Laverne Cox was born on May 29, 1972, in Mobile, Alabama. Laverne and her twin brother, Reginald, were raised by a single mother and their grandmother. She struggled with her mental health as a child because of bullying, and attempted suicide at the age of 11.

Laverne Cox attended college, studying dance and acting. After school, Laverne Cox performed as a drag queen, appeared on Law and Order: SVU, and was a contestant on the reality show I Want To Work For Diddy. Her breakout role came in the role of Sophia, an openly transgender woman and inmate in the Netflix original series, Orange Is the New Black.

The show was a hit and tackled a number of difficult topics that rarely got screen time such as transitioning, hormone therapy, and love and acceptance from family during and after transition. Orange Is the New Black received critical acclaim, and catapulted Cox to stardom.

Laverne Cox has been in a number of other TV and stage productions including The Mindy Show, Doubt, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again. 

Cox has also been a trailblazer and an advocate for the transgender community. Cox was the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy (2014 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series) and to appear on the cover of Time magazine. 

Laverne Cox has also written for The Huffington Post and executively produced The T Word and Free CeCe. The T Word ended up winning an Emmy, making her the first transgender woman to win in an executive producer role. Laverne Cox also became the first openly trans person to grace the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine for the February 2018 South African Edition.

Laverne Cox continues to break down barriers, grow, and inspire others to see people for their talent and hard work above all else.

 Kassidy Garland has had a great appreciation for reading and writing since she was young. She graduated from West Chester University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English & Women and Gender Studies. With a concentration in creative writing, Kassidy has 5 years of experience writing blogs, articles, and for social media. Kassidy is also pursuing a Master’s degree in IT with a concentration in Web Development. Based out of Philadelphia, Kassidy loves to write about a number of topics and looks forward to sharing her passion with those at FunTimes Magazine. 

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