--- title: Laverne Cox Becomes First Transgender Person Nominated for an Emmy description: Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox has become the first transgender person nominated for an Emmy award. canonical: https://time.com/2973497/laverne-cox-emmy/ author: Aleksandra Gjorgievska article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-10T17:32:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:27.120Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Laverne Cox Is the First Transgender Person Nominated for an Emmy og:description: For her role in 'Orange is the New Black' og:url: https://time.com/2973497/laverne-cox-emmy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d0e7fe184602455/69869b3213c79f8e9019303c/oitnb_pds_014_h.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The doctor takes Sophia off her hormones og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Laverne Cox Is the First Transgender Person Nominated for an Emmy twitter:description: For her role in 'Orange is the New Black' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d0e7fe184602455/69869b3213c79f8e9019303c/oitnb_pds_014_h.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Laverne Cox Is the First Transgender Person Nominated for an Emmy — She Explains Why That Matters > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Laverne Cox's Advice to a Bullied Child [Watch (HLS stream): Laverne Cox's Advice to a Bullied Child](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4UiEX9CP.m3u8) (1:16)  _Published 2014-05-30. During Laverne Cox's 'Ain't I A Woman?' lecture in Nourse Theater, San Francisco, a child asked for advice on being bullied. Here's Cox's response._ by [Aleksandra Gjorgievska](https://time.com/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/) and [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) Jul 10, 2014 5:32 PM UTC  Laverne Cox in 'Orange Is the New Black' Laverne Cox in 'Orange Is the New Black'Netflix by [Aleksandra Gjorgievska](https://time.com/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/) and [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) Jul 10, 2014 5:32 PM UTC **UPDATED: 4:00 p.m.** Laverne Cox has become the first transgender person nominated for an Emmy award. Cox has been [nominated](http://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/66th-nominations-list.pdf) in the “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series” category for her role as Sophia Burset—an inmate who committed fraud in an attempt to pay for a sex change procedure—in the Netflix series _Orange Is the New Black_. Cox tweeted her congratulations to fellow cast members on their nominations—OITNB raked up 12 Emmy nods this year, the most out of any comedy show. Congrats to everyone at [@oitnb](https://twitter.com/OITNB?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) on our [#EmmyNoms](https://twitter.com/hashtag/EmmyNoms?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) today. So proud to be working with all of you on such a groundbreaking show. [#oitnb](https://twitter.com/hashtag/oitnb?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) — Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) [July 10, 2014](https://twitter.com/Lavernecox/status/487277817412190208?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) GLAAD, an NGO that fights discrimination against the LGBTQ community in the media, [noted](http://www.glaad.org/blog/laverne-cox-makes-emmy-history-lgbt-nominees-abound) that Cox repeatedly “breaks barriers” in her advancement of the LGBTQ cause. In addition to being the first openly transgender individual nominated for an Emmy in an acting category, last month she also became the first transgender person to appear on the [cover](http://time.com/135480/transgender-tipping-point/) of TIME. “Today, countless transgender youth will hear the message that they can be who they are and still achieve their dreams – nothing is out of reach,” GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in the statement. “Laverne’s success on a hit series is a clear indication that audiences are ready for more trans characters on television.” GLAAD also noted that this year’s list of nominations is among the most LGBT-inclusive in the history of the Emmys. Nominees include openly gay actors and actresses such as Jim Parsons, Kate McKinnon, Sarah Paulson and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. TV shows featuring LGBT characters and plotlines—such as _Orange Is the New Black_, _Game of Thrones_ and _Modern Family—_also had a strong showing. **UPDATE:** Cox caught up with TIME to discuss what it’s like to have achieved such a milestone. “I was told many times that I wouldn’t be able to have a mainstream career as an actor because I’m trans, because I’m black, and here I am,” she said. “And it feels really good.” (Nor was she the only one happy about it: “My phone is exploding with love!”) Explaining why an Emmy nomination is a victory not only as an actress, but also as an activist, here’s what she had to say: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2973497/laverne-cox-emmy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2973497/laverne-cox-emmy/"},"headline":"Laverne Cox Is the First Transgender Person Nominated for an Emmy — She Explains Why That Matters","datePublished":"2014-07-10T17:32:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:27.120Z","description":"For her role in Orange is the New Black","url":"https://time.com/2973497/laverne-cox-emmy/","keywords":["Living","Television","Orange Is the New Black","LGBTQ","laverne cox","emmy awards"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d0e7fe184602455/69869b3213c79f8e9019303c/oitnb_pds_014_h.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aleksandra Gjorgievska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d0e7fe184602455/69869b3213c79f8e9019303c/oitnb_pds_014_h.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The doctor takes Sophia off her hormones","caption":"The doctor takes Sophia off her hormones","creditText":"Netflix","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2973497/laverne-cox-emmy/","name":"Laverne Cox Is the First Transgender Person Nominated for an Emmy — She Explains Why That Matters"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Laverne Cox's Advice to a Bullied Child","description":"During Laverne Cox's 'Ain't I A Woman?' lecture in Nourse Theater, San Francisco, a child asked for advice on being bullied. 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