Laverne Cox: 10 Things You Didn’t Know

Laverne Cox is a well-known LGBT advocate and transgender actress/producer. She’s probably best known to date for her work in the Netflix prison drama, “Orange is the New Black”, for which she won an Emmy nomination for her work. She played inmate Sophia Burset in 46 episodes from 2013 to 2017.

Born in Mobile, Alabama, on May 29, 1972, Laverne Cox became the first transgender actress to ever receive an Emmy nomination. She is also the first to be on a Time magazine cover, as well as the first to be headlining a television musical and that was the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Fox.
Her many awards for her excellent bodies of dramatic work include:

  • The SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for “Orange is the New Black” in both 2015 and 2016
  • The GLAAD Media Stephen F. Kolzak Award in 2014
  • The Glamour Award for “The Advocate” in 2014
  • The Glamour Award for Woman of the Year in 2014
  • The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special for “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word” in 2015 ·

And, now Laverne Cox will be starring in “Doubt”, which will be airing on CBS during the 2017 season with a premiere that is scheduled for February 15th. It was created by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan and the other stars include Steven Pasquale and Katherine Heigl. It was originally scheduled to air during the 2015 to 2016 television season with different actors in the lead roles but the network made the decision to retool the series with Pasquale and Heigl. Laverne will be playing the character of Cameron Wirth.
So, obviously Laverne Cox is a multi-talented person, everybody knows that. But, here are ten things you probably didn’t know about her:

1. Family

Laverne Cox has a twin brother and she never knew her father. He never married her mother, Gloria, so their family consisted of just Laverne, her mother, and her brother.

2. Childhood & Education

She experienced a very unhappy childhood. Growing up in Mobile, Alabama, Laverne was harassed and bullied because he appeared to be too feminine as a young boy. That experience also led to Laverne attempting to commit suicide. Later, she attended Marymount Manhattan College.

3. A Creative Nature

Laverne says that she was really creative as a child and loved dancing, which she started when she was quite young. After begging her mother to enroll her in dance classes, she started taking both tap and jazz in third grade. She wouldn’t allow the child to take ballet, which is what he really wanted because she felt that it was just too gay.

4. A Feminine Over-Achiever

Throughout childhood, Laverne was quite feminine, which led to the bullying. Laverne also loved learning and became an over-achiever, which led to further problems in school with the other kids. They made fun of her and called her names.

5. Lingering Shame

Laverne still suffers from lingering shame that is left over from childhood. She says that she struggles each and every day to avoid going back to feeling like that eight-year-old suffering from constant bullying. She also said that on certain days, she finds herself waking up feeling like that again and being scared for her life.

6. Mom’s Moods

She also says that she never knew what kind of a mood her mother would be in each day. Therapy and coping tools have helped. Childhood was a very intense time for Laverne.

7. Understanding

Laverne feels that what transgender people really need is the simple understanding that not everyone is born with the singular feeling that their gender identity aligns with what was assigned to them when they were born i.e. based on one’s genitalia. They shouldn’t become victims nor be bullied because of it.

8. Happy Now

Laverne Cox says that she’s definitely happy now but sometimes feels like she’s living in a dream. There are still hardships but she’s happy nevertheless and done with transitioning.

9. Katie Couric Interview

This interview seems to have been the turning point for Laverne Cox. She stated that it is misguided to focus on genitalia. She also discussed the high rate of homicides in the transgender community.

10. Producing & Writing

Laverne Cox is currently the producer on a documentary for MTV entitled “Trans Teen”. She is also currently working on “Free CeCe”, which is her passion project. It’s a documentary that revolves around attempts to free a transgender woman named CeCe McDonald, who went to jail for the death of a man that she is claiming was self-defense. Of the project, Laverne said that women like CeCe and herself are fighting for their lives to be able to feel safe and have a sense of dignity when they walk down the street. In addition, she’s writing her memoirs for Harlequin.

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