Trailblazing Woman: Laverne Cox

LAVERNE COX (b. 1972)

Laverne Cox is 4-time Emmy-nominated actress, Emmy award-winning producer, and a prominent equal rights advocate and public speaker.

Cox’s groundbreaking role of Sophia Burset in the Netflix series, Orange is The New Black (OINTB), brought her to the attention of diverse audiences all over the world. This role led to her to becoming the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for a Primetime acting Emmy, and made her the first Trans woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television series.

Cox is also the first openly transgender person to appear on the covers of TIME Magazine, British Vogue, Cosmopolitan magazine, and Essence magazines among others.

Cox grew up in Mobile, AL with her mother and twin brother. As a child, she dreamed of being on stage and loved to dance. Unfortunately, Cox was bullied and harassed as a child due to her inclination towards femininity and attempted suicide at the age of 11.

Cox attended high school at the Alabama School of Fine Arts before going on to study at Indiana University in Bloomington and Marymount Manhattan College, from which she graduated with a BFA in dance. Cox credits Marymount for helping her embrace who she is and was able to see that transgender people could be successful.

In 2012, after several years of acting in student and independent films, off-off Broadway shows, and auditioning for professional acting gigs, Cox landed her breakout role in OITNB. In 2014, Cox became both the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in OITNB and the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of TIME.

Cox recently added podcaster to her resume by launching the award-winning podcast, The Laverne Cox Show in 2021.

As a popular and well respected media and cultural icon, Laverne Cox brings trans struggles to the forefront of mainstream news. She encourages moving beyond gender expectations to live more authentically.

Sources: