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Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and
LGBT advocate A list of notable LGBT social movements, LGBT rights activists who have worked to advance LGBT rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Argentina *Claudia Castrosín Verdú, she and her partn ...
. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...
'', becoming the first
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
person to be nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
in an acting category, and the first to be nominated for an Emmy Award since composer
Angela Morley Angela Morley (10 March 192414 January 2009) was an English composer and conductor who became a familiar household name to BBC Radio listeners in the 1950s. She attributed her entry into composing and arranging largely to the influence and en ...
in 1990. In 2015, she won a Daytime Emmy Award in Outstanding Special Class Special as executive producer for ''Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word'', making her the first
trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...
to win the award. In 2017, she became the first transgender person to play a transgender series regular on U.S.
broadcast TV Broadcast television systems (or terrestrial television systems outside the US and Canada) are the encoding or formatting systems for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals. Analog television systems were standardized by ...
as Cameron Wirth on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
s ''
Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, ...
''. Cox appeared as a contestant on the first season of
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
's
reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
''
I Want to Work for Diddy ''I Want to Work for Diddy'' is a VH1 reality show which features contestants competing for a job working for Sean Combs (a.k.a. Diddy). The first season of the show tied for the Outstanding Reality Program at the 20th GLAAD Media Awards. The fir ...
'', and co-produced and co-hosted the VH1 makeover television series '' TRANSform Me''. In April 2014, Cox was honored by
GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
with its Stephen F. Kolzak Award for her work as an advocate for the transgender community. In June 2014, Cox became the first transgender person to appear on the cover of ''Time'' magazine. Cox is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of a ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
'' magazine, with her February 2018 cover on the
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n edition. She is also the first openly transgender person to have a wax figure of herself at
Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...
.


Early life

Cox was born in
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, and was raised by a single mother and grandmother within the
AME Zion #REDIRECT AME #REDIRECT AME {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
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church. She has an
identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
brother, M Lamar, who portrayed the pre- transitioning Sophia (as Marcus) in ''Orange Is the New Black''. Cox has stated that she attempted suicide at the age of 11, when she noticed that she had developed feelings for her male classmates and had been bullied for several years for not acting "the way someone assigned male at birth was supposed to act". She is a graduate of the
Alabama School of Fine Arts The Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) is a public, tuition-free partially boarding state middle and high school located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It provides an intensive specialty-focused education in the arts, math, and sci ...
in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, where she studied creative writing before switching to dance. She then studied for two years at
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...
before transferring to
Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...
in New York City, where she switched from dancing (specifically classical ballet) to acting. During her first season on ''Orange Is the New Black'', she was still appearing at a restaurant on the
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...
as a
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...
(where she had applied initially to work as a waitress).


