Laverne Cox

Early life

Cox was born in Mobile, Alabama, and was raised by a single mother and grandmother within the AME Zion church. She has an identical twin 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 in Birmingham, Alabama, where she studied creative writing before switching to dance. She then studied for two years at Indiana University Bloomington before transferring to Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she switched from dancing (specifically classical ballet) to acting. She also studied as a Fashion Merchandising Management major at the Fashion Institute of Technology. During her first season on Orange Is the New Black, she was still appearing at a restaurant on the Lower East Side as a drag queen (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 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 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 as "among the most poignant because [it] reminded 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, and Musical Chairs.

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 on Katie Couric's syndicated show, Katie. 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, The Huffington Post, and Business Insider 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 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's video for the song "You & I (Nobody in the World)".

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 [others] in this country." Later that year the Sylvia Rivera 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 nominated Cox.

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, Carmen Carrera, Geena Rocero, Isis King, Gisele Alicea, Leyna Ramous, Dina Marie, Nina Poon, Juliana Huxtable, Niki M'nray, Pêche Di, Carmen Xtravaganza (House of Xtravaganza), and Yasmine Petty.

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, 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 released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; 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 on CBS. 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 for her role in Orange Is the New Black.

Also in 2017, Cox collaborated with the ACLU, Zackary Drucker, Molly Crabapple, and Kim Boekbinder, 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 line of clothing.

In February 2019, Cox headlined the New York Fashion Week show for 11 Honoré, a luxury e-retailer focused on plus-sized designer fashion.

Cox was featured in Taylor Swift'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, 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 attorney Chase Strangio 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 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 about the upcoming court case. Cox executive produced the documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, which premiered on Netflix on January 27, 2020.

In May 2021, E! announced that Cox would become the host of Live from the Red Carpet starting in January 2022, replacing Giuliana Rancic. In December 2021, she was cast in Netflix's dystopian fantasy film The Uglies directed by McG, based on a book of the same name by Scott Westerfeld.

In 2024, Cox competed in season twelve of The Masked Singer as "Chess Piece" where Nikki Glaser (who performed "Snowstorm" in season eight) served as her Mask Ambassador. She was eliminated on "Barbie Night".

In April 2025, Cox hosted Billboard's Women in Music.

In June 2025, Cox served as one of WorldPride DC's grand marshals alongside Reneé Rapp.

In November 2025, Cox announced her upcoming memoir, Transcendent, scheduled for release in June 2026.

Impact

Cox has been noted by her LGBTQ peers, and many others, for being a trailblazer 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 magazine, be nominated for a Primetime Emmy, and have a wax work in Madame Tussauds, as well as the first transgender woman to win a Daytime Emmy as an executive producer. In May 2016, Cox was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The New School in New York City for her progressive work in the fight for gender equality.

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

Emmy Awards

NAACP Image Awards

Miscellaneous awards and nominations

Honors

• 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 Guardians third annual World Pride Power List, which ranks the world's most influential LGBTQ people.
• 2014 – Named to the EBONY Power 100 list.
• 2015 – Named to the 2015 OUT Power 50 List.
• 2015 – Included in the People 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 100 Most Influential People List; her entry was written by Jazz Jennings.
• 2015 – Named by Forum for Equality as one of their 31 Icons of the LGBT History Month.
• 2016 – Awarded Honorary Doctorate from The New School.
• 2017 – Named to the 2017 OUT Power 50 List.

