Representation matters: trans superstar Laverne Cox slays in two-tone red minidress at 2024 Grammys
Laverne Cox. (Getty)
At the 66th annual Grammy Awards last night, a number of musicians, actors, comedians, and TV stars came together to celebrate the successes of the music industry: including Laverne Cox.
Laverne Cox, a trailblazing transgender actor and activist arguably best known for her role as Sophia Burset in prison drama Orange Is The New Black, appeared at the ceremony in a red minidress with embellished sides.
Her outfit was made out of two different materials, including PVC, cinched in at the waist with a built-in belt and a strap going around her shoulders.
Her hair was similarly two-toned, sharing on Instagram that it took over 24 hours for her hair to get to the look she donned on the red carpet.
Who is Laverne Cox?
Laverne Cox is an openly transgender actress and LGBTQ+ advocate. She is best known for her role as Sophia Burset on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, and is the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy.
Cox has paved the way for the trans rights movement, appearing on the cover of Time magazine in 2014 in a story titled The Transgender Tipping Point.
Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Cox has also made history by being the first openly transgender person to have a wax figure at Madame Tussaud’s and the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of Cosmopolitan.
Cox has also appeared in The Mindy Project, a TV-adaptation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dear White People, and Inventing Anna.
Does Laverne Cox have a boyfriend?
Cox and her long-term boyfriend Kyle Draper split up in 2019, releasing a statement on her Instagram that read: “After much soul searching and tears from both of us, we have decided it’s time for us to go our separate ways. We know our relationship meant so much to so many people, especially trans folks, giving them hope that this kind of love is possible for them as well.”
“That hope, the hope for love has not waned for me in the face of this breakup but rather is fortified. Knowing that we are both capable of giving and receiving love with this level of kindness, respect, trust, affection, depth, and intensity has been so healing and life affirming for us both,” she added.
Since then, Cox has largely kept her love life private. In January 2021, during an appearance on The Ellen Show, she said she was “in love again” after “hanging out for six months”.
Over the years, she has mentioned her boyfriend a few more times – though she has never mentioned his name – and more recently once again confirmed the romance.
While interviewing celebrities earlier this year, Cox told singer Billy Joel that her boyfriend was a “huge fan of his”.
She said: “We’ve been together three and a half years and your music has been the soundtrack of our relationship. I’ve woken up many mornings with Billy Joel blaring as he’s making breakfast.”
You might recognise Laverne Cox from The Blacklist
In addition to her many acting credits over the years, Cox currently appears as a recurring character in a show called The Blacklist as Dr Laken Perillos.
The Blacklist stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, who cooperates with the FBI to hunt down the criminals on his ‘Blacklist’ – of which Cox’s character is one.
You can read the rest of our Grammys 2024 coverage here.
