Transgendered actress and award-winning activist Laverne Cox will discuss her life story during the presentation “Ain’t I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood” at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 3, in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.
As a star of the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black,” Cox is considered the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream TV show. Cox plays Sophia Burset, a transgender woman who was sent to prison for credit-card fraud.
Elizabeth Curry, the lectures, education, and diversity crew chief for the Campus Activities Board, which is sponsoring this free, public event, said, “We chose to have Laverne Cox come and speak primarily because of the increasing popularity of the show ‘Orange is the New Black.’ We also wanted to bring a compelling LGBTQ speaker that we think students will respond to on topics of diversity, transgender rights and identity.”
In addition to Orange is the New Black, Cox has appeared on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Bored to Death.” She also was in the films “The Exhibitionists,” “36 Saints” and “Grand Street.”
In 2013, Cox received the Reader’s Choice Award presented by “Out Magazine” and was the Anti-Violence Project Courage Award honoree.