From her role on the hit show Orange Is the New Black to her TIME magazine cover, it’s hard to not know who Laverne Cox is. The trans activist, actress and producer is one of the most popular stars in Hollywood, and she’s using her fame to educate the world about trans issues (while looking stunning in the process). Here are just a handful of the many reasons we’re obsessed with Cox.
1. Her perfect performance of trans inmate Sophia Burset on the binge-worthy Orange Is the New Black.
Sophia, a former firefighter with a strained relationship with her son, does the inmates’ hair and makeup and faces transmisogyny from inmates and staff. She ultimately proves to be one of the funniest and most complex characters on the Netflix series.
2. How gracefully she handles invasive questions.
Katie Couric committed a major faux pas when she asked trans model Carmen Carrera about her “private parts,” but Cox’s response about the objectification of trans people made us all cheer.
3. Her friendship with fellow trans activist and author Janet Mock.
Mock, author of Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More, and Cox are both trans women of color in the spotlight, and their mutual support, as shown in this HuffPost Live discussion, is the stuff dreams are made of.
4. She’s producing a documentary about trans teens for MTV.
Who better than Cox to produce and host a documentary about the lives of trans youth? The show, Trans Teen: The Documentary, should be out in the fall, and while we don’t have too many details yet, we still can’t wait.
5. She manages to be an activist and actress while still looking flawless.
Who says you can’t look gorgeous while you raise awareness?
6. She gives hope to LGBTQ+ kids who get bullied.
Even though she was bullied as a kid, she’s making sure that kids know that it can and will get better and that their identities are valid.
7. She stresses the importance of intersectionality in feminism.
A fight for equality means recognizing that race, gender, sexual orientation and a whole bunch of other stuff matter, and that one woman’s struggle is not every woman’s struggle.
8. She’s helping to normalize trans identities.
When people can see a story they relate to on screen, it can help them feel less alone, which is something Cox understands.
“I got a letter from a … trans youth’s mother who said that he transitioned because of me and because of seeing me on the show it gave him the courage to talk to his parents about who he was, and they’re supportive and loving and now he’s started his transition,” she told MTV News.
9. She’s making sure the world knows that “man” and “woman” aren’t the only genders people can express.
“We still live in a binary world in which the idea is imposed on us that there are only two genders; we need to change that perception,” she told The Independent.
10. Because of this picture.
Ellen Page and Laverne Cox? What more could we ask for?