Laverne Cox | Entertainment News, Photos, and Videos

Laverne Cox is opening up about how she almost quit show business.

During a virtual appearance at Paley Center’s Pride Month programming, “A Salute to LGBTQ+ Pride Achievements in Television”, the 49-year-old actor revealed that landing her role in Orange is the New Black changed the plan.

“In the fall of 2012 we started shooting this show and I was just so happy to have a job; I was in rent arrears on my apartment, I had rolled back rent and I was in all kinds of debt and I was going to give up acting actually, a few months before I booked Orange,” Laverne reminisced. “I had turned 40 that year and had a breakout moment and I was in debt and things weren’t going the way I hoped they would.”

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Fans of Laverne Cox might not have seen any of the European versions of Promising Young Woman, but if they did, they’d notice something really off about her character.

It was revealed that her role as Gail was being dubbed by men in versions of the Emerald Fennell movie that were released in Europe.

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Laverne Cox is hitting the red carpet!

The 48-year-old Orange Is the New Black actress has been tapped to take over red carpet coverage for E! and will also host a series of celebrity interview specials starting next year, per THR.

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The Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards event is streaming tonight (April 22) and photos from the pre-taped event have been released!

Zendaya looked gorgeous while walking her first red carpet in over a year and Oscar nominee Andra Day also made an in-person appearance for the awards show.

Other attendees included Laverne Cox, Leslie Jones, Storm Reid, and “Me Too” founder Tarana Burke.

Zendaya and Andra are both honorees at the event alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Cynthia Erivo, and Michaela Coel. The show is being hosted by Laverne and Storm is hosting the pre-show. Leslie and Tarana are two of the evening’s presenters!

Make sure to watch the show on Essence.com and Essence Studios.

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Laverne Cox is opening up about unexpectedly falling in love!

The 48-year-old Orange Is the New Black actress made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday (January 28).

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Laverne Cox

During her appearance, Laverne opened up about finding love in 2020 and talked candidly about dating as a trans woman, explaining that she wasn’t expecting to find love in quarantine during the pandemic.

She also spoke about her upcoming podcast, The Laverne Cox Show, the documentary she executive produced about trans representation, Disclosure, and her hopes for the Biden-Harris administration.

Plus, she also talked about why her appearance on the Ellen Original Series, Fearless with Ashley Graham, was a highlight of her life.

She recently dropped out of a controversial new film – find out why.

Laverne Cox is exiting a controversial project about sex work.

The Emmy-nominated actress was attached to co-executive produce Sarah Jones‘s upcoming documentary Sell/Buy/Date alongside fellow stars Meryl Streep and Rashida Jones.

A press release published by The Hollywood Reporter says the film addresses whether sex work is exploitative or empowering, as well as the sex industry’s impact on “Black and brown women in particular.”

Members of the sex work community criticized the film for not directly involving sex workers in the production process. Laverne responded to one user’s comment that the project represented “everything [she is] supposedly against” by announcing that she had decided to exit the film in order to protect her mental health amid the backlash.

“I am not in an emotional place to deal with the outrage by some around my participation in this project,” she tweeted. “So I have decided to pull out. To be clear, I am no longer involved in any capacity in ['Sell/Buy/Date.']”

In November, Laverne opened up about being the target of a transphobic attack – read more here.

Laverne Cox is luckily okay after being targeted in a transphobic attack.

The 48-year-old Orange is the New Black actress took to her Instagram to reveal that she and a friend were targeted in an “aggressive” transphobic attack while walking in Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

Laverne explained that she and her friend were walking when a man came up to the friend and “aggressively” asked what time it was before asking, “Guy or girl?”.

The friend told the man to “f–k off,” which then triggered the man to start hitting her friend.

“The guy is like hitting my friend, and then my friend is going toward him and I’m like ‘Holy s–t,” Laverne said. “I pull out my phone and I call to dial 911, and all of a sudden it’s over and the guy is gone.”

Luckily Laverne and her friend weren’t physically injured.

While reflecting on the incident, Laverne said that she believes the man wanted her to answer his question instead of her friend.

“The guy really wanted me to answer so that he could spook whether I’m trans or not,” Laverne said. “I don’t know why, I don’t know why it matters. At the end of the day, it’s like who cares? I’m in a hoodie and yoga pants, I’m completely covered up, I’ve got my mask on. Who cares if I’m trans? How does this affect your life?”

She added: “This dude was looking for trouble…because I happened to be a trans person in public. None of this is new, but it’s still just kind of like…why do you need to be aggressive?”

“I started blaming myself. We were walking in the park. We weren’t doing anything,” Laverne shared. It’s important to remind myself and remind you that when these things happen, it’s not your fault…that there are people not cool with you existing in the world.”

Laverne also opened up about harsh reality about transphobia.

“It’s not safe in the world,” she said. “I don’t like to think about that a lot, but it is the truth and it is not safe if you’re a trans person.”

Laverne also shared a message with fans to be “aware of your surroundings” and know that “it’s not your fault” if an incident like hers happens to them.

“It’s not your fault that there are people not cool with you existing in the world,” Laverne said. “We have a right to walk in the park.”