Laverne Cox is an American actress and LGBT advocate. She became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for a primetime acting Emmy Award and the first trans woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television series. Cox has been noted by her LGBT peers, and many others, for being a trailblazer for the transgender community, and has won numerous awards for her activist approach in spreading awareness. She is a graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Alabama, where she studied creative writing before switching to dance.