Sara Ramírez Says They're 'Bringing Their Killer Mullet Back' on 48th Birthday

Ramírez shared a throwback photo of them sporting a mullet in honor of the occasion and wrote to their younger self, "May this kid continue to feel and know that they are loved beyond their gender"

Sara Ramírez is celebrating another trip around the sun!

As the And Just Like That… star turned 48 on Thursday, Ramírez — who came out as non-binary in 2020 and uses the pronouns they/them — shared two throwback photos in honor of the milestone.

“Pic of Sara, at around 8 years old, wearing a light yellow shirt, a huge smile, and an early 80s mullet,” they captioned the Instagram post alongside a photo of their younger self.

The second photo showed two books. “Sara’s extra flowery ‘This is the Story of’ baby book open to the Baby’s Arrival page with birthday info, and the very serious looking Fathers Labor Coaching Log and Review Book because 1975,” they continued.

The Grey’s Anatomy alum also shared a message to their younger self, writing, “There is so much to say but I’m gonna keep it simple. You’re welcome.”

“Happy birthday to me,” they added. “May this kid continue to feel and know that they are loved beyond their gender, they are valued beyond their productivity, and they will always be held and protected by this softening blossoming adult who may or may not be bringing their killer mullet back.”

Ramírez reflected on their journey of self-discovery in an interview with PEOPLE in December 2021.

"There was so much for me to unlearn, and I faced my own internalized oppression," they said at the time. "In this society, we often feel this pressure to live in these rigid boxes. When I stepped out of the box I had put myself in, I discovered my own possibilities for change."

Ramirez was raised in Mazatlan, Mexico, but was sent to San Diego, California, alone at just 7 years old to live with a family friend following their parent's divorce. "Fitting in can be very complicated," they said of adjusting to life in a new country.

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"I was born to a dark brown Mexican father and a white Mexican-Irish-American mother. And there was so much xenophobia against Mexicans. I internalized it as, 'I was born in Mexico and that means I'm not white and that's bad.' "

The actor said they now realize that they were non-binary from a young age, but didn't have the language to name what they were feeling. "I felt quite limited in the way that I could exist given that I was assigned female at birth," they shared. "I grew up under these conditions where I had to wear my hair a certain way or dress a certain way, things that felt really rigid and not right for my body."

Ramirez also plays anon-binary character, Che Diaz, on Max's And Just Like That. "What I love about Che is that Che is complicated and messy and human. Che is a great reminder that even when we don’t like someone in our community, they still deserve love, safety and joy, like everyone else," they told Variety last year.

"But the movement for liberation includes everyone, even people we don't like," the actor continued. "This movement, this fight, this party of pride, isn’t just for the people who make us feel cozy and cute — it's for everyone."