Zooey Zephyr

Zooey Simone Zephyr (born August 29, 1988) is an American politician and university administrator who represents Missoula in the 95th district in the Montana House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected in the 2022 election to represent the 100th district in the Montana House of Representatives, making her the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Montana Legislature. She was sworn in as a representative on January 2, 2023. In April 2023, Zephyr was banned from the House floor after speaking out against multiple anti-LGBT bills and criticizing their supporters. In November 2024, Zephyr won re-election to the House in the 95th district, which she ran in due to redistricting.

Zephyr was born in Billings, Montana. She moved with her parents to Seattle at the age of 10. She competed in wrestling during her childhood and teenage years.

Zephyr graduated from the University of Washington in 2011 with a dual Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Creative Writing. She subsequently returned to her home state to pursue graduate studies at the University of Montana (UM), earning master's degrees in creative writing and literary criticism. She joined the university's Biology department and then the Office of the Provost, where she worked as a Program Manager overseeing the university's curricula.

Under the username Cazcom, Zephyr was a competitive Super Smash Bros. video game player, particularly in Project M tournaments. In May 2014, she made the top 8 at the Northwest Majors IV in Des Moines, Washington.

Zephyr came out as transgender in 2018. She chose as her name, Zooey, meaning "life", and Zephyr, as she wanted to be "a gentle breeze". Her middle name, Simone, is a tribute to her paternal grandmother. A 2023 Out profile described her as a bisexual trans woman.

Zephyr's rise as an activist began in 2020, when she testified before the Montana state legislature in defense of LGBT rights and met with Republican Governor Greg Gianforte. Having watched in frustration as bills limiting transgender rights, such as those making it difficult for transgender people to update birth certificates, passed by single-vote margins, Zephyr came to believe that she needed to "get into the room where the laws are being written," leading her to decide to run for a seat in the Montana House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections.

House District 100—of which she represented from 2023 through 2025—is one of the most Democratic-leaning districts in Montana. The seat was previously held by Andrea Olsen, who vacated the seat to run for state senate. Zephyr defeated Dave Severson in the Democratic primary on June 7, 2022. Upon defeating Republican opponent Sean Patrick McCoy that November, Zephyr became the first trans woman elected to the Montana legislature alongside SJ Howell, the first non-binary person elected to the legislature. Zephyr assumed office in January 2023. On April 28, 2023, she announced she would seek re-election in 2024. Due to redistricting, she ran in the 95th district, while the incumbent ran for the 100th district.

In an interview with Out, she noted that she was working on policy proposals for the next session while traveling across Montana and the country to build coalitions and to ensure that "the good folks who want to get into office have the support they need in order to succeed."