Zara Larsson has been named the Trevor Project’s 2026 Mental Health Champion of the Year. The renowned suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people bestowed the annual award on the pop star for her advocacy for the community
and mental health.
“I’ve never understood the idea of having a platform and not using it to speak up about the things you believe in,” Larsson said in a statement. “LGBTQ+ people have shown me so much love throughout my career, and I want young people in this community to know that I see them, I support them, and they should always feel free to be exactly who they are. I’m incredibly honored to receive this award and proud to stand alongside The Trevor Project in supporting LGBTQ+ young people.”
Alongside her support of transgender people and trans rights and headlining Pride events, her 2024 album, Venus, was influenced by her LGBTQ+ fanbase, as she told The Advocate.
“It was actually inspired because it was Pride in Stockholm! Let’s just write about loving whoever you want to love. Love is beautiful. Love is amazing,” she told the outlet. “You’re right, of course I’m an ally. Everyone who has a brain is. Of course you can love whoever you love.” She added that the community was very supportive of her first single “All the Time,” particularly on the platform X, and that “Venus” was written by Violet Skies, inspired by Skies’ “first experience falling in love with a girl.”
She has also spoken out about mental health. In 2024, she partnered with Maybelline for its Brave Together mental health initiative, which provides support tools for those facing anxiety and depression, and she has spoken about how she supports her own mental health. Last year, she told Rolling Stone Australia that she has largely quit X/Twitter. “That has elevated my mental health,” she laughs. “It’s silly, but it’s true.”
“Zara Larsson has built a career around the idea that joy, self-expression, and being unapologetically yourself are things worth celebrating,” CEO of The Trevor Project Jaymes Black said in a statement. “She has consistently stood alongside LGBTQ+ people, championed LGBTQ+ voices within her own creative community, and used her platform to make clear that everyone deserves the freedom to live openly and authentically. Just as importantly, she has been willing to speak candidly about her own mental health and the importance of asking for and accepting support. For LGBTQ+ young people searching for signs that the world has a place for them — and that they do not have to navigate difficult moments alone — having someone with Zara’s global reach show up with that kind of honesty and conviction matters.”
The news of her award comes at a crucial time for LGBTQ+ youth. Acxording to research from the Trevor Project’s 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People , 1 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people attempted suicide in the last year, 44 percent of LGBTQ+ young people sought mental health care but were unable to access it, and 90 percent of LGBTQ+ young people said recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, policies, and debates caused them stress or anxiety.
Larsson is currently on tour in support of Midnight Sun, which arrived last year. This weekend, she’ll be in Singapore, before she performs a string of dates in Australia through October.
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