Laverne Cox

June 22, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Laverne Cox: The Cost of Visibility

"I have not heard it's rare that I just hear the clip from Orange and it's been so long and I gosh it brings back memories." Laverne Cox is describing what it felt like to hear herself as Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black — the role that made her the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy in an acting category and put her on the cover of Time magazine under the words "the transgender tipping point." But the woman on that cover was carrying things she'd never told anyone, not even her therapist. Her new memoir, Transcendent, arrives at a moment when her right to simply exist is being debated, but the book makes clear that for Cox, none of this is new. Long before she had words for it, she was bullied for who she was. Her very existence, as she writes, was "a problem."

The Violence of Being Seen

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What you'll learn

1 (00:22) **Introduction to Laverne Cox and Orange Is the New Black** - Cox reacts to a clip of her character Sophia requesting hormones in prison
2 (01:26) **The Transgender Tipping Point and Memoir Context** - Cox reflects on Time magazine cover and the personal stories she had not shared publicly
3 (02:17) **Opening the Memoir with Childhood Violence** - Cox reads the playground beating by the Caraway boys at age eight
4 (07:16) **Mother's Response to the Assault** - Mother blames Cox instead of offering comfort or safety
5 (09:00) **Link Between Personal Trauma and Current Anti-Trans Climate** - Cox ties childhood bullying to today's legislative attacks and media rhetoric
6 (11:43) **Decision to Write the Memoir** - Cox explains why she chose this moment despite earlier opportunities
7 (14:20) **Growing Up in Mobile, Alabama** - Description of the repressive environment and escape through imagination

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Guests on this episode

Laverne Cox

Show Notes

For more than a decade, actor Laverne Cox has been one of the most visible trans women in America. But the ‘Orange Is the New Black’ star says she spent most of childhood keeping herself hidden. Cox spoke with Tonya Mosley about the bullying she endured, pursuing a dance career before acting, and the anti-trans culture shift of the last few years. Her memoir is ‘Transcendent.’

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