Laverne Cox

A transgender woman of color breaking glass ceilings one level at a time.

***Early Life***

 Laverne Cox was born on May 29th, 1972 in Mobile, Alabama with her twin brother and her single mother. Growing up as a male child was not something Cox wished for, she always felt deep down that she was indeed a female. She went to the Alabama school of Fine Arts where she continued her love for dance and music then moved on to the Indiana University of Bloomington and Marymount Manhattan college, where she got her BFA in Dance.

***Works***

 Laverne Cox began her TV career with being a contestant on the first season of *I want to work for Diddy* and from then her career spiked. 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. Most of the roles she played on Tv after that, empowered the role of a transgender woman in society and her struggles. Whether it was *Orange is the new black* or *Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.* The representation of Trans people in the media is lacking. Having a representative like Laverne Cos, pushed the community to fight for their rights and freedoms. It has been long since drag queen have been showing up, but having a real life human, that anyone can relate to, on TV, gives a sense of relief to the current Trans community.

***Advocacy***

 The fight for trans right has long been ignored. Cox, as a transgender woman of color, struggled with basic things in her early life "Cox experienced this firsthand as she went from audition to audition, being met with "horribly offensive" scripts and with people who simply didn't understand how to handle a trans person." (Taylor Markarian). However, when she gets the chance to fight for peoples voices she does. As shown in her Time magazine cover of 2014, her "Ain't I a Woman" Speech (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ymWokR8YE), her 2016 documentary "Free Cece",

***Achievements***

 Cox was named the first ever Transgender woman to have won an Emmy Award. List of important awards:

1. Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, 2015, 2016
2. GLAAD Media Stephen F. Kolzak Award, 2014
3. Glamour Award for Woman of the Year, 2014
4. Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special, 2015
5. Glamour Award for The Advocate, 2014

She is a woman of firsts, who continues to spearhead the campaign to end trans discrimination and to promote equality. She is the voice through which other people can make their stories heard. And that, to her, is the power of acting.

***References***

- Markarian, Taylor. “How Laverne Cox Pushed the Boundaries in Hollywood.” *TheList.com*, The List, 13 June 2017, www.thelist.com/70014/laverne-cox-pushed-boundaries-hollywood/.

- Champagne, Christine. “Laverne Cox Set To Be Broadcast TV's First Transgender Series Regular On.” *Fast Company*, Fast Company, 22 Feb. 2017, www.fastcompany.com/3068181/laverne-cox-set-to-be-broadcast-tvs-first-transgender-series-regular-on-doubt.

- Juzwiak, Rich. “‘I'm Good with Myself’: A Conversation with Laverne Cox.” *Gawker*, gawker.com/im-good-with-myself-a-conversation-with-laverne-cox-954203487.

- Haynes, Clarence. “Laverne Cox.” *Biography.com*, A&E Networks Television, 21 Oct. 2016, www.biography.com/people/laverne-cox.