Harper Steele, the former head writer for Saturday Night Live who gained national attention last year for the Netflix documentary Will & Harper, has just been named the Celebrity Grand Marshal of San Francisco Pride.
Steele spent 13 years at SNL before becoming creative director for Funny or Die, and executive producer of HBO's short-lived Funny or Die Presents. She later co-wrote the parodic comedy miniseries The Spoils of Babylon, starring Kristin Wiig, Tobey Maguire, and Will Ferrell, and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, also starring Ferrell.
Ferrell and Steele have been friends and comedy collaborators for 30 years.
In 2022, at age 60, Steele came out as trans, telling her friends, including Ferrell, in a letter. "Look, I'm not a very political person," Steele wrote at the time, "but just by nature of being trans, I'm now a political person in a way. I just ask you as my friends to stand up for me. Do your best to, if I'm misgendered, just speak up on my behalf, that's all I ask."
Ferrell and Steele decided to make a road-trip documentary together, which was directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar), with long road trips being something Steele has always loved. The film is both a study of an adult friendship, and a friend attempting to fully understand and embrace his friend's gender transition, and about how Americans in different parts of the country react to trans people.
The film, Will & Harper, gained widespread acclaim, as well as multiple critics' and festival prizes, and the GLAAD Media Award for Best Documentary.
"Harper’s story is one of authenticity, imagination, and connection — all values that resonate most deeply with our community," says Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride, in a statement today. "Her visibility and vulnerability are a powerful reminder that queer people can and must be celebrated in every context, including in media and entertainment."
Steele will be appearing in this year's SF Pride Parade on June 29, and potentially at the Civic Center celebration that follows.
Other parade grand marshals this year include artist and activist Kenan Arun, who is also the executive director of the LGBT Asylum Project; Jahnell Butler, associate director of trans services with the San Francisco Community Health Center, and also the current Overall House Mother of the House of Chanel; Mexican-American trans activist Jessy Ruiz; and SF AIDS Foundation CEO Dr. Tyler TerMeer.
The theme of SF's Pride celebration this year is "Queer Joy Is Resistance." You can donate to SF Pride here.
Previously: Several Big Corporate Sponsors Decline to Participate In SF Pride This Year, Because Trump
Top image: Harper Steele attends the Netflix FYSEE: A Netflix Documentary Spotlight at TUDUM Theater on May 18, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Netflix)
