In recent years, Laverne Cox has become red carpet royalty.
The actress and activist went from walking the carpet for her Emmy-nominated roles on television, to hosting the pre-show festivities for E!
Proving to be a pop culture junkie, Cox kikis with Hollywood’s biggest celebs, talking about everything from their latest projects to what fierce fashion they’re wearing.
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Not only is Cox making history as the first transgender person to be nominated for an acting Emmy, (she would eventually win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for producing the documentary, The T Word), in 2021 she was named the new red carpet host for E! Taking over for Giuliana Rancic.
“For many years I would wake up early on awards show days, get my snacks in place and watch E!’s coverage all day long. I dreamed of walking red carpets,” Cox said in a statement when she was announced as host.
“Now, not only have I had several fun and amazing personal red carpet moments, I also get to be a red carpet guide for E!’s discerning audience and chat with my colleagues and folks I deeply admire for these very special events in their lives. I can’t wait to get started while hopefully serving up fashion fantasies for the ages honey.”
In addition to hosting the red carpet for Hollywood’s biggest nights, Cox can be seen in some high-profile projects like The Blacklist, Inventing Anna, and Promising Young Woman. She even played God on Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens.
This year, Cox will appear in Uglies, Netflix’s highly-anticipated adaptation of Scott Westerfield’s dystopian Young Adult sci-fi novel. According to Deadline, Uglies “is set in a world in which a compulsory operation at sixteen makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty.”
Aside from Cox, the cast features Joey King, Keith Powers, and Chase Stokes, and is directed by McG (Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation).
It was also recently announced that Cox has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple film, Outcome, directed by Jonah Hill, and co-starring Keanu Reeves, Matt Bomer, and Cameron Diaz.
In between hosting red carpets for E!, and appearing alongside A-listers in high-profile movie and television series, Cox has also been showing off her vocals in two installments of a project she is calling, “TripHopera.”
“Summertime: A TripHopera,” released in June 2023, is a “re-imagining of the aria, “Summertime,” composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.
Not only does Cox show off her operatic vocal range, but in the music video — which she directed — she is dressed in some gag-worthy looks designed by John Galliano for Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Thierry Mugler from her private collection.
In March 2024 she followed it up with “Gretchen: A TripHopera Pt. 2”, which featured Cox taking on “Gretchen am Spinnrade” written by Franz Schubert, and sporting some fierce futuristic fashion.
Cox first rose to fame in 2013 with the premiere of Orange is the New Black, and a year later she was featured on the cover of Time magazine, for the story, “The Transgender Tipping Point.” Last year, looking back at almost a decade since the cover story, Cox told Time:
“In 2023, we are at the height of the backlash against trans visibility. We have way more people who are educated about trans folks, but there’s also been a rigorous misinformation media machine. The backlash is ferocious. It’s genocidal,” Cox continued.
“Transgender people just want to exist. Even in the face of the propaganda and the bills trying to banish our existence, we’ve managed to find each other.”
She might be a host, actress, singer, and fashion muse, but Cox will also always be an activist first, fighting for LGBTQ rights — and did we mention she can absolutely slay a game of Password?
We’re proud of Cox not only for her work both on screen, behind-the-scenes, and on the red carpet, but for being such a positive and inspiring example of trans excellence and queer identity.
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