Zara Larsson Named Trevor Project's 2026 Mental Health Champion of the Year

The Trevor Project has named Zara Larsson its 2026 Mental Health Champion of the Year. The award honors the Swedish pop star's combined advocacy for LGBTQ+ young people and mental health awareness, as the U.S. suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization announced this week.

"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."

What did Larsson do to earn it?

Her support runs through three lanes: music, brand partnerships, and personal disclosure. Her 2024 album Venus grew out of a Pride celebration in Stockholm, she told The Advocate. "Let's just write about loving whoever you want to love. Love is beautiful. Love is amazing," she said.

The title track carries direct biographical weight from the community she's honoring. Larsson explained that "Venus" was written by Violet Skies and drew from Skies' "first experience falling in love with a girl." Her first single "All the Time" found especially strong support on the platform X. "Of course I'm an ally," she told the outlet. "Everyone who has a brain is."

In 2024, she headlined Pride events and partnered with Maybelline on the Brave Together mental health initiative. That program offers support tools for people facing anxiety and depression. Last year, she told Rolling Stone Australia that she'd largely quit X/Twitter. "That has elevated my mental health," she said. "It's silly, but it's true."

Why did the Trevor Project's CEO choose Larsson?

"Zara Larsson has built a career around the idea that joy, self-expression, and being unapologetically yourself are things worth celebrating," CEO 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."

Black framed the award as much about visibility as charity. "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," he said.

What does the timing change for LGBTQ+ youth?

The award lands against a hostile backdrop. According to 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 past year. Forty-four percent sought mental health care but couldn't access it. Ninety percent said recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, policies, and debates caused them stress or anxiety.

Those figures explain the organization's choice. A spokesperson with global reach can carry the survey's findings to an audience the data describes — young people who often struggle to find visible support.

What's next for Larsson

She's currently on tour supporting Midnight Sun, her most recent album. This weekend she performs in Singapore, then moves through a string of Australian dates running through October. The award plugs Larsson directly into the Trevor Project's outreach during a tour that runs straight through the communities its data tracks.