Laverne Cox

From her standout role in the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” to her work to promote LGBTQ rights and visibility in the media, actress and activist Laverne Cox has become a leading force in the transgender community. 

 “The world is a better place because of Laverne Cox’s advocacy and leadership,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told The Hill. “She has reached countless transgender people with messages of empowerment, and she has opened hearts and minds around the world about what it means to be a woman who is transgender.”

Born in Mobile, Ala., in 1972, Cox grew up studying dance. She graduated with a fine arts degree in dance from Marymount Manhattan College, where she also became involved in acting. 

Cox rose to international fame with her role in “Orange is the New Black,” in which she portrayed an openly transgender woman, making Cox the first trans woman of color to portray a leading role in a scripted television show.

She was the first transgender woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in any acting category, and in 2014 became the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of Time magazine.

She has also pushed for political change in favor of the LGBTQ community, protesting at the Supreme Court in 2019 ahead of arguments around several LGBTQ rights cases. 

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June to prohibit job discrimination against employees for being gay or transgender. 

“As we march, and as we fight for racial justice and justice for everybody, we must take a moment to remember that our voices matter, that our protest matters, and that each and every one of us can make a difference,” Cox said during an interview on MSNBC on the day of the decision.

Cox produced and narrated the Netflix documentary “Disclosure,” which traces the history of the portrayal of transgender individuals in the media. 

In the documentary, Cox pointed to a study from GLAAD that found that around 80 percent of Americans do not personally know a person who is transgender, increasing negative perceptions and portrayals of the transgender community. 

“I wonder if people who watch and love these shows, I wonder if they will reach out to trans people in need and work to defeat policies that scapegoat us, policies that discriminate against us, policies that dehumanize us, because until that happens, all that energy from the silver screen won’t be enough to better the lives of trans people off the screen,” Cox said in the documentary. 

Ellis described Cox — who in 2014 received GLAAD’s Stephen F. Kolzak award — as a “model for how celebrities and notables can use their influence to create change.”

“At a time when transgender Americans face rising levels of violence and an increasing number of policies and bills that would discriminate against them, Laverne is a beacon of hope and intelligence who will lead the entire LGBTQ community to a better tomorrow,” Ellis said. 

— Maggie Miller