# Laverne Cox Born May 29, 1972 in Mobile, Alabama. American actor and LGBTQ-rights advocate. Cox's role as **Sophia Burset** on the Netflix series ***Orange Is the New Black*** (2013-2019) — and her June 2014 ***Time*** **magazine cover** ("The Transgender [[Tipping Point]]") — made her the **single most visible openly transgender American actor of the 2010s** and a defining mainstream-cultural figure of the 2013-2015 trans-rights public-consciousness inflection point. ## Orange Is the New Black Cox joined *Orange Is the New Black* in its 2013 first season as Sophia Burset, a Black trans woman incarcerated at a federal women's prison. The casting was significant because: - **Sophia was a recurring then series-regular role** with substantial dramatic weight — not a marginal or comic-relief trans character - **Cox was cast as a trans woman playing a trans woman** — a casting choice that was still unusual in major American television in 2013 - The character's storylines addressed **trans-specific issues** including hormone access in prison, family rejection, and the legal-name-change process Cox received an **Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2014** — the first openly transgender person nominated for a primetime acting Emmy. ## The 2014 Time Cover Cox's appearance on the cover of *Time* magazine on **June 9, 2014** — under the headline "The Transgender Tipping Point: America's Next Civil Rights Frontier" — is one of the most-cited mainstream-media moments in the contemporary trans-rights movement. The cover marked the moment when trans-rights moved from niche-political to mainstream-cultural visibility in American mass media. ## Subsequent Career Cox's post-*Orange Is the New Black* career has included: - ***Disclosure*** (2020) — Netflix documentary on trans representation in Hollywood, which Cox produced and starred in - **Multiple TV and film roles**, including ***Inventing Anna***, ***Promising Young Woman***, and various theatrical productions - **Continuous public-platform LGBTQ-rights advocacy** — including testimony at congressional hearings, speeches at college campuses, and public commentary on anti-trans legislation ## Place in the Vault Cox is one of the **two or three single individuals most responsible for the mainstream-cultural inflection point** on trans visibility in the 2013-2016 window. Her *Time* cover and *Orange Is the New Black* role created the cultural conditions under which the contemporary anti-trans political backlash (2020-present) had to operate — and against which it has been mobilized. --- ## See Also - [[Queer Liberation Ecosystem]] - [[Queer Liberation Timeline]] - [[Janet Mock]]