has photographed 10,000 people in all 50 of the United States, creating the largest photographic document of a marginalized group in history. On September 15, 2020, a monograph, called "Self Evident Truths" that includes all ten thousand images, has been published by Prestel.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5972933: iO Tillett Wright
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “IO Tillett Wright”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Goldin, Nan. iO Tillett Wright. InterviewMagazine.com. 2016-10-06.
- 2.Felsenthal, Julia. iO Tillett Wright on Chronicling His Gritty Childhood in Darling Days. Vogue. October 4, 2016.
- 3.Baritaux, Zio. iO Tillett Wright Has Identified As a Boy, a Girl, and a Man, and Traces His Gender-fluid Journey in a New Memoir. i-D.Vice.com. 2016-09-28.
- 4.iO Tillett Wright. iO Tillett Wright's TED Talk. TED.com. January 2013.
- 5.The New York Times blog 6th Floor. Shades of Gay. 19 July 2011.
- 6.Artist and activist iO Tillet Wright is helping to smash stereotypes. Huck Magazine.
- 7.Civilities: 8 LGBT names to know in 2016. Washington Post. January 18, 2016.
- 8.Kennedy, Rose. Photographer iO Tillett Wright Intends to Capture the Humanity of the LGBT Community in Self-Evident Truth Project. Metro Pulse. March 7, 2012.
- 9.Ossad, Jordana. Meet Nev Schulman's 'MTV Catfish' Co-Host iO Tillett Wright. mtv.com. Viacom International Incorporated.
- 10.Phaidon. Who's who in these Nan Goldin photos?. uk.phaidon.com.
- 11.Tillett Wright, iO. About Me. darlingdays.com. iO Tillett Wright.
- 12.Fifty Shades of Gay. 5election.
- 13.The New York Times. IO Tillett Wright. T Magazine Blog. October 9, 2012.
- 14.IndieBound. Darling Days.
- 15.Rimm, Hannah. iO Tillett Wright's Self-Evident Truths Shows A True Portrait Of Queer America. www.refinery29.com.
- 16.Self Evident Truths. Prestel Publishing.
- 17.Wright, iO Tillett. Fifty shades of gay. January 30, 2013.
- 18.Wright, iO Tillett. Fifty shades of gay. January 30, 2013.
- 19.The Citrus Report. iO Tillett Wright.
- 20.Home. SELF EVIDENT TRUTHS.
- 21.Serafini, Marisa. iO Tillett Wright: My Parents Never Once Questioned My Gender. AfterBuzz TV Network. 2016-10-17.
- 22.iO Tillett Wright joins Nev Schulman for MTV's "Catfish" spin-off "Suspect" – AfterEllen. AfterEllen. February 24, 2016.
- 23.John Panichella. Nev Schulman and iO Tillett Wright Talk New MTV Show "Suspect". J-14. March 1, 2016.
- 24.Non-Binary Artist iO Tillet Wright Joins Catfish's Nev Schulman For "MTV Suspect" – NewNowNext. LOGO News.
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Identity. IO Tillett Wright is recorded with the occupation photographer. IO Tillett Wright is recorded as a citizen of United States. IO Tillett Wright is recorded as photographer, activist, writer, artist and editor.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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