Discography

Soundtrack albums

Singles

References

References

1. Gardner, Chris. (August 23, 2019). "Laverne Cox Explains Why She Wants to "Share" Her Historic Third Emmy Nomination".
2. Spaner, Whitney. (June 15, 2014). "Trans Actress-Activist Laverne Cox Talks "OITNB", Dream Roles and Starting a Casting Revolution on Stage and Screen". [[Playbill]].
3. "Laverne Cox Bio". LaverneCox.com.
4. Piepenburg, Erik. (December 12, 2010). "Helping Gay Actors Find Themselves Onstage". The New York Times.
5. "Meet the Gay Man and Transgender Woman Who Want to Work for Diddy". AfterElton.
6. (July 10, 2014). "Laverne Cox is the First Transgender Person Nominated for an Emmy – She Explains Why That Matters".
7. Wagmeister, Elizabeth. (February 11, 2015). "Laverne Cox Cast As Transgender Attorney in CBS Legal Drama Pilot". [[Variety (magazine).
8. Gaughan, Gavin. (January 23, 2009). "Obituary: Angela Morley {{!}} Television & radio". The Guardian.
9. Townsend, Megan. (April 25, 2015). "Laverne Cox makes history with Daytime Creative Arts Emmy win". GLAAD.
10. (April 27, 2015). "Laverne Cox Wins Daytime Emmy". Out.com.
11. Spendlove, Jacqueline. "Career revival: Katherine Heigl takes another crack at TV success". TV Media.
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14. (May 29, 2014). "21 Transgender People Who Influenced American Culture".
15. Wong, Curtis M.. (January 22, 2018). "Laverne Cox Makes History as Cosmopolitan's First Transgender Cover Girl". HuffPost.
16. (June 10, 2015). "Laverne Cox to debut as Madame Tussauds' first transgender wax figure". Reuters.
17. Sorg, Lisa. (September 25, 2015). "Actress Laverne Cox: 'State of emergency' for too many transgender people". [[The News & Observer]].
18. Cox, Laverne. (January 25, 2017). "Transgender Visibility". Alternative Radio.
19. (February 8, 2012). "Laverne Cox And M. Lamar Discuss Identity, Collective Trauma, Celebrating The Black Penis And More". HuffPost.
20. (March 12, 2014). "In Their Own Terms – The Growing Transgender Presence in Pop Culture". The New York Times.
21. (August 20, 2013). "'Orange Is the New Black' Star Laverne Cox on Her Twin Brother's Surprising Role on the Netflix Series". Yahoo.
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29. (April 23, 2020). "An FIT Guide to Binge-Watching".
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35. "GLAAD and MTPC Launch I AM Trans People Speak video series".
36. "On the Carpet at the GLAAD Media Awards". [[San Francisco Sentinel]].
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39. (7 January 2014). "Laverne Cox flawlessly shuts down Katie Couric's invasive questions about transgender people". Salon.
40. (February 6, 2014). "The post-Katie Couric shift: Laverne Cox tells Salon why the media's so clueless". Salon.
41. Steinmetz, Katy. (May 29, 2014). "The Transgender Tipping Point".
42. Tanzer, Myles. (May 29, 2014). "Laverne Cox Is on the Cover of Time Magazine". [[BuzzFeed]].
43. (July 10, 2014). "2014 Primetime Emmy nominees". USA Today.
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45. Bendix, Trish. (July 11, 2014). "Morning Brew – Jodie Foster is back on the set of "Orange is the New Black"". AfterEllen.
46. (August 6, 2014). "US: Laverne Cox joins #StandWithMonica campaign against Phoenix 'walking while trans' law". Pinknews.co.uk.
47. Molloy, Parker Marie. (August 26, 2014). "Laverne Cox Distances Herself From Controversial Trans Inmate". [[The Advocate (LGBT magazine).
48. Sauvalle, Julien. (August 22, 2014). "Exclusive First Look: Laverne Cox Honored in V magazine's 'Rebels' Issue". [[Out (magazine).
49. Vulpo, Mike. (August 28, 2014). "Laverne Cox: It Feels "So Good" Having a Diverse Cast on Orange Is the New Black". E! Online.
50. (October 17, 2014). "Laverne Cox Doc Tackles Transgender Issues For MTV".
51. "Laverne Cox, Carmen Carrera, Among 14 Trans Stars On "Candy" Magazine Cover". NewNowNext.
52. Sasson, Eric. (April 27, 2015). "Bruce Jenner Interview, Cox Photos Not a Transgender Tipping Point".
53. Goldblatt, Henry. (June 11, 2015). "This week's editor's letter: Laverne, surely". EW.com.
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55. Rothaus, Steve. (June 12, 2016). "Pulse Orlando shooting scene a popular LGBT club where employees, patrons 'like family'". The Miami Herald.
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58. Webb, Matt. (July 13, 2017). "2017 Emmy Nominations List: Actor and Actress Nominees". TVLine.
59. (August 10, 2017). "Transgender Rights History Told by Laverne Cox: Watch VIDEO".
60. (September 6, 2017). "Laverne Cox takes a starring role in Beyoncé's new Ivy Park campaign". Los Angeles Times.
61. Fisher, Lauren Alexis. (February 7, 2019). "Laverne Cox Just Kicked Off NYFW With the Most Epic Runway Walk".
62. (June 16, 2019). "Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" Video Will Have a Star-Studded Cast".
63. "Meghan Markle puts Sinéad Burke on the cover of Vogue's September issue". The Irish Times.