Career

Cox appeared as a contestant on the first season of ''I Want to Work for Diddy''; afterwards she was approached by
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
about show ideas. From that came the makeover television series ''TRANSform Me'', which made Cox the first African-American transgender person to produce and star in her own TV show. Both those shows were nominated for a
GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...
for outstanding reality program, and when ''Diddy'' won in 2009, Cox accepted the award at the ceremony, giving a speech described by the ''
San Francisco Sentinel The ''San Francisco Sentinel'' is an online newspaper serving the LGBT communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally a weekly print periodical, the ''Sentinel'' covers local San Francisco politics, news and social events, and internation ...
'' as "among the most poignant because treminded us how important it is to tell our stories, all of our stories." She has also acted in a number of TV shows and films, including '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''
Bored to Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, Ne ...
'', and ''
Musical Chairs Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide. Gameplay A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players ...
''. In 2013, Cox began her recurring role in the Netflix series ''Orange is the New Black'' as Sophia Burset, a trans woman sent to prison for credit-card fraud. In that year, she stated, "Sophia is written as a multi-dimensional character who the audience can really empathize with—all of the sudden they're empathizing with a real Trans person. And for Trans folks out there, who need to see representations of people who are like them and of their experiences, that's when it becomes really important." Cox's role in ''Orange is the New Black'' provides her a platform to speak on the rights of trans people. In January 2014, Cox joined trans woman
Carmen Carrera Carmen Carrera (born April 13, 1985) is an American reality television personality, model, burlesque performer, and actress, known for appearing on the third season of the Logo reality television series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', as well as its s ...
on
Katie Couric Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...
's syndicated show, ''
Katie Katie is an English feminine name. It is a form Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports *Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player *Katie Clark (born 1994), Briti ...
''. Couric referred to transgender people as "transgenders", and after being rebuffed by Carrera on the subject of her surgeries, specifically what genital reconstruction she had done, turned the same question to Cox. Cox responded, News outlets such as ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
'', ''The Huffington Post'', and ''
Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'' covered what was characterized by ''Salon'' writer Katie McDonough as Couric's "clueless" and "invasive" line of questioning. Cox was on the cover of the June 9, 2014, issue of ''Time'' and was interviewed for the article "The Transgender Tipping Point" by Katy Steinmetz, which ran in that issue and the title of which was also featured on the cover; this makes Cox the first transgender person on the cover of ''Time''. Later in 2014, Cox became the first transgender person to be nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
in an acting category: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sophia Burset in ''Orange Is the New Black''. She also appeared in
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
's video for the song "
You & I (Nobody in the World) "You & I (Nobody in the World)" is a song by American singer John Legend. Legend co-wrote the song with James Ryan Ho, Dave Tozer and Dan Wilson, with production by Malay, Tozer and Legend. It impacted urban adult contemporary radio in the United ...
". Cox joined a campaign in 2014 against a Phoenix, Arizona, law which allows police to arrest anyone suspected of "manifesting prostitution", and which she feels targets transgender women of color, following the conviction of activist (and transgender woman of color) Monica Jones. Cox stated, "All over the country, trans women are targeted simply for being who they are. Laws like this manifestation law really support systematically the idea that girls like me, girls like me and Monica, are less than thersin this country." Later that year the
Sylvia Rivera Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002) was an American gay liberation and transgender rights activist September 21, 1995. Accessed July 24, 2015. who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag q ...
Law Project released a video in which Cox read a letter from transgender inmate Synthia China Blast, addressing common issues faced by trans inmates. But when Cox learned that Blast was found guilty of the 1993 rape and murder of a 13-year-old child, she wrote on her Tumblr, "I was not aware of the charges for which she was convicted. If I had been aware of those charges, I would have never agreed to read the letter." Cox was featured in the annual "Rebels" issue of '' V'' in late 2014. For the issue, V asked celebrities and artists to nominate who they saw as their personal rebels, and
Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she r ...
nominated Cox. Cox was also on the cover of the October 2014 issue of ''
Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
'' magazine, along with actresses
Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...
,
Nicole Beharie Nicole Beharie is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles in films such as the drama ''American Violet'' (2008), the psychological drama ''Shame (2011 film), Shame'' (2011), the biographical sports drama ''42 (film), 42'' ...
, and
Danai Gurira Danai Jekesai Gurira (; born February 14, 1978) is an American-Zimbabwean actress and playwright. She is best known for her starring roles as Michonne on the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2012–2020, 2022) and as Okoye in the ...
. On October 17, 2014, ''Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word'', an hour-long documentary executive-produced and narrated by Cox, premiered on MTV and Logo simultaneously. That same year, Cox was featured on the fifth anniversary cover of ''C☆NDY'' magazine along with 13 other transgender women –
Janet Mock Janet Mock (born March 10, 1983) is an American writer, television host, director, producer and transgender rights activist. Her debut book, the memoir '' Redefining Realness'', became a ''New York Times'' bestseller. She is a contributing edit ...
,
