Leon Brown (born July 29, 1995) is the child of Kody Brown and Meri Brown. They are Kody's third child and Meri's only biological child.
They are the sibling of Logan Brown, Aspyn Thompson, Madison Brush. Mykelti Padron, Hunter Brown, Paedon Brown, Garrison Brown, Dayton Brown, Gabriel Brown, Gwendlyn Queiroz, Aurora Brown, Ysabel Brown, Savanah Brown, Breanna Brown, Truely Brown, Solomon Brown and Ariella Brown.
Leon Brown is engaged to Audrey Kriss.
Early life
Leon Brown was born on July 29, 1995 to Kody Brown and Meri Brown (nee Barber). They are Kody's 3rd and Meri's only child. Leon was born as female and her name was Mariah Brown. Leon identified as female until 2022 when Leon (Leo) went from she/her to they/them.
Leon was raised in Utah until their teenage years. They attended Sheila Tarr Elementary School in Utah. They attended Centennial High School in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Career
Education
Leon began studying at Westminster College in 2013. Another student of the school claimed that they were getting tuition waivers in return for promoting the school on their family's TV show, but this claim was never substantiated.
Leon graduated on May 13, 2017.
They studied social work at Loyola University in Chicago. They graduated with a Master's Degree in Social Work and Social Justice in 2020.
Television
In August of 2010, it was announced that Leon's family would be the subject of a TLC drama titled Sister Wives. This show would chronicle the lives of their polygamist lifestyle, which was illegal in Utah at the time of the shows release. Sister Wives aired on September 26, 2010. As of December 2023, season 18 is currently airing. There has been no official announcement of season 19, but it has been heavily alluded to. Leon is has not been featured on the show for many years.
Community service
Leon currently works as a program manager at Promise South Salt Lake and a recreational assistant at William E. Christoffersen Salt Lake Veterans Home. It is unknown when they began either job.
Personal life
Leon grew up hearing negativity about homosexuality in their Mormon churches:
"I remember being in church, and they talked about how being gay was bad. But none of that came from my parents. It was from the church and the people I was around. One bishop told me gay people were selfish".
Despite this, Leon struggled with feelings they were having. "People say they try to 'pray away the gay,' but I wouldn't even let myself think the word. I just wouldn't go there", they said in an interview. This became a source of anxiety, and they struggled with panic attacks.
While touring colleges, they had a gay tour guide who shared his story with them. Through this they began to accept their sexuality:
"There was this sort of realizing this is okay. My whole life I tried to shut it out. I was finally letting myself be real. I had this image I had to uphold, and when I started letting that go, I realized I didn't have to be the person I thought I had to be".
While studying in a women's psychology class, Leon came to the realization that they had a crush on a female classmate:
"I was in my psych of women class.. and it really opened my eyes to a lot of things, and this in particular, and I was sitting next to one of my friends and we were talking about, um, women in same-sex relationships, and I realized that this friend of mine is gay, and I didn't know that before. So after she said that and I realized that I thought 'Oh that means I could date her!' and it was just like a random, most random thought, like where did that even come from? Like, I don't want to date a girl! And then it took me a minute and took me the weekend and I realized like, okay, this is a thing, like I'm attracted to her. It's a thing. Or maybe I'm more attracted to women than I am to men. Then it was like, no I'm really not even attracted to men".
Leon also felt encouraged by their father's wife Robyn's friendships with gay people.
Leon publicly came out as a lesbian on the Sister Wives episodes "Another Catfishing" and "A Shocking Revelation", which aired on January 1 and January 8, 2017. They came out to their parents some time prior to this. Their father and his wives responded well:
"I thought about this years ago, I made a decision. My job as a dad is to love and respect and not to judge. I'm just really, glad, [Leon], that you're comfortable owning your truth, and that you're safe with us!" - Kody Brown.
"We're just happy she's figured out who she is. It's tremendous when you see a kid do that." - Janelle Brown.
"Everyone jumped up and hugged and congratulated her. She is so radiant just so beautiful that when she tells people I feel like most of them will be okay because she is so confident and so secure with being gay. It's wonderful." - Christine Brown.
Their mother, Meri, struggled to accept it. "This is a little unexpected. I did not see this coming... Kind of surprises me that she's known for so long and hasn't said anything to us," Meri said shortly after hearing the news. Later she commented:
"When I had [Leon], you know, I had this cute little girl, I just, I just always expected that she would grow up, meet a guy, get married, have kids. I see Janelle and her relationship with Madison's husband Caleb, and I see Christine building this relationship with Tony, and I kind of always expected that. I always wanted to have a son. I always kind of thought, well, you know, since I never had a son I'll be able to kind of adopt [Leon]'s husband into, you know, kind of being a son, and I looked forward to seeing who that was gonna be, you know. And that's not gonna happen!"
Kody and Robyn have worked hard to help Meri accept the news.
Response from viewers of the show was overall positive. "wow okay y'all making me cry with your support," Leon tweeted shortly after the episode aired. "thank you thank you thank you".
Leon started a relationship with Audrey Kriss in January 2017. They got engaged on January 16, 2019. Leo and Audrey planned on getting married in June of 2020, but when COVID-19 struck in 2020, they were forced to postpone their wedding plans. On October 29, 2022, Leon and Audrey quietly wed at a courthouse in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As far as fans know, Leo and Audrey currently reside in Denver, Colorado.
Leon came out as transgender in an Instagram post on June 28, 2022. They go by Leo or Leon and their pronouns are they/them.
