There was a time in Hollywood when a male character would normally portray the character of a transgender.
The misconception that trans people dress up like the contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race at all times still exists.
But that all changed back in 2013 Jenji Kohan, the creator of American TV series Orange Is the New Black decided to hire a real transgender to play a transgender character.
Thus, began the rise of an aspiring and struggling transgender actress Laverne Cox.
Career Highlights.
For Cox, it didn’t come easy, especially for the fact that she is a transgender.
She started out as a contestant on the first season of I Want to Work for Diddy, a VH1 reality show.
Cox became the first African-American transgender to star in and produce her own TV show after VH1 approached her for the series TRANSform Me.
Before appearing on television, she tried her hands in movies and short films.
Cox has appeared on a number of short films and movies before she went on to produce her own reality show.
She has appeared in shows like Law & Order, Law & Order Special Victims Unit, and Bored to Death.
She was also in films like The Kings of Brooklyn, Uncle Stephanie, and Bronx Paradise.
But her life took a turn for the better.
Because in 2013, Laverne Cox became the first black transgender actress to have a recurring role in a TV series.
She played the role of Sophia Burset, a transgender inmate who is arrested for credit card fraud.
Of her many first time experiences, being on the cover of Time magazine in June 2014 was one of them.
It was the first time a transgender woman was featured on the cover of one of the most prestigious magazines in the world.
Laverne was nominated for her role as Sophia Burset in Orange Is the New Black at the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award.
She was the first openly transgender person to be up for the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Cox won a Daytime Emmy for her 2014 documentary Laverne Cox Presents The T Word.
She was the executive producer as well as the narrator of the documentary. And was the first openly transgender person to win the award.
Impact Laverne Cox has made along the way.
Apart from being a successful actress, Laverne Cox is also an advocate. All her life she’s been actively involved in making the lives of trans people better in America.
She is a trailblazer for the transgender community.
In 2017, Cox was the narrator of the video “Time Marches Forward & So Do We,” a video about transgender history and resistance.
She has been honored numerous times in numerous events for her active participation and activism regarding the trans community.
She’s become the first transgender woman to be nominated and win numerous awards for both her TV roles and activism.
She was one of the faces of Beyonce’s athleisure clothing line Ivy Park. And was the first trans woman to appear on the cover of British Vogue.
She was chosen by the guest editor of the September 2019 issue, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
In 2016, Cox received an Honorary Doctorate from The New School in New York for her work in the fight for gender equality.
Personal Life.
Laverne Cox was born on May 29, 1984, in Mobile, Alabama. She was raised by a single mother and her grandmother along with an identical twin brother M Lamar.
Laverne Cox’s brother, who is a musician by profession also appeared on the Netflix series playing Marcus (who is Sophia’s pre-transition phase).
She graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Alabama. She also studied at Indiana University Bloomington and was later transferred to Marymount Manhattan College in New York.
Laverne Cox, before studying acting studied creative writing. But she decided to switch to dance, specifically classical ballet.
