Story at a glance
- Mj Rodriguez on Sunday became the first trans performer to win a Golden Globe, taking home the award for best actress in a TV drama for her role as Blanca on the FX show “Pose.”
- Rodriguez made history earlier this year as the first trans actor to be nominated for an Emmy.
- Rodriguez and her “Pose” co-stars have been critical of major awards shows in the past, which have routinely excluded trans actors — even those who have earned critical acclaim for their performances.
Michaela Jaé “Mj” Rodriguez made history Sunday evening as the first transgender actor to win a Golden Globe.
Rodriguez, who celebrated her 31st birthday on Friday, took home the award for best actress in a TV drama for her role as Blanca on the FX show “Pose.” It’s also the inaugural Golden Globe win for the show, which premiered in 2018.
Rodriguez on Sunday celebrated her win with her followers on Instagram.
“Wow! You talking about sickening birthday present! Thank you! This is the door that is going to Open the door for many more young talented individuals,” she wrote in a post. “They will see that it is more than possible. They will see that a young Black Latina girl from Newark New Jersey who had a dream, to change the minds others would WITH LOVE. LOVE WINS. To my young LGBTQAI babies WE ARE HERE the door is now open now reach the stars!!!!!”
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“To the nominees we are Queens,” she added, referring to fellow actresses Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Aniston, Christine Baranski and Elisabeth Moss. “I’m so happy to share space with you! Each and every last one of you women are phenomenal.”
While Sunday’s win was Rodriguez’s first, it was not her first nomination at a major awards show, and the actress last year was in the running for a lead acting Emmy.
Rodriguez ultimately lost to Olivia Coleman, for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series “The Crown,” but her nomination alone was history-making.
The year prior, Rodriguez, as well as her “Pose” co-stars Angelica Ross, Indya Moore and Dominique Jackson — also trans women of color — spoke out against their apparent snubs at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards despite earning widespread critical acclaim for their performances.
At that time, the show’s only alumni to receive a nomination was Billy Porter, a cisgender male actor in the largest cast and crew of trans actors, producers and writers a scripted series has ever seen.
“It took me a minute to process all of the conflicting thoughts I had about yesterday,” Porter wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “A record number of Black actors received #Emmy nominations this year, myself included. For that, I am grateful.”
“I have been doing this for a long, long time. It has taken me 30 years to get recognized for my work,” he added. “I know the pain of being overlooked so well. Too well.”
In an emotional 16-minute video posted to her Instagram page following the Emmy announcement, Ross opened up about how “tired” she was of the hard work of trans performers being ignored by mainstream awards shows like the Emmys.
“I want you to know from the jump that these tears are not about an award or a nomination,” she said. “Ultimately, I need y’all to understand that I’m so tired — those of you who know me know I’m not just working on screen or behind screen but I’m working around the clock to get our society to value trans lives and Black trans lives.”
Rodriguez in a tweet at the time simply thanked her fans, writing “I love you all” alongside a red heart emoji.
Steven Canals, the show’s writer, director and producer, also pushed back against core cast’s Emmys snub, giving a shoutout to Rodriguez in particular.
“Okay, real talk… what does @MjRodriguez7 have to do – aside from baring her heart & pouring her soul into every damn scene – to get a Best Actress nomination?!,” he wrote on Twitter at the time.
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