Carmen Carrera Carmen Carrera (born April 13, 1985) is an American reality television personality, model, burlesque performer, and actress, known for appearing on the third season of the Logo reality television series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', as well as its s ...
,
Geena Rocero Geena Rocero (born 1983) is a Filipino-born American model, TED speaker, and transgender advocate based in New York City. Rocero is the founder of Gender Proud, a media production company that tells stories of the transgender community worldwid ...
,
Isis King Isis King (born October 1, 1985) is an American model, actress, and fashion designer. Most widely known for her role on both the eleventh cycle and the seventeenth cycle of the reality television show ''America's Next Top Model'', she was the ...
, Gisele Alicea, Leyna Ramous, Dina Marie, Nina Poon, Juliana Huxtable, Niki M'nray, Pêche Di, Carmen Xtravaganza (
House of Xtravaganza Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized “houses” to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective gr ...
), and
Yasmine Petty Yasmine Petty is an American model. Petty mostly works as a runway and editorial fashion model in addition to having worked as an actress and photographer. Petty has modeled at international events such as New York Fashion Week, Italian Vogue, ...
. In 2015, Cox won a Daytime Emmy Award in Outstanding Special Class Special as Executive Producer for ''Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.'' This made Cox the first transgender woman to win a Daytime Emmy as an Executive Producer; as well, ''The T Word'' is the first trans documentary to win a Daytime Emmy. That year Cox, among others, posed nude for the '' Allure'' annual "Nudes" issue, becoming the first transgender actress to do so. Cox is the cover subject for the June 11, 2015, "totally not-straight issue" of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', the first issue of the magazine in 15 years to focus exclusively on gay, lesbian, and transgender entertainment. In June 2016, the
Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
released a video in tribute to the victims of the
Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. In a 9- ...
; in the video, Cox and others told the stories of the people killed there. In 2017, Cox began her role as transgender attorney Cameron Wirth on ''
Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, ...
'' on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
. However, after only two episodes had aired, CBS announced that they were pulling the series from their schedule, leaving the future of the remaining unaired episodes uncertain. It was the first official cancellation of the 2016–17 season, following weak viewership. CBS later announced that the remaining 11 episodes would be broadcast on Saturday, beginning July 1. Cox was nominated in 2017 for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a gues ...
for her role in ''Orange Is the New Black''. Also in 2017, Cox collaborated with the
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
,
Zackary Drucker Zackary Drucker (born 1983) is an American trans woman multimedia artist, cultural producer, LGBT activist, actress, and television producer. She is an Emmy-nominated producer for the docu-series ''This Is Me'', a consultant on the TV series ''T ...
,
Molly Crabapple Molly Crabapple (born Jennifer Caban; 1983) is an American artist and writer. She is a contributing editor for ''Vice (magazine), VICE'' and has written for a variety of other outlets, as well as publishing books, including an illustrated memoir, ...
, and
Kim Boekbinder Kim Max Fractal Boekbinder, born Kim Boekbinder, is a Canadian musician. Their music ranges from dark synth pop to acoustic looping. A longtime proponent of direct-to-fan marketing and social media, Boekbinder gained publicity for their take ...
, in making a video about transgender history and resistance, called "Time Marches Forward & So Do We", which Cox narrated. That year Cox became one of the four faces of the fall campaign for the
Ivy Park Ivy Park is an athleisure clothing line owned, managed and operated by American singer Beyoncé through her management company Parkwood Entertainment, introduced in 2016. History Originally co-founded between Beyoncé and Sir Philip Green, Ivy P ...
line of clothing. In February 2019, Cox headlined the
New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...
show for 11 Honoré, a luxury e-retailer focused on plus-sized designer fashion. Cox was featured in
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's "You Need to Calm Down" music video, which was released June 17, 2019. She was one of fifteen women chosen by guest editor
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...
, to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British ''Vogue''; this made Cox the first transgender woman to appear on the cover of British ''Vogue''. In September 2019, Cox brought
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
attorney
Chase Strangio Chase Strangio (; born October 29, 1982) is an American lawyer and transgender rights activist. He is the Deputy Director for Transgender Justice and staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Early life and education Strang ...
as her date to the 2019 Emmy Awards, and carried a custom rainbow clutch featuring the phrases "Oct 8", "Title VII", and "Supreme Court". This action was in reference to the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case '' R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission'', in which Strangio was one of the lawyers representing Aimee Stephens, a trans woman who was fired from her job at a funeral home. Cox and Strangio spoke to reporters on the
red carpet A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events. History The earliest known reference to ...
about the upcoming court case. Cox executive produced the documentary '' Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen'', which premiered on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on January 27, 2020. In May 2021, E! announced that Cox would become the host of ''
Live from the Red Carpet ''Live From the Red Carpet'' is an event television series on E!. It airs in the hours before a major awards ceremony, covering the arrival of stars outside a ceremony's venue upon its red carpet, as well as interviews and fashion highlights. The ...
'' starting in January 2022, replacing
Giuliana Rancic Giuliana Rancic (; ; born August 17, 1974) is an Italian-American entertainment reporter and television personality. She is a co-anchor of ''E! News'' and resides in Chicago and Los Angeles. Early life Rancic was born in Naples, Italy and immigra ...
. In December 2021, she was cast in Netflix's dystopian fantasy film ''Uglies'' directed by McG, based on a book of the same name by Scott Westerfeld.