64. (July 29, 2019). "Meghan Markle: Jameela Jamil, Laverne Cox and Gemma Chan react to appearing on cover of British Vogue". [[Yahoo! News]].
65. (July 25, 2019). "Thanks to Meghan Markle, Laverne Cox Is the 1st Trans Woman to Appear on the Cover of British Vogue". The Root.
66. (September 22, 2019). "Laverne Cox's 2019 Emmys Date Is Bringing Attention To A Vital Court Case".
67. (September 23, 2019). "Emmys 2019: Laverne Cox's Political Rainbow Purse Had a Secret Message".
68. (September 22, 2019). "Emmys 2019: Laverne Cox's clutch has an important pro-LGBTQ message". [[USA Today]].
69. "Disclosure (2020)".
70. Horton, Adrian. (June 18, 2020). "Disclosure: behind Laverne Cox's Netflix documentary on trans representation". The Guardian.
71. Littleton, Cynthia. (May 10, 2021). "Laverne Cox Named Red Carpet Host of 'Live From E!'". [[Variety (magazine).
72. Grobar, Matt. (December 2, 2021). "Laverne Cox Joins McG's Netflix Fantasy Film 'Uglies'". Deadline Hollywood.
73. Schneider, Michael. (October 23, 2024). "'The Masked Singer' Reveals Identity of Chess Piece: Here Is the Celebrity Under the Costume".
74. "Laverne Cox Talks Hosting Billboard Women in Music 2025, 'Clean Slate' Creation & More | Billboard News".
75. (7 June 2025). "WorldPride parade marches through D.C.". Washington Post.
76. (November 20, 2025). "Trans Icon Laverne Cox Will Share Her Journey in New Memoir Transcendent — See the Cover! (Exclusive)". [[People (magazine).
77. Nudd, Tim. (June 26, 2014). "Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox Honors the Legacy of Stonewall at Logo's Trailblazer Awards".
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79. (February 24, 2014). "Actress Laverne Cox Discusses Identity, Trans Issues". [[Harvard Crimson]].
80. (May 3, 2016). "Commencement 2016: Get To Know The Honorary Degree Recipients". blogs.newschool.edu.
81. (October 21, 2015). "Laverne Cox to star in Fox's Rocky Horror reboot".
82. Gelman, Vlada. (March 5, 2021). "TVLine Items: Laverne Cox on Blacklist, Kimmel's Coronaversary and More". TVLine.
83. (January 30, 2022). "VON MILLER, ALI WENTWORTH AND LAVERNE COX CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE SEASON 2".
84. (September 19, 2022). "This week's TV: Norman Lear at 100, a comedy about reboots, and a reboot of 'Quantum Leap'". [[The Boston Globe]].
85. "If We're Being Honest with Laverne Cox".
86. (2024-04-17). "Watch Laverne Cox Slay a Perfect Round of Password, Helping a Contestant Win $25,000".
87. Brathwaite, Lester Fabian. (October 17, 2024). "Laverne Cox unpacks anti-LGBTQ legislation in 'The Daily Show' clip (exclusive)".
88. (February 6, 2025). "With 'Clean Slate,' Laverne Cox adds a new title to her résumé: Star and co-creator of her own show". [[NBC News]].
89. Townsend, Megan. (April 25, 2015). "Laverne Cox makes history with Daytime Creative Arts Emmy win". GLAAD.
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91. Vieira, Meredith. (October 7, 2013). "Laverne Cox and her Transgender Transformation (OVERSHARE EP 3)". YouTube.
92. "Reader's Choice Award". Out.com.
93. (April 13, 2014). "Watch: Ellen Page presents 'Orange is the New Black' star Laverne Cox with GLAAD award". Pinknews.co.uk.
94. (November 5, 2014). "Laverne Cox Named A Woman Of The Year By Glamour Magazine". [[Huffington Post]].
95. (November 4, 2014). "Laverne Cox Is a Glamour Woman of the Year for 2014". [[Glamour (magazine).
96. (October 20, 2018). "TLC announces Laverne Cox as SPARK! 2018 Honoree". [[Transgender Law Center]].
97. (October 6, 2022). "Laverne Cox". [[Harvard University]].
98. Erik Pedersen. (January 7, 2026). "GLAAD Media Awards: ‘Heated Rivalry’, ‘Stranger Things’ & ‘Christy’ Among 2026 Nominees".
99. Juro, Rebecca. (September 11, 2014). "Root 100 Recognizes African-American LGBT Luminaries". [[The Advocate (LGBT magazine).
100. Materville Studios – Host of Windy City Times. (July 8, 2014). "Gay team makes history; Laverne Cox tops world list – 520 – Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive". Windy City Times.
101. "EBONY Magazine Unveils Its 2014 EBONY Power 100 List – NAACP LDF". Naacp Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
102. (April 14, 2015). "Power 50 2015". Out Magazine.
103. McDonald, James. (March 30, 2015). "Laverne Cox Is One of People's Most Beautiful Women". Out Magazine.
104. Ring, Trudy. (July 31, 2014). "Laverne Cox Gets Ice Cream Flavor Named for Her for Pride". The Advocate.
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106. Lazin, Malcolm. (August 20, 2015). "Op-ed: Here Are the 31 Icons of 2015's Gay History Month". The Advocate.
107. (March 31, 2016). "LAVERNE COX, DIANE VON FURSTENBERG, DERAY MCKESSON NAMED HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS BY THE NEW SCHOOL".
108. (July 19, 2017). "Power 50 2017". Out Magazine.
109. (October 21, 2016). ""The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again" by Laverne Cox". Apple Music.
110. (January 21, 2013). "Dance/Electronic Songs: September 7, 2019".