2021 Emmys: “Pose” Actress MJ Rodriguez Makes History, Becomes First Trans Woman Nominated in Lead Acting Category!
The nominations for the 2021 Emmys are out and some of our favorites are up to snag an award this year!
Starting with actress Mj Rodriguez who just made history at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards by earning her first nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Blanca on the FX drama Pose. With this nod, the superstar is now the first transgender performer to be nominated in one of the major acting categories! As ET Online points out, Rodriguez’s nomination comes seven years after Laverne Cox became the first transgender person ever to be nominated for an acting Emmy (Outstanding Guest Actress for the hit series in 2014 for Orange Is the New Black). As Deadline reports, Rodriguez is the third openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy in the award’s history.
The news site also notes that this comes one year after the Emmys nominated two transgender performers for the first time ever in the same year; Cox for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for the final season of OITNB and Rain Valdez for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for Razor Tongue.
Other superstars who are up to snag an award this year include “Pose” co-star Billy Porter, “This Is Us” actor Sterling K. Brown, Bridgeton’s Regé-Jean Page, actress Samira Wiley, Elizabeth Olsen, and more!
Congrats!