"It's not the first time I've thought about this, but it was certainly the first time where I felt like I had a unique opportunity and a platform to engage in the conversation about questions that I had," Dillon told Variety. "In that moment it crystallized for me, that it was going to be OK for me to never change my body if that was my journey and I was still valid as a non-binary person and a trans person," they said.ĭillon made headlines in 2017 when they spoke out about the Emmys' gendered award categories. In 2016, Asia Kate Dillon earned a spot on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black," playing Brandy Epps, but most people know them as Taylor Mason on Showtime's "Billions." By playing Mason, Dillon has become the first non-binary actor playing a non-binary character on TV.ĭillon told "Good Morning America" in 2019 this role helped them better understand their own identity. There's unprecedented visibility for trans folks now, but we're being attacked more than ever before." "And because of that, young people are being bullied, particularly LGBTQ youth. And I think it's because we still, culturally, have this very rigid idea of what women should be," Cox told Yahoo Life in 2018. "It's amazing that in various parts of the country, young people are still struggling who are LGBTQ+.
In 2015, she won a Daytime Emmy for executive producing "Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word," becoming the first openly transgender woman to win the award.Ĭox appeared in a few other TV shows like "The Mindy Project," "Dear White People," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." But the actress has rebranded as an activist for transgender rights. In 2014, she was the first openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy in an acting category.
Laverne Cox jumped into the spotlight in 2013 when she started playing Sophia Burset on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black." In the show, she played a transgender inmate in a women's prison.įor her role on the show, Cox was nominated for three Emmy awards.