First Trans Golden Globe Winner
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez honored after years of snubs
BY MATT TRACY
Out trans “Pose” star
Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez
has landed a
Golden Globe award for
best actress in a TV drama, making
her the fi rst out trans person to
receive a Golden Globe award.
Rodriguez starred as Blanca
in the groundbreaking FX show,
which recently concluded after
three seasons and brought trans
visibility to new heights on television
with a storyline that focused
on the experiences of transgender
and other queer people of color in
the New York City ballroom scene
in the early ‘90s.
Rodriguez posted on Instagram
shortly after receiving the award.
“Wow! You talking about sickening
birthday present! Thank
you! This is the door that is going
to open the door for many more
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez received a Golden Globe award for her role as Blanca in “Pose.”
young talented individuals,” Rodriguez
wrote. “They will see that
it is more than possible. They
will see that a young Black Latina
REUTERS/ANDREW KELLY
girl from Newark, New Jersey
who had a dream to change the
minds others would WITH LOVE.
LOVE WINS. To my young LGBTQAI
TELEVISION
babies WE ARE HERE the
door is now open now reach the
stars!!!!!”
Rodriguez won the award
roughly six months after she made
Emmy history when she became
the fi rst transgender woman to
be nominated for an Emmy for
Outstanding Lead Actress. Olivia
Colman wound up winning that
Emmy award for her role as Queen
Elizabeth II in “The Crown.”
The trailblazing nature of “Pose”
has not always translated into
national recognition. Billy Porter
has landed three Golden Globe
nominations and won a Primetime
Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor
in a Drama Series for portraying
Pray Tell in “Pose” — making him
the fi rst out gay Black man to win
a lead acting Emmy — but many
viewers have decried the lack of
awards given to many of the show’s
out trans stars.
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