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Posts tagged as “GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis”

"Orange Is The New Black"'s Laverne Cox Cast as Transgender Attorney in CBS Legal Drama Pilot

By goodblacknews on February 11, 2015
Laverne Cox Presents The T Word
(D DIPASUPIL/GETTY IMAGES)

According to Variety, “Orange Is The New Black” co-star Laverne Cox has been cast in CBS’s legal drama pilot “Doubt” from “Grey’s Anatomy” producers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan.
The project from CBS TV Studios, which was previously unnamed when it was ordered to pilot, revolves around a yet-to-be-cast attorney who gets romantically involved with one of her clients who may or may not be guilty of a brutal crime.
Cox, who in 2014 became the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for an Emmy, will play Cameron Wirth, a trans Ivy League-educated lawyer who’s both competitive and compassionate. Described as fierce and funny, Cameron’s own experience with injustice causes her to fight even harder for all of her clients.
Cox’s role is a big move for diversity and transgender actors as Hollywood tests out new shows to debut later in 2015.
Rater and Phelan wrote the pilot script and will executive produce with Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly.  Cox returns to “Orange Is The New Black’s” third season this summer on Netflix.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow@lakinhutcherson)

Transgender Actress Laverne Cox Makes Emmy History with Nomination

By goodblacknews on July 13, 2014

la-et-st-emmys-laverne-cox-trans-orange-is-the-001
“Orange Is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox became the first openly transgender person nominated for an Emmy. (Eric Leibowitz / Netflix)

“Orange Is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox knows her Emmy history. The self-described awards-show junkie even went online last night, checking out her Emmy chances on a predictions website, and went to bed thinking she didn’t have much of a chance of landing a nomination.
“I went to sleep and I let it go,” says Cox, a transgender actress who plays transgender inmate Sophia Burset on the Netflix show. “I said, ‘OK, God, I think the show’s going to be nominated. And that’s amazing.’ And I closed my eyes and let it go.”
Eight hours later, Cox woke up to discover she’d become the first openly transgender woman nominated for an Emmy award. Cox herself makes the distinction “openly trans,” as she says she knows of another transgender woman who won an Emmy years ago, but was not out. That minor qualification aside, she’s “over the moon, effervescent and every cliche that’s related to super-happy” about her “game-changing” Emmy nomination in the guest actress comedy category.
“Oh, my god, it’s going to take me awhile to get used to saying ‘Emmy-nominated actress,'” Cox said in a phone call from New York, where “Orange” is in production for its third season. “I only quit my restaurant job a year ago, so let me tell you, this is pretty good.”