Nicole Maines Helps Patients Discover Superpowers Within

Visit hosted by Seacrest Studios intern, James Pham
Recap written by Seacrest Studios intern, Brennan Fiske 

Nicole Maines’ electric personality shone through as she answered burning questions from our patient superheroes at Seacrest Studios around the country! An American actress best known for playing Supergirl in the hit TV show, Maines has been an advocate for transgender rights her whole life. She is the first actress to play a transgender superhero on television. 

Inspired by her superhero persona on the popular show, Nicole chose her DJ name to be “DJ Dream Skillet” during her time with our patients and families. Patient superheroes from Seacrest Studios at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, Boston Children’s and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta tuned in to ask Maines their questions about her life as a trans woman and her acting career. 

First, Maines chatted with our patient DJs in DC about how proud she is to represent the trans community in her acting and everyday life. 

“Getting to be this kind of representation for our community makes me feel so lucky and so fortunate,” she said. Maines said that while her experience as a trans woman is sometimes difficult, she finds even more joy in it.

“We have a self-understanding that many people don't, and there’s a lot of self-love that comes from that,” she said. 

Our patients got to learn some exciting things about the actress including that she made her own lightsaber – which is purple – and that Lady Gaga’s “Joanne” is her favorite music album to jam out too.  

After chatting with our friends in Boston, DJ Dream Skillet said she would want the ability to find lost items to be her “real life” superpower and she would use the Find My iPhone Logo as her symbol.  Nicole shared with a patient in Atlanta that she loved having the ability to craft her superhero, Dreamer, on the show as she pleased. Maines explained that playing Supergirl is a dream come true, and she’s thankful she has a great cast to grab dinner with, play around on set and even compete in Mario-Kart tournaments. 

The interview took a quick break to show off Maines’ TikTok dancing skills, and she even ran off screen quickly to bring back her own custom purple lightsaber! 

She said that the role came in a difficult period in her life, and she shared with our patients that it is important to never give up hope on your dreams and to practice self-love. 

Maines proved in her visit that she not only plays a superhero on the small screen but represents those values every single day. All of our patients felt “super” after spending the afternoon with our favorite Superhero!