LOS ANGELES — “Pose” co-star Mj Rodriguez made Emmy history Tuesday by becoming the first transgender performer to be nominated for a leading-performance Emmy Award in a prime-time series.
Rodriguez is the third transgender performer overall to receive an Emmy nomination. Laverne Cox received multiple nominations for best supporting actress for “Orange Is the New Black.” Rain Valdez was nominated last year for lead actress in a short-form series for “Razor Tongue.”
Sarah Kate Ellis, president/CEO of the LGBT advocacy organization GLAAD, called the nomination a “breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood” while also hailing the success of the FX series “Pose” at the nominations announcement.
This image released by FX shows Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in a scene from “Pose.” Rodriguez was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding leading actress in a drama series. (Eric Liebowitz/FX via AP)
This image released by FX shows Billy Porter as Pray Tell, foreground left, and Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in a scene from “Pose.” Rodriguez was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding leading actress in a drama series. (Eric Liebowitz/FX via AP)
This image released by FX shows Billy Porter as Pray Tell, left, and Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in a scene from “Pose.” Porter was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding leading actor in a drama series and Rodriguez was also nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding leading actress for their roles in “Pose.” (Eric Liebowitz/FX via AP)
This image released by FX shows Billy Porter as Pray Tell, background left, and Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in a scene from “Pose.” Rodriguez was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding leading actress in a drama series. (Eric Liebowitz/FX via AP)
This image released by FX shows Billy Porter as Pray Tell, right, and Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in a scene from “Pose.” Rodriguez was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding leading actress in a drama series and Porter was nominated for outstanding leading actor for their roles in “Pose.” (Eric Liebowitz/FX via AP)
This video grab provided by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences shows Ron Cephas Jones as he announces Mj Rodriguez as a nominee for lead actress in a drama series for “Pose” during the 73rd Emmy Awards Nominations Announcement on Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (Television Academy via AP)
This image released by FX shows Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in a scene from “Pose.” Rodriguez was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding leading actress in a drama series. (Eric Liebowitz/FX via AP)
“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,” Ellis said. “As over 40 leading LGBTQ organizations pointed out in our open letter about ‘Pose’ to Emmy Award voters, representation matters. Congratulations, Michaela Jae, Billy Porter and the entire ‘Pose’ team. The world is standing with you and applauding your talents.”
