Over the past 3 years, actress and activist Laverne Cox has graced our screens as a red carpet correspondent with E! Live. From the Grammys to the Oscars and every award show in between, Cox was on that carpet serving looks and asking stars the questions we all wanted to know.
As a Black trans woman in Hollywood, Cox has broken ground with each step in her career. Not only was Cox the first out transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy but she was the first transgender woman of color in a mainstream TV lead role as Sophia Burset on Orange is the New Black.
Cox’s Red Carpet work at E! brought representation to some of the biggest and most visible nights in show business.
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After 3 years in this role with E!, Cox has announced she is moving on to other projects. She posted on Instagram, “With an incredible amount of gratitude I’ve decided not to return as host of #LiveFromE‘s red carpet coverage. I’m so incredibly proud of the work we did over my three year tenure. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to everyone at @nbcuniversal, @eentertainment and @denofthievestv for your incredible support. These moments are a reminder to me of what an incredible privilege it has been to talk to some of the world’s greatest artists about their work, navigating the pressures of success, etc. I’m so excited to keep growing, evolving and exploring great opportunities as an actress, artist, host and speaker. I hope you’ll all continue to go with me on my evolving journey. Tune into my new comedy series “Clean Slate” premiering on Amazon Prime February 6.”
In honor of Cox’s groundbreaking work, GLAAD is reflecting on her most iconic red carpet interview moments with E!
1. Nava Mau
In 2024, actress Nava Mau broke ground in her role on Netflix’s Baby Reindeer. Her role as Teri in the true-crime series earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, making her the first out trans person to be nominated in this category.
At the Emmys this past September, Mau and Cox shared a touching and emotional moment on the red carpet. “I’m so proud of you,” Cox told Mau. “This show is incredible and the work that you do is so amazing. Ten years ago, I became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Emmy, and 10 years later, I’m not the last. You’re the fourth, and the first in this category.”
Mau shared that, “What we’ve been fighting for as a community is to be able to tell stories that come from the heart, that are based from a human foundation. Because that’s who we are as trans people: We are humans, first and foremost,” Mau said. “Yes, it’s an LGBT show, it’s a show that has a trans character on it, and it’s also just a really good show. Ultimately, I hope we get to be all that we are as trans people on screen.”
2. Billy Porter
Actor, singer, and activist Billy Porter served as a presenter at the 2022 Grammy Awards in a stunning fuchsia look by Valentino. The GLAAD Media Award winner joined Cox on the red carpet to talk about the power of authenticity.
They reflected on how Porter got his start by winning show Star Search in the early 90s. Cox asked if back then, he could have ever imagined he would end up being where he is today.
“Yes, to part of it,” he began. “Not to the part where I get to be myself,” he explained. “I was trying to be somebody else. I was trying to be masculine enough to fit in. That didn’t work out so well. So, when I started being authentic and started being myself, all of a sudden, stuff started to happen.”
“The lesson there is that you can’t be successful, trying to be somebody else,” Cox responded. “There’s only one Billy Porter, and you have to own all of that. The universe will follow suit.”
“We are living proof of that,” Porter added. “It’s only in standing inside the power of our authenticity and truth that we can change the world for other people.”
3. Jonathan Bailey
Laverne Cox가 진행한 에미 레드카펫
조니 인터뷰 부분 (1/2) pic.twitter.com/cT2EFSUCfw— 쁘띠🕯 (@_JB_BB) September 17, 2024
Out gay actor and Fellow Travelers star Jonathan Bailey joined Cox on the red carpet at the 2024 Emmy Awards Ceremony. “For you as a proud, openly gay man, doing this incredibly historically relevant project in this historical moment where LGBTQ+ folks are under attack, what does this mean to you?” Cox asked Bailey.
“I feel incredibly proud to be a part of it, it’s game changing,” the British actor shared. “This show is a testament to the battles and the strife of so many before us,” he says, referencing the show’s tackling of issues like the AIDS crisis and other challenges LGBTQ people faced throughout the 20th century.
Bailey then pulled a sprig of lavender out of his pocket that he brought in honor of the Lavender Scare, an era in which LGBTQ workers were investigated, interrogated, and often lost their jobs beginning in the 1950s.
4. Danielle Brooks
Laverne Cox and Danielle Brooks shared the screen for seven seasons on the groundbreaking GLAAD and Emmy Award winning series Orange is the New Black. The two shared a heart warming moment at the SAG Awards last year.
Brooks, who was nominated for her role in The Color Purple shared that, “This makes me emotional. Every time I’ve been here it’s been with you and Orange is the New Black. This moment means a lot,” she told Cox.
Cox praises her former co-star and friend, telling her this nomination was “so overdue, but right on time.”
5. Anitta
In 2023, Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys. The bisexual artist made history as the first artist from Brazil in 50 years to be nominated for the award. “Does this moment reaffirm for you that anything is possible?” Cox asked.
“For me, for the whole country it’s like we’re making history right now,” Anitta told Cox. She added, “Today, I feel like a winner. For me, winning or not, it’s already the biggest victory to be here part of this major thing. I feel like a winner no matter what.”
6. Ariana DeBose
Ariana DeBose has made history countless times throughout her career. As both the first Afro-Latina to win an Oscar for acting and the first openly queer woman of color to win an Oscar for acting, her role as as Anita in West Side Story meant the world to her.
At the 2022 SAG Awards, DeBose won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. Before the show, DeBose joined Cox on the red carpet for a powerful conversation.
They reflected on how DeBose got her start on So You Think You Can Dance when she was only 18. Cox asked if her younger self could have ever believed she would end up where she is today. “No,” DeBose replied with tears in her eyes. “No, it’s amazing. This is what dreams are made of.”
Don’t miss Laverne Cox as she embarks on the next exciting chapter of her career. Her new comedy series Clean Slate premieres on Amazon Prime February 6th.