Laverne Cox is TIME Magazine’s 1st Transgender Cover Star

Orange is the New Black actress, Laverne Cox is TIME Magazine‘s 1st Transgender cover star.

The actress who plays Sophia Burset alongside British-Nigerian Uzo Aduba (who plays Crazy Eyes) on the Netflix series is featured under the headline “The Transgender Tipping Point”. After being omitted in TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people’s list in April, the magazine seems to be making up for wounds opened with this cover.

For her exclusive interview with the magazine, Cox, who is a popular speaker on issues concerning the transgender population, explained how transgender people are often misunderstood.

“There’s not just one trans story. There’s not just one trans experience. And I think what they need to understand is that not everybody who is born feels that their gender identity is in alignment with what they’re assigned at birth, based on their genitalia. If someone needs to express their gender in a way that is different, that is OK, and they should not be denied healthcare. They should not be bullied. They don’t deserve to be victims of violence … That’s what people need to understand, that it’s okay and that if you are uncomfortable with it, then you need to look at yourself.”

Cox also revealed in the latest edition, that she attempted to commit suicide at the tender age of 11 after she was bullied in school.

“I learned in church that [being gay] was a sin”. “I just imagined that I was disappointing [my grandmother in heaven] and it just was devastating for me. So I went to the medicine cabinet and got a bottle of pills. And took them. And swallowed them. And went to sleep, hoping not to wake up. And I did wake up, with a really bad stomachache. I don’t remember what the pills were. Whatever it was, I thought that they would kill me but they didn’t.”

She tweeted and referred to her TIME cover as wonderful birthday present and stated she could not be prouder to be considered a public leader for the transgender movement.

Thanks @TIME for this lovely bday present, a cover story 2 highlight the profound issues trans people face everyday. pic.twitter.com/kZpNQcbued

— Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) May 29, 2014

Apparently everyone is happy for her and she’s been receiving praises and congratulations among birthday wishes from her over 93,000 followers; including Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

.@LaverneCox is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of Time magazine. It’s about Time.

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 29, 2014

Watch behind scenes from her TIME cover shoot.

Photo Credit: fr.eonline.com