Laverne Cox

Emmy-winning actress, producer, author, and transgender rights trailblazer Laverne Cox joins Monica this week on Reclaiming for a live taping at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in Seattle. With her new memoir, Transcendent, out in the world, Laverne opens up to Monica about what it means to finally tell her story in her own words—from childhood trauma and self-worth to fame, healing, and the complicated cost of visibility. She retraces her path from growing up in Mobile, Alabama, where homophobia taught her early lessons about shame, to finding freedom, community, and creative purpose in New York City. Laverne reflects on how, after nearly 20 years spent struggling as a working actress, Orange Is the New Black changed everything, making her the first openly transgender person nominated for an Emmy in an acting category. Together, she and Monica explore vulnerability, the difference between being seen and being safe, and how Laverne continues to reclaim dignity for trans people everywhere.

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