Emmy Awards 2021: Mj Rodriguez becomes first out trans woman nominated for lead actress category

Welcome to the set of history books, Mj Rodriguez.

The “Pose” star on Tuesday made Emmy history, turning into the first out trans woman to be nominated in the outstanding lead actress category for her part in the FX dramatization, GLAAD, a leading LGBTQ advocacy association, told CNN. She is additionally the first out trans entertainer named in any lead acting category, as indicated by the association.

“For me being recognized by my peers and by my colleagues, it just means the world for me,” Rodriguez told Entertainment Tonight.

She added: “I’m a human at the end of the day. All I wanted was the world to see me, I wanted them to see that I had something to offer.”

Rodriguez, who plays Blanca on the series, represented one of nine nominations procured by “Pose” this year.

Billy Porter, who won his first Emmy in quite a while, selected in the lead actor category, and “Pose” received a nomination for best drama.

“Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez’s Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood, and a long-overdue recognition for her groundbreaking performance over the past three seasons of POSE,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in an articulation. “Additionally, the show’s nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, as well as Billy Porter’s third nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, mark a historic show that undoubtedly raised the bar for trans representation on television and changed the way viewers around the world understand the trans community.”

Last month, GLAAD energized more than 40 associations for an open letter that urged Emmy electors to help the pivotal series in its last season, considering it a show that “transformed the landscape of transgender representation in Hollywood and educated the world on who transgender people are.”

This isn’t the first time “Pose” has impacted the world forever. In 2019, Porter turned into the principal straightforwardly gay Black man to win an Emmy in the lead actor category.

“I am honored and humbled to have my work once again be recognized by the academy,” Porter said of his nomination this year. “I stand at the intersection of art and activism, and I am forever grateful for the healing journey that POSE has been for myself, my colleagues and the world!”

Rodriguez’s nomination is an achievement in a long battle for transgender performers, who’ve time after time gone undetected for their work while numerous cisgender actors have been perceived for playing trans characters.

Lately, progress has been seen.

In 2014, Laverne Cox turned into the first transgender person to be nominated in an acting classification in Primetime Emmy history, because of her part on Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She would proceed to be nominated three additional occasions in the outstanding guest actress category and win a Daytime Emmy in 2015.

Also, in 2020, Rain Valdez was named for outstanding actress in a short form comedy or show series for her role in “Razor Tongue.”