Impact

Cox has been noted by her LGBT peers, and many others, for being a
trailblazer A trailblazer is a person who is paving the way in their particular field for future generations. Trailblazer may refer to: Sports * Derby Trailblazers, a British semi-professional basketball team * North Carolina Trailblazers, a US women's rec ...
for the transgender community, and has won numerous awards for her activist approach in spreading awareness. Her impact and prominence in the media has led to a growing conversation about transgender culture, specifically transgender women, and how being transgender intersects with one's race. She is the first transgender person to be on the cover of ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine, be nominated for a
Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...
, and have a wax work in Madame Tussauds, as well as the first transgender woman to win a Daytime Emmy as an
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
. In May 2016, Cox was awarded an
Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from
The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
for her progressive work in the fight for
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
.


Honors and awards

* 2013 – Anti-Violence Project 2013 Courage Award honoree * 2013 – Reader's Choice Award at ''
Out Magazine ''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. It presents itself in an editorial manner similar to ''Details'', ''Esquire'', ...
''s OUT100 Gala, honoring the magazine's selection of 2013's 100 "most compelling people of the year". * 2014 – Woman of the Year by ''
Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...
'' magazine. * 2014 – Included in the annual Root 100; this list honors "standout black leaders, innovators and culture shapers" aged 45 and younger. * 2014 – Topped the British newspaper ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s third annual World Pride Power List, which ranks the world's most influential LGBT people. * 2014 – Stephen F. Kolzak Award from
GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
. * 2014 – Named to the EBONY Power 100 list. * 2015 – Named to the 2015 OUT Power 50 List. * 2015 – Included in the ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' World's Most Beautiful Women List. * 2015 – Three Twins Ice Cream in San Francisco renamed its chocolate orange confetti ice cream Laverne Cox's Chocolate Orange is the New Black for Pride weekend. * 2015 – Named in the 2015 ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' 100 Most Influential People List; her entry was written by
Jazz Jennings Jazz Jennings (born October 6, 2000) is an American YouTube personality, spokesmodel, television personality, and LGBT rights activist. Jennings is one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender. Jennings receive ...
. * 2015 – Named by Forum for Equality as one of their 31 Icons of the
LGBT History Month LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the List of LGBT rights by region, gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high- ...
. * 2015 – Winner of a Daytime Emmy Award in Outstanding Special Class Special as Executive Producer for ''Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.'' This made Cox the first transgender woman to win a Daytime Emmy as an Executive Producer; as well, ''The T Word'' is the first trans documentary to win a Daytime Emmy. * 2016 – Awarded Honorary Doctorate from
The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
. * 2017 – Named to the 2017 OUT Power 50 List. * 2018 – Received the Claire Skiffington Vanguard Award from
Transgender Law Center The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest American transgender-led civil rights organization in the United States. They were originally California's first "fully staffed, state-wide transgender legal organization" and were initially a fisca ...
. The award recognizes transgender community members who have been part of the movement's vanguard. * 2022 – Received the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal from the
Hutchins Center for African and African American Research The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, also known as the Hutchins Center, is affiliated with Harvard University. The Center supports scholarly research on the history and culture of people of African descent around the world, ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Discography


Soundtrack albums


Singles


See also

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LGBT culture in New York City New York City is home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most power ...
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List of LGBT people from New York City New York City is home to one of the largest LGBT populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of ''Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day,'' writes that the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most ...


References


Further reading

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External links

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Interview with Laverne Cox
(video) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Laverne 1972 births 21st-century American actresses Actors from Mobile, Alabama Actresses from Alabama African-American actresses American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Daytime Emmy Award winners Identical twin actresses Indiana University Bloomington alumni LGBT African Americans American LGBT actors LGBT people from Alabama LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT film producers Living people Marymount Manhattan College alumni Transgender actresses Transgender rights activists American twins African-American feminists American women activists Women civil rights activists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women