Leading Lady

MJ Rodriguez just made Emmy history

MJ Rodriguez. Via Shutterstock

Actress MJ Rodriguez has just closed out her run on Pose by making history: she has become the first openly transgender woman to score an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Drama.

Rodriguez’s nomination joins one for her castmate Billy Porter, who also scored a nod for Best Lead Actor in a Drama. Pose nabbed a nomination for Best Drama Series as well.

Other LGBTQ talent also did well at the nominations. Openly gay comic Bowen Yang received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on SNL. His co-star Kate McKinnon also nabbed her ninth Emmy nomination for her work on the show.

Related: Queer content scores big at 2019 Emmy nominations

In the Limited Series category, Michaela Coel, the aromantic star of I May Destroy You nabbed a nomination for Lead Actress. Jonathan Groff, the openly gay star of Hamilton, also picked up a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Rising queer icon Kathryn Hahn also picked up a nomination for her lauded work in WandaVision.

Joining MJ Rodriguez among the nominations for Best Lead Actress in a Drama, Emma Corrin, the recently-out-as-queer star of The Crown, scored her first Emmy nod. Her fellow queer co-star Gillian Anderson also picked up a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, as did Samara Wiley, the lesbian star of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Rounding out the nominations for LGBTQ content, RuPaul’s Drag Racethe perennial Emmy favorite, also nabbed another nomination for Best Reality TV Program. The ballroom competition series Legendary also picked up two nominations in technical categories.

On the other hand, the magnificent AIDS drama It’s A Sin received no nominations. We’re still scratching our head on that one.

Winners in the 2021 Emmy Awards will be announced in a ceremony on September 19, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer.

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