Mj Rodriguez Becomes First Trans Performer Nominated for a Major Emmy

Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez became the first out transgender woman to be nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress for her role Blanca in FX’s POSE.

What We Know:

• According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Rodriguez is also the first transgender performer nominated in any lead acting category. Last month GLAAD rallied 40 other organizations to write an open letter that encouraged Emmy voters to support POSE in its third and final season. The letter said that POSE “transformed the landscape of transgender representation in Hollywood and educated the world on who transgender people are.”
• POSE garnered 9 nominations, including Rodriguez for Lead Actress, Best Drama, and Billy Porter in the Lead Actor category. The show is no stranger to making history with its award show nomination, as Porter was the first openly gay black man to win an Emmy in the Lead Actor category. Rodriguez plays Blanca, house mother, and nurse, imbedded in the ballroom culture of the 1980s and 90s.
• Laverne Cox became the first transgender person to be nominated in an acting category in 2014. In 2020, Rain Valdez was nominated for actress in a short-form comedy or drama series for Razor Tongue. Rodriguez’s nomination is another major milestone in transgender actors being recognized for their work. In the past, cisgender actors have been recognized for playing transgender characters. Creators of POSE Steven Canals and Ryan Murphy made a point to cast transgender actors as trans characters.

“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,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD.

• Rodriguez was emotional when she received the news of her nomination. She said she felt seen by the acting community for how much she desires to contribute to art. She continued, “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.” Due to her nomination, Rodriguez was excited about the potential it could bring her career. She went on to say, “The world — it’s opened, and I can’t even express how happy I am to know that I’ll be able to be a part of more amazing pieces of work…I know that’s what the future looks like.”

Rodriguez is currently working on her next project with Maya Rudolph, a comedy for Apple TV with the working title “Loot.”