orange is the new black cast transgender actress elizabeth rodriguez.
orange is the new black cast transgender actress?
elizabeth rodriguez
laverne cox is an american actress, reality star, and transgender activist. cox has a recurring role in the netflix series "orange is the new black" as sophia burset, a transgender woman who went to prison for credit-card fraud, and is the hairdresser for many of the inmates. cox is best known for her role on "orange is the new black", for being a contestant on the first season of vh1's "i want to work for didd"y and for producing and co-hosting the vh1 makeover television series "transform me" (which made her the first african-american transgender person to produce and star in her own tv show). 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 openly transgender person on the cover of "time". later in 2014 cox became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an emmy in an acting category, outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for her role as sophia burset in "orange is the new black", though she did not win.
history of transgender people in the united states
unlike most of the archetypal portrayals of transgender characters on television at the time, maya has already completed her transition and is living her life. while maya is the third transgender character in daytime history preceded by supermodel azure (carlotta chang) of "the city" and "all my children" glam rocker zoe luper (jeffrey carlson) who falls in love with resident lesbian bianca montgomery (eden riegel) -- she is the first transgender character to be featured as a series regular on american daytime television. the british soap "coronation street" established the very first regular transgender character in serialized drama in 1998 when the series introduced hayley cropper (julie hesmondhalgh). the 1991 film "soapdish" which famously satirized the world of daytime featured the exposure of a transgender actress live on camera. though scripted television featuring gay, lesbian and bisexual characters had become common in recent years, "transgender characters continue to lag behind" according to glaad's director of communications, nick adams. at the time of the reveal, "maya avant is currently the only transgender character on broadcast and cable television." adding to the character's unique position, maya is also a trans woman of color working in the fashion industry. stories for transgender characters usually featured the character coming out and then transitioning. shows like "orange is the new black" and "transparent" regularly featured transgender characters but neither series on aired broadcast network television. meanwhile, fox's "glee" introduced a storyline in its final season that featured a character coming out as transgender and making the transition. mosley is also the first actress in a transgender role to be touted as her show's "leading lady." maya and rick's split after the reveal leads many to question the character's longevity. however, showrunner bradley bell declared "karla mosley has emerged as the leading lady of b&b, and she'll remain so." maya becomes the first transgender bride in american daytime television history when she marries rick forrester (jacob young) in august 2015.
maya avant