Michaela Jaé Rodriguez has opened up about her groundbreaking journey as a trans actress in Hollywood.
Over the last few years, the 31-year-old has captivated viewers worldwide with her knock-out roles in projects like Pose and Tick, Tick… BOOM.
After delivering standout performances across three seasons of FX’s Pose, Rodriguez made LGBTQ+ history as the first trans actress to win a Golden Globe Award.
“To my young LGBTQAI babies, WE ARE HERE the door is now open now, reach the stars!!!!! To the nominees, we are Queens. I’m so happy to share space with you! Each and every last one of you women are phenomenal,” she said during her acceptance speech at the time.
In a new interview with The Zoe Report, the young talent reflected on her journey and making Golden Globe history.
“You can push the award aside. Just to be noticed means that they’re making others in that quite conservative space aware of me and everyone else who is just like me or who’s part of a group or community like me,” she told the publication.
“I want more change. I’m young, so I want things to happen quickly.”
Even though Rodriguez has been part of an array of critically acclaimed projects and has earned a coveted award, the beloved actress said that she “has so much work to do”.
“I know it’s weird to say, but I don’t feel like a great actress just yet. I feel like I have so much work to do. I’m just making waves in Hollywood,” she explained.
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“If I was maybe 16, and in some really developed film or television show that had blockbuster views, then maybe I could say that, but it’s only been five years, and damn, only three years of actually really solidifying myself as an actress.
“I still feel like I’m not there yet.”
Towards the end of her interview, Rodriguez gave an empowering statement on representing the LGBTQ+ community.
“The bigger picture is that there are people who feel like they’re misfits,” she said.
“There are people who feel like they’re not wanted or needed. Most obviously in the LGBTQIA community, but also outside of it, Why not be an example?”
Rodriguez’s interview comes a few weeks after her new series Loot was released on Apple TV+.
In the dramedy, the Something To Say singer plays Sofia Salinas, a no-nonsense boss of a charity foundation – which was unknowingly created by the recently divorced billionaire Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph).
The first seven episodes are now available on the streamer.
Check out the trailer for Loot here or below.
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