Mj Rodriguez Makes History as First Trans Actress to Score Lead Emmy Nomination

And the category is: about damn time.

After three seasons of acting her heart out on FX’s Pose — the groundbreaking drama about trans Black and Latinx ballroom culture set in 1980s New York City — Mj Rodriguez finally has a long-awaited and much-deserved Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She has also made history as the first trans person nominated for an acting Emmy in the award show’s top categories.

“I can’t even believe it,” a beaming Rodriguez said in an Instagram live reaction to the news, adding that she wants the award to be for “every intersectionality of my community,” including the Black, Latinx, and trans communities.

Pose fans know that Rodriguez has served as the show’s emotional center in her role as Blanca since the very first season. Even from the pilot episode, when Blanca confronts Helena St. Rogers (Charlayne Woodard) with a breathtaking monologue about motherhood and losing one’s sense of self-worth, Rodriguez has demonstrated remarkable skill and emotional depth.

It’s a thrill to see Rodriguez finally get her due after three seasons of performing alongside fellow trailblazers like Indya Moore, Angelica Ross, and Billy Porter, who won a 2019 Lead Actor Emmy for his portrayal of Pray Tell.

Rodriguez will compete against names like Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country) for the Lead Actress in a Drama trophy.

LGBTQ+ groups recognized the profound significance of Rodriguez’s nomination.

“Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez's Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood, and a long-overdue recognition for her groundbreaking performance over the past three seasons of Pose,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement.

Ellis called Pose, which also received nominations for Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Lead Actor for Billy Porter, “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.” The show, which aired its series finale on FX earlier this year, featured the largest trans cast of any TV show in history.

GLAAD and dozens of other LGBTQ+ advocacy groups had urged the Television Academy, the voting body which awards the Emmys, to recognize Pose’s contributions in a June open letter. In that letter, the groups highlighted the “undeniable emotional and cultural chord” struck by the show “that will not soon be forgotten.”

But that letter did not spare voters feelings, noting that although Porter made history as the “first openly gay Black man to win an Emmy,” its boundary-breaking trans cast had been snubbed every single year Pose has been on the air.

While Rodriguez’s nomination marks a significant moment for trans representation and visibility in Hollywood, it could potentially launch Rodriguez’s own career to the next level — and confer greater financial opportunity. Following his win for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2019, Porter told Entertainment Tonight that “it has changed my life completely” as a Black queer man.\

Pose Has Only Won One Emmy. Dozens of LGBTQ+ Groups Say It Deserves More

Spearheaded by GLAAD, the letter urges Television Academy voters to take this “opportunity to make history.”

“There is a power that comes with it, there is a respect that comes with it,” he said. “Doors open that otherwise would not and that has been thrilling and my life will never be the same.” 

Regardless of how the TV Academy votes in the end, it’s heartening to see Rodriguez and Pose receive some of the respect they deserve as the show bids farewell and its cast searches for new projects. Rodriguez has already secured her next TV role opposite Maya Rudolph in a forthcoming Apple TV+ series, and her debut single, “Something to Say,” dropped last month.

“There’s a piece of this industry that does not see us as who we identify as,” she told InStyle last month. “I think people need to respect us and see us as who we are. Then we can move forward.”

Rodriguez’s historic nomination marks one step closer to an entertainment landscape that rewards and respects trans artists and the real stories they want to tell, leaving cisgender film executives’ misconceptions and stereotypes of our community in the past.

But for real: Mj better come out on top, or the dolls will have to take drastic action